Venture into the historic and scenic world of saisons and biére de gardes. Their roots can be traced to rustic ales originally brewed on farms for seasonal workers in this wide area once known as the County of Flanders (which then included parts of France, Belgium and the Netherlands).  On this tour you will experience breathtaking views, scenery, geography and architecture. You’ll enjoy regional cuisine and fine beer beyond compare. We’ll visit some small independent artisanal breweries still located on working farms and sometimes large, modern ones, most situated in scenic countryside locations, where we’ll experience these very satisfying ales in rustic taprooms.  Some will be well-known breweries such as Brasserie Dupont, Brasserie Dubuisson and Brasserie de Silly and some you may not yet know, but soon will come to love. While the spirit of the tours remain the same, each Farmhouse Ale Tour departure itinerary will vary to take in different opportunities, keep it interesting for returning travelers and just because there are so many interesting breweries in a relatively small region. Also, while the theme of this tour is farmhouse ales, be assured you will have access to many styles of beer.

As a bonus, we will also visit the taprooms of Trappist Westlvleteren and Trappist Abbey of Mont des Cats, too... since we will be in the neighborhood.

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We will also be segueing into France for some beer hunting.  France has some amazing, but little known, beers and specifically farmhouse ales.  If you have not yet discovered fine French beer, you will be delightfully surprised.  Some people who have taken this tour have found their favorite beers of the entire tour in France.  You might, too.  They are just that good!
We will also visit the charming and romantic town of Cassel, located on one of three small “mountains” that rise out of the bucolic farm country of the Nord department of France.

Farmhouse ales, with a few exceptions, come mostly from Wallonia region of Belgium in the south and the northwestern French departments of Nord and Pas de Calais. We will visit many breweries, brewery taprooms and beer cafés.

On this tour you will be staying in the scenic hop growing region of Watou, close to the French border, Mons, Ieper and Gent. It’s a nice mix of urban and rural settings. We will visit many breweries, beer cafés, and brewery taprooms. The tour will begin in Mons. We recommend spending two nights in Bruges prior to the tour to adjust to the time changes and allow for delays. Then take an easy train ride to Mons to begin the tour.

• Eight nights accommodations in nice, friendly, centrally-located hotels often in the old town section of the city and some in bucolic rural settings.

• Three nights at the famous Brouwershuis Inn at Brewery St. Bernardus. This is the former residence/mansion of the brewer, now converted into a cozy inn with the full range of St. Bernardus beers for your enjoyment. Some travelers may stay in near Popperinge if the tour outgrows the Brouwershuis.

• All breakfasts, two lunches and two dinners with gratuities.

• Beer during brewery tours, taproom visits, festivals and company meals as listed on the itinerary.

• Ground transportation via private luxury coach with professional driver. Leave the driving to us!

• Professional and courteous BBM! guide services.

• All tours and admissions.

• An instant group of interesting and fun, beer-loving friends you haven’t met yet. Maximum size 24 people (half the size of some tour groups).

• Plenty of unstructured free time to relax, shop and explore on your own.

• Custom BBM! name badges.

• Souvenir BBM! luggage tags

• Flexibility in the event you need to transfer or cancel your tour.

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• Airfare

• Airport transfers.

• Some meals and beer on your own.

• Free-time sightseeing. Our guides are available to provide suggestions.

• Fine Print: You are responsible for the costs of your free-time sightseeing. Be sure to read our Terms & Conditions Agreement for important details.

• Gratuities, at your discretion, for brewery tour guides and coach drivers.

June is the perfect time to visit Belgium. Combine this tour with the Tour or Lonely Monks Trappist Tour that immediately proceeds this tour and have a grand multi-week tour of beer paradise.

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Deadline to sign up is one month before departure. 

2026 Price: $3595/per person + Air, Single supplement $645*

* Prices based on double room occupancy, per person, U.S. dollars, land only.  If you are a solo traveler and would like to have a private room all to yourself there is a single supplement fee of $645 in addition to the base price of $3595 per person.  We can also work with you to try to pair you with other single travelers of the same gender to avoid the single supplement. Better yet, recruit a friend to come, too! Unless, of course, like Rick Steves says, you prefer to “snore alone.”

We require a minimum number of travelers for a tour to be confirmed to go, so it’s important to sign up ASAP, as opposed to waiting until the deadline. Also, tours can fill suddenly, so signing up early guarantees your place and avoids disappointment.

2027 Price: $3895/per person + Air, Single supplement $695*

Please share BBM! tours with your beer enthusiast friends and encourage them to join the fun! 

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SOME OF THE BREWERIES AND ATTRACTIONS WE have visited ON THIS TOUR:

Belgium

• Trappist Westvleteren

• Trappist Abbey of Mont des Cats

• Dupont

• St. Bernardus

• Dubuisson

• Silly

• St. Feuillien

• Brunehaut

• Fantome

• Kerkom

• Blaugies

• de Cazeau

• de Struise

• de Kroon

• de Plukker Organic Hop Farm and Brewery

• National Hop Museum in Poperinge

• WWI Plugstreet ’14-’18 Experience (Museum)

• WWI Memorial Museum Passchendaele 1917

• WWI Tyne Cot Cemetery & Visitor Center

 France

• Thiriez

• La Choulette

• CH ‘Ti

• 3 Monts

• 2 Caps

• de l'Abbaye du Cateau

• du Pays Flamand

• St. Germain

• Bailleux (Au Baron)

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Best Damn Farmhouse Ale Tour of

Belgium & France ‘26

This tour begins in the lobby of our hotel in Mons, and ends at our hotel in Gent. We plan to visit multiple brewery locations, taprooms and shops. Special highlights of the tour will be a canal boat ride in Gent, a visit to the In Flanders Field Museum in Ieper and free time to explore historic Mons and Gent.

We will be staying in Mons, Watou, Ieper and Gent.

Fri., Oct. 9 • Mons 

• Welcome to historic Mons! Take a train to the Mons Railway Station from anywhere in Belgium. We’ll meet at 2 p.m. at the Martin’s Dream Hotel in Mons.

• We’ll do a short walking tour, then regroup at the hotel to have our Welcome Bottle Share at 4 p.m. This is a great opportunity to get to know each other. You’ll find our group tour quickly turns into a family tour. Dinner is on your own tonight at one of many inviting restaurants in Mons. 

Sat., Oct. 10 • Ieper 

• This morning we say farewell to Mons and visit Brasserie Silly, located in the village of Silly, which is also a Belgian Family Brewer. We’ll have a tour, tasting and enjoy a company lunch with Muriel’s homemade lasagna and the full line of Silly beers in the brewery taproom, a vintage 1950s-style Walloon cafe, complete with a taps pool table.This brewery traces its roots to farmhouse brewing and is known for their saison, Scotch ale and many others. Our host will be Lionel Van der Haegen, who along with his cousin, Bertrand, are sixth generation family owners. Lionel is in charge of marketing and Bertrand is the brewmaster.

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• Afterward, we’ll continue on to the most famous of the farmhouse breweries  Brasserie Dupont to have a guided tour and visit their brewery shop. Here you can take a picture with a giant glass of Saison Dupont. They are famous for their saison and many other fine beers, including a stout.

• Next we transfer to Ieper, our home for two nights, and our centrally-located hotel. Dinner is on your own.

•  (Breakfast & Lunch #1)

Sun., Oct. 11 • Ieper 

• This morning we visit the famous In Flanders Field Museum to learn more about WWI, at the time known as the Great War. Lunch is your own, followed by a tour and tasting at Brewery Kazematten, established in 2014 and run by Rudi Ghequire, formerly of Rodenbach. Rudi brings his beer expertise and passion for brewing to this eventful brewery located in the old ramparts of Ieper.They make delicious versions of a blond, dubbel, tripel and saison. Dinner is on your own.

• At 7:45 we’ll meet at the Menin Gate, close to everything, for the famous and stirring Last Post Ceremony which starts promptly at 8 p.m. and lasts for 10-15 minutes. Bring a hanky and expect it to be emotional. The Menin Gate and Last Post Ceremony commemorate the soldiers, who perished in WWI for whom there are no known graves. Evening is on your own to explore the many inviting beer cafes of Ieper. (Breakfast)

Mon., Oct. 12 • Watou

This morning we travel to Brewery Slagmuylder in Ninove, for a tour, tasting and picnic lunch. Established in 1860, this family brewery is best known for the Witkap-Pater beers, including: Stimulo, Double, Tripel and Special. The brewery also has a great museum.

This afternoon, we’ll visit Brewery Malheur in Bugenhout, for a tour and tasting. established in 1773. They are known for high-ABV, complex beers, including the popular 8% ABV Malheur 8, the award-winning 10% ABV Malheur 10, and unique, champagne-style, bottle-fermented brews like Malheur Brut Reserve and Dark Brut. Everyone leaves happy! Here’s an interesting article by Belgian Smaak about Malheur and their champagne-style beers.

You’ll have dinner on your own afterward at the Chalet de Goudenkarpen before continuing on to Watou/Poperinge and our hotels for the next three nights. The Chalet was named the Magna Cum Laude in 2025 by Trappist Orval as their number one Orval Ambassador of the year.

This evening most travelers will stay at the Brouwershuis Inn at Brewery St. Bernardus near Watou. Some travelers may also be staying at the beautiful Hotel Amfora in nearby downtown Poperinge, and close to many beer cafes and restaurants. (Breakfast)

Tues., Oct. 13 • Watou

This morning, we board our coach to Brasserie 2 Caps, near Tardinghen, France, on the Opal Coast. Approx. travel time: One hour, 30 min. Brewmaster/owner Christophe Noyon will be our guide for this true farmhouse brewery. Be prepared to be impressed.Lunch on your own afterward in nearby Wissant, France.

After lunch and time permitting, we’ll visit Cap Blanc-Nez, site of German bunkers and shell craters. Great view of the English Channel, the White Cliffs of Dover and surrounding countryside. This is one of the two Caps (points) for which the brewery is named.

Then it’s on to Brasserie Mott-Cordonnier in Armentières, France. The origins of this family-run brewery trace back 370 years. At some point the brewery closed, but was reopened by the family in 2018. It will prove to be an interesting visit.

Afterward we hop back into Belgium and have a company dinner at the Trappist Westvleteren taproom of In de Vrede. This is the perfect way to round out this eventful day. (Breakfast & Dinner #1)

Wed., Oct. 14 • Watou

This morning we depart the Brouwershuis and head to the Trappist Abbey of Mont Des Cats in France. We’ll visit the church and the gift shop of the Abbey, where you will be able to buy their beer, which is brewed at Trappist Chimay. We’ll also take in the magnificent view from the top of the mountain looking over France and Belgium.

Then we return to Brewery St. Bernardus to visit the St.Bernardus Visitor Experience, which is a self-guided brewery and museum tour with an audio headset. Here you’ll learn about the history of this famous brewery and its connection and heritage with the Trappist Abbey of Westvleteren (St. Sixtus). Afterward, we’ll have a tasting and lunch on your own in the rooftop Bar Bernard built on top of the brewery and looking out over the vast hopfields of the Westhoek.

Next, we visit Brewery Deca, brewers of many incredible beers you’ve likely never had before because they don’t export to the U.S.  To get these beers, you have to come here. They also have several gypsy brewers who brew there and make eventful beers, which you’ll be able to taste. Get ready for some of the best beers you have never heard of.

Dinner is on your own at the famous ‘t Molenhof in Oostvleteren. This restaurant features an extensive beer list and fine food. Everyone leaves full and happy. (Breakfast)

Thur., Oct. 15 • Gent

We pack our bags, load the coach and say farewell to Watou and Popering. This morning we have a tour and tasting at the oldest brewery in Belgium, Brewery Roman. They have a wide range of fine beers and one of the nicest taprooms in Belgium. Roman is a member of the Belgian Family Brewers.

Lunch will be at Brewery Rodenbach, brewers of famous Flemish Red Ales. You’ll enjoy lunch amongst the famous and giant oak foeders used for aging the ale.

Keeping with the Flemish Red Ale theme, next we’ll have a tour and tasting at Brewery Verhaeghe, brewers of the renowned Duchesse de Bourgogne and other fine beers. Our guide will be the knowledgeable and charming Katrien Martin of Topic Tours.

Next we have a company dinner at a very special restaurant and one of my personal favorites, the Mooriaanshoofd. Be prepared to be amazed!

Afterward, we depart to majestic Gent and the Monesterium PoortAckere Hotel, our home for the final two nights of the tour. The hotel is housed in a former abbey. Gent is a city with a character and personality all its own. Click this link and watch the video to learn more. This might just become your favorite city in Belgium! (Breakfast, Lunch #2 & Dinner #2)

Fri., Oct. 16 • Gent

Morning is free to sleep in or explore.

Late morning, we’ll have a canal boat tour followed by a more thorough walking tour of Gent, which will end at Brewery Artevelde for a company beer.

Lunch and dinner are on your own.

The afternoon is free to explore Gent, shop, climb the Belfry, visit beer cafes or just find a sunny terrace and people watch. Enjoy this magnificent and historic university town of 70,000 students. After the full week we’ve had so far, you’ll enjoy some free time.

This evening we’ll have our Farewell Bottle Share. This will be a good way to jettison some of the extra beer you will no doubt have and a good time to say farewell to all your new Farmhouse Tour friends. (Breakfast)

Sat., Oct. 17 • Gent

The tour concludes with breakfast at your leisure. Trains run frequently to Brussels and the Brussels Airport (BRU). Direct trains take about an hour. Look for the direct train so you don’t have to switch in Brussels. You may buy your ticket the night before, or use the SNCB App (Belgian Railway),  then be ready to go in the morning without having to wait in line to buy a ticket. (Breakfast)

* This itinerary is subject to change

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