Massive update!

We have a massive update today. All activities with information can now be found HERE. You’ll find a summary of the activities further down this post also.
If you want to join the RBESG ’13, please enter your name and availability HERE.

Thursday june 27
16:00    Gathering @ café De Drie Dorstige Herten (Utrecht)
19:00    Diner @ Olivier (Utrecht)
21:00    Beer-Party @ De Rooie Dop (including presentation of our RBESG-beer)

Friday june 28
10:00    Leaving Utrecht (by bus)
12:00    Visit Emelisse Brewery
13:30    Leaving Emelisse
14:30    Arriving in Antwerp for a pubcrawl or a visit to the BIERPASSIE-festival
18:00    Leaving Antwerp
19:00    Beer & BBQ at De Dochter van de Korenaar (Baarle-Hertog)
22:00    Bustrip back to Utrecht

Saturday june 29
Take a train from Utrecht to Bodegraven (20 minutes)
13:30    Gathering @ Brewery De Molen (Bodegraven)
14:00    Grand Tasting, first period.
18:30    Simple diner @ De Molen Restaurant, time to visit the shop
19:30    Grand Tasting, second period.
21:45    End, catch a train back to Utrecht.

Please fill in the bottle list for the grand tasting on saturday HERE

Sunday june 30
Take a train/bus to La Trappe (Koningshoeve)
12:00    Relax and Lunch @ the beautiful La Trappe tastingroom/garden, have a look at their barrel-collection and maybe sample some old batches Oak Aged Quadrupel, Official RBESG-Farewell.
14:00    Take a bus (10 minutes) to Tilburg and visit the outdoor Beerfestival.

Visit some pubs if you want, and take a train back to Utrecht whenever you want.

Monday july 1
Not a part of the RBESG, but if there are enough people, we can organise a trip to De Heeren van Liedekercke (lunch and share some of those special Geuzes), some nice bars around Brussels and Brussels towncentre.

Financial estimation

We have no sponsors, so there are expected costs for:

Dinner on Thursday:  € 25 each
Bus on Friday: € 50 each (with 20 persons)
Lunch on Friday: € 5 (to go) or € 15 (eat in)
BBQ on Friday: € ??
Dinner/buffet on Saturday: € ??

On Saturday and Sunday you pay your own trainticket (timetables will follow). Beers or food that you order at pubs or breweries is at your own costs.

Exclusive beer for the RBESG ’13

We’re still in the negotiating fase, but we’re pretty sure to say that there’s going to be a RBESG beer! Dutch microbrewery Berghoeve will make the beer for us. More details later!

European Summer Gathering 2013

This years RateBeer’s European Summer Gathering will be held in the Netherlands, with some interesting trips to Belgium. Utrecht will be our base-camp.  It’s in the middle of the Netherland, is easy accesible by car and train (30 minutes from Schiphol Airport), has a nice towncentre, enough hotels and a good beerscene. We hope to welcome a nice group of Rateberians and have a great weekend with brewery-visits, pubcrawls, a grand tasting, a lot of beers but most of all: a lot of fun!

We are working hard on a programme, but here’s a first impression (nothing sure yet):

Thursday june 27: Welcome in Utrecht

Late afternoon: drinks and (beer)diner in Utrecht

Evening: beerparty hosted by Rooie Dop

Friday june 28: Crossing Borders

A bus-trip to the NL/BE border area, including brewery-visits and a pubcrawl in Antwerp with our Belgian friends. Ending at a small brewery for beer and BBQ.

Saturday june 29: Grand Tasting

Take your time in the morning, sleep a bit longer or explore Utrecht. In the afternoon and evening it’s time for the Grand Tasting, an insane bottle-sharing experience, probably held at De Molen brewery. This is just a 20 minutes long trainride from Utrecht.

Sunday june 30: Lazy afternoon

No Sunday service, but lunch in sacred suroundings. With some beers ofcourse. After that we’ll visit the small but cosy outdoor beerfestival in Tilburg.

Monday july 1: for the die-hards and sour heads.

For those who want to stay a bit longer, we can arrange a bus trip to Belgium. What about lunch at De Heeren van Liedekercke, visiting some of those small pubs in Pajottenland or/and have a look at Cantillon? Nothing has been arranged yet, but depends on how many people are interested. If you want you can stay in Brussel and expand your holiday.

This is just a first impression of our plans. Details will follow soon and things can change. But the dates are set and Utrecht is sure.

A form to subscribe to each day and a inventory list for the Grand Tasting will follow soon.

Website online!

To keep all information and news about the Ratebeer European Summer Gathering 2013 in one spot (and because the Ratebeer Forumsare not very organised), we’ve decided to launch this simple blog. Right now we’re working on planning trips and filling this website, so there isn’t a lot of information on here yet. Make sure to come back soon to receive more info about RBESG ’13 – Crossing Borders!