Antwerp & Mechelen
Antwerp Province, Belgium
Custom Dates Available
- Minimum group size of 6 people and 2-month lead time.
- Rich will be in Europe from Sept 29 – Oct 11, 2025, so possibility of scheduling an Antwerp Immersion during that window.
- Contact Rich to request custom dates or inquire about being added to existing groups.
Price: 2 days for $849
Likely breweries, visits, tours, and meals:
Cafe Trappisten & Westmalle Abbey (no brewery access), Brouwerij Het Anker (Gouden Carolus beers), Hof Ten Dormaal, Billie’s Bier Kafetaria, Beerlovers Bar, inVINcible, The Chocolate Line, and more!
10% discount for Beverage Industry! Cicerones®, Certified Beer Servers, Sommeliers, WSETs, and employees of restaurants and beverage producers & wholesalers get 10% off!
Incredible, Edible City
Antwerp is an incredible city. It’s fun and vibrant, livable and walkable with great biking and transit, fashionable with great shopping, politically and academically engaged, and obsessed with beer and food, all without the self-importance of larger cities.
Antwerp is a feast for the eyes: an inspiring blend of medieval architecture, soaring cathedrals, Belle Epoque avenues, revitalized docklands, mid-20th century modern offices, grand contemporary public spaces, whimsical public art, and smart graffiti. (The massive train station alone is worth an hour to explore.) Tall, narrow residences and curved rooflines will remind you more of Amsterdam than Paris. The wide Scheldt River provides pretty sunset views from the medieval Old Town, and connects Antwerp to the heart of Flanders as well as to North Sea fishing and trade. Eating is an art form in Antwerp, chocolate makers, third-wave coffee shops, and Flemish, Middle Eastern, Italian, Vietnamese, and high-end restaurants are everywhere.
Though the city-proper is home to only a couple of breweries, great beer bars and storied “bruin cafés” (brown oak pubs) are everywhere, and the region surrounding the city has dozens of great breweries. Less than an hour east of Antwerp is the Westmalle Trappist monastery, brewer of Westmalle Dubbel and Tripel, the delicious, iconic progenitors of these two beer styles that have made Belgian beer famous. Dingemans, a major malting facility on the north side of the city, keeps the region’s kettles – including at the famous De Koninck Brewery – full of high-quality malt. Mechelen, a 20-minute train ride south of the city, is famous for Belgium’s most celebrated and tastiest asparagus and poultry. Mechelen is also home to the fantastic Het Anker brewery and restaurant, brewer of Gouden Carolus beers.
Cradle of Major Belgian Beer Styles
Four important beer styles were invented in the past 150 years in Antwerp or very nearby: Trappist dubbel (Westmalle), Trappist tripel (Westmalle), Belgian golden strong ale (Duvel), and Belgian pale ale (De Koninck). These are popular styles in Belgium and around the world; drinking them with the food and in the pubs that they were created for is a source of pride for Antwerpenaars. Additionally, we’ll get to taste a historical, multi-grain blonde ale style called Seefbier, recently resurrected by a local craft brewer.
Above photo credit: Miles McCrocklin
Above photo credit: Miles McCrocklin
Walking the platform toward the central hall at beautiful Antwerpen-Centraal Station.
Special Beer Styles:
- Trappist and Abbey Dubbel: delicious, dry beers, 7% ABV, with hints of toast, caramel, fruits, and baking spices
- Trappist and Abbey Tripel: golden beers ranging in sweetness from crackery to honeyed, 9% ABV, and full of aromas of orange, banana, clove, and pepper
- Trappist Half/Half: a 50-50 blend of Westmalle Dubbel and Westmalle Tripel, available only at the brewery’s café across the street from the monastery
- Belgian Pale Ale: approachable, balanced, light amber ales, maltier and less fruity-spicy than most other Belgian beers
- Seefbier: straw-colored beer, with fruity lemon, apple, banana and grape aromas; so popular in the 1800s that the Seefhoek neighborhood was named after it; recently resurrected from early-20th century recipes
- Strong Blonde Ale: elegant and bitter, herbal and spicy, 8-10% ABV, the perfect aperitif and even better with frites
- Strong Dark Ale: decadent beers with malty muscle and alcoholic warmth, rich with dried fruit and clove flavors
- Flemish Red-Brown Beers: sour beers with hints of caramel, toasted nuts, cherries, and Balsamic vinegar
- Craft Beer: both local and imported craft beers are popular in Antwerp, and local brewers are experimenting with all sorts of hop-focused ales, sour beers, dark lagers, and “Champagne” beers
Above photo credit: Miles McCrocklin
Local Dishes:
- Mosselen met Friet: mussels steamed in various beers like golden Trappist ale and served with fries; seasonally available usually September through March/April
- Stoofvlees: velvety beef braised in brown or sour red beers (called Carbonnade à la Flamande in French)
- Waterzooi: comforting chowder of chicken or fish with leeks and potatoes, thickened with egg yolks and cream
- Garnaal Kroketten: fried croquettes with delicate, sweet Belgian gray shrimp, the croquettes are crispy on the outside and soft on the inside
- Koninginnenhapje: chicken baked in a puff pastry with mushrooms and a cream sauce
- Frikadellen met Kriekjes: sauteed meatballs served with stewed sour cherries, sometimes served as a casserole with cheese, potatoes, and Trappist ale sauce
- White Asparagus: a springtime delicacy; sweet, tender asparagus served with chopped hardboiled egg, parsley, and a buttery sauce
- Trappist Cheese: semi-soft to semi-hard cow’s milk cheeses with gentle sweet, earthy, grassy aromas
- Dame Blanche met Karamel en Speculoos: ice cream sundae with caramel sauce and speculoos cookie crumbles
Local Customs We’ll Join In On:
- beer experience only available at the Westmalle’s Café Trappisten: drinking a Westmalle Half/Half (blend of Dubbel and Tripel)
- walking the peaceful treed-lane to the Westmalle monastery gates (no monastery entrance possible)
- joining in on Antwerp’s favorite beer order: simply request a “bolleke,” which curiously means “little ball,” and as a result you’ll be served impeccably fresh De Koninck pale ale in a semi-spherical glass only used for that beer
- drinking and eating in celebrated “bruin cafés,” traditional dark-wood pubs that are a dying breed outside of the Antwerp area
- heading to an old dockworkers’ pub for locals-only boilermakers of a boereke of Stella Artois and a Koutcirkje (genever topped with herbal Elixir d’Anvers)
- visiting a farmhouse brewery and sitting in the farmhouse drinking beers with the farmer-brewer while snacking on country sausage and cheese
- walking the streets of Antwerp, surrounded by smells of chocolate, coffee, and fried goodness wafting from the plentiful chocolate shops, coffee shops, and frituurs (fry shacks)
Above photo credit: Miles McCrocklin
Local Non-Beer Sights We’ll See:
- Antwerp Cathedral (a UNESCO World Heritage Site), St. Jacob’s Gothic Church, Mechelen Cathedral
- Antwerp Central Train Station, Brabomonument (Hand-Throw Fountain), Meir Pedestrian Shopping Street, Rubens House and Museum, Eilandje Docklands, MAS Museum
- large Antwerp and Mechelen Old Towns
- the wide Scheldt River
Hotel Recommendations
Functional/Budget Category:
- ibis Antwerpen Centrum
Meistraat 39, Antwerp ~ Hotel Website ~ TripAdvisor
Mid-Range Category:
- Hotel Lindner
- Theater Hotel Antwerpen Centrum
Lange Kievitstraat 125, Antwerp ~ Hotel Website ~ TripAdvisor
My comments: A large mid-range hotel steps from the southern end of Central train station. Great location for morning Beer Immersion meet-ups, and a 12-min subway ride or 30-min walk to the heart of the Old Town. Functional and clean. Great breakfast. Owned by a German hotel chain, which is in turn owned by JdV and Hyatt.
Arenbergstraat 30, Antwerp ~ Hotel Website ~ TripAdvisor
My comments: Previous Antwerp Immersion participants have stayed here and found it to be a perfectly-fine-nothing-special hotel. I haven’t stayed there yet, but the location is good and the lobby gives the impression of a clean and well-appointed hotel. From the hotel, it’s a 15-min walk to the Central train station, 10-min walk into the historic heart of the medieval Old Town, great bars and restaurants within 5 min walk, and 1 block from the outdoor market on Saturdays.
Luxe & Design Category:
- Hotel Flora
Korte Nieuwstraat 12, Antwerp ~ Hotel Website ~ TripAdvisor
These hotel recommendations are based on a combo of location, online reviews, and my experiences. I don’t get any perks or discounts for referrals. I’ve stayed at some, but not all, of these hotels. You should feel free to book at any of these, but of course you’re welcome to choose other accommodations.
10% discount for Beverage Industry!
Cicerones®, Certified Beer Servers, Sommeliers, WSETs, and employees of restaurants and beverage producers & wholesalers get 10% off.
Beer Immersions are an amazing way to study and learn about beer, and they’re incredibly fun, memorable team building opportunities.