Brewing Country in Brabant

Dutch beer is usually assumed to mean pale lager, and the big brands do dominate the shelves, but the southern provinces kept something closer to the Belgian tradition: strong ales, abbey brewing and beer meant to be drunk slowly from a glass shaped for it. At Koningshoeven near Tilburg the monks have brewed since the late nineteenth century, one of a small number of Trappist breweries anywhere, and a much newer abbey brewery works at Zundert. Around them are dozens of small independents. Late autumn brings bokbier, a dark seasonal beer released across the country at the end of October and gone again by the new year.

What you actually see

• Abbey brewing - working monastic breweries, with tasting rooms attached to the grounds.
• Bokbier season - the dark autumn beer, released nationally in late October.
• The glassware - each brand with its own shape, and everyone taking that seriously.
• The village breweries - small independents strung between the Brabant towns.

When to go

Year-round, with late October and November the season worth timing for, when bok festivals cluster. Brewery tours generally need booking and mostly run at weekends. Cycling between villages is the pleasant way to do it, and also the sensible one, since the distances rule out doing it any other way.

Honest expectations

Distances are awkward and driving between tasting rooms is not an option, so the day has to be planned around bikes or a train and a taxi. Tours are short and finish predictably in the shop. The abbeys are working religious communities and most of the site is closed to visitors. Bok disappears entirely by January.

Nearby

Zundert's flower parade in September; Eindhoven and Breda are both close.