Some places to go:
- Oude Markt (central part of Leuven) - it is *the* gathering place of the main university town of Belgium - beer any time, any place
- Antwerp: Grote Markt (the central part) and environments; again, you will find whatever beer you want
- Turnhout: De Spytigen Duvel, in the town centre, they really have *any* kind of beer - I only tried about one in twenty, and I consider myself a "beer connoisseur" !
- Hoegaarden, the brewery - be quick, it may move to another place and become more industrial
- Boortmeerbeek, the Duvel brewery - they make one of the most astonishing beers in the world - anyway, you will find Hoegaarden and Duvel in most cafés in Belgium
- Westmalle, the café in front of the abby where they brew the beer - as far as I'm concerned, Westmalle Tripel is *the* best beer in the world - make a walk in the abbey's park before going to the café: Westmalle beer contains quite a few calories !
- Westvleteren, a beer which you can only buy or drink in the abbey itself - even I didn't have a chance yet to try the "real thing" ! It appears to be one of the (or best) beers you may find anywhere (cannot approve, since not tried yet, but they were elected best beer by some American newspaper)
- don't go to the cafés on the Grote Markt/Grand Marché of Brussels, they will serve you beer in an un-Belgian way and with un-Belgian volumes, though it is a nice place to have a drink, of course
- by the way, DO NOT GO to the Rue de Bouchers/Beenhouwersstraat in Brussels, near the Grote Markt, it is packed with horrible tourist restaurants full of flashy neon lights, and has nothing to do with Belgium at all - terrifying place !
- try any of the Belgian "trappist" beers (Westmalle, Westvleteren, Rochefort, Chimay, Orval, Achel); they are all brilliant (must admit, though, I never tried Achel)
- if you ever come accross Heineken somewhere on your travels, don't think it's a special beer, it's just an ordinary beer from the Netherlands (which means really ordinary beer)
- these were just a few hints - give it a try !