By Beer Director Kevin Floyd

Kevin Floyd is the beer director, beertender, and co-owner at The Hay Merchant, Anvil, and Underbelly in Houston, TX. His craft beer program is one of the most prolific cask programs in the country. He frequently travels to Belgium on research trips visiting breweries and exploring the beer scene. In this first part of his tour, let Kevin be your expert beer guide in Antwerp and in the Belgian countryside.

Antwerp

Bierhuis Kulminator

“Just imagine Bilbo Baggins’ mother’s house. It’s a strange bar on a random street. I’ve been here a couple of times and I still don’t know how to get here. You walk into the bar and there is an incredibly old lady with crazy white hair and her old husband. They must be in their eighties. They have a big fluffy white cat, a sewing machine on a table with someone actually sewing on it. My experience has changed every time I’ve come here. They have a massive beer list that is four inches thick. It has to be hundreds of pages, all in Flemish. They have a really crazy collection of old cellar beer going back twenty years and some of it is beer that should never have been kept that long. There are some awesome little jewels from tiny breweries that have been out of business for years. They have old little lambics, Orval going back 20 years, and rare bottles of Cantillon. It is such an experience.”

Vleminckveld 32, 2000 Antwerp
T: +32.3.232.45.38

Belgian Countryside

Trappist Westvleteren | Photo Credit: Juha Pätilä [Flickr] — Trappist Westvleteren | Photo Credit: Juha Pätilä [Flickr]

Brouwerij Westvleteren

“At the Abbey of Saint-Sixtus is Brouwerij Westvleteren. Anybody who’s into craft beer has heard of Westvleteren. It’s a trappist brewery and if you Google it, their beer is consistently rated one of the best beers in the world. It’s on everybody’s top 10 list. They make three beers: a blonde, a brown and a dark. They are very good and beautiful, but part of the reason they are so highly rated is because the beer is only sold at the abbey. They have a limit on how much you can buy and you must call ahead to reserve your beer. It’s in northern Flanders in beautiful farmland, especially if you visit in August and September. They’ve done an amazing marketing job, the beer is very good and it’s a cool experience.”

Donkerstraat 12, B -8640 Westvleteren
T: +32.70.21.00.45 | www.sintsixtus.be

De Roste Muis

“De Roste Muis mean Red Mouse. It is one of the most northern points in North Flanders and it’s beautiful. There’s a restaurant up front that is very locally food-driven. They have an amazing back area that overlooks these beautiful green Belgian fields. The people here are very nice. They have two house beers called the Red Mouse, a blond and a dark style Belgian ales that are very good.”

Drijdijk 2, 9988 Sint-Laureins
T: +32.9.379.85.60 | www.rostemuis.be

Map

Features by Beer Director Kevin Floyd

Featured

Beertender's Tour of Belgium | Part 4 - Antwerp & Countryside

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Kevin Floyd, the beer director, beertender, and co-owner at The Hay Merchant, Anvil, and Underbelly in Houston, TX is your expert beer guide around Ghent.

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Kevin Floyd is the beer director, beertender, and co-owner at The Hay Merchant, Anvil, and Underbelly in Houston, TX. Let Kevin be your expert beer guide around Brussels.