testimonials from BBM! travelers
To date, Ross has taken 13 tours with BBM!
"The fact that I have now completed 12 tours with Stu and have thoroughly enjoyed every one says all for my opinion of the quality of his tours. I will certainly treasure the memories of all the great beers that have been tasted, sites seen and the wonderful people that I have met on the tours. I would certainly recommend all of Stu’s tours to anybody who has liking for the amber ale, whether it be the lagers of Germany or the strong ales of Belgium. Thanks again Stu and I will certainly be back for more in the future."
– Ross from Queensland, Australia.
“My wife and I typically take a Rick Steves tour every year (9 so far), but decided to try something new. We discovered BBM! via a Travel with Rick Steves podcast and followed BBM! for a couple of years before taking the tour. We were looking for a unique trip and found it with the Lonely Monks Trappist Tour. I would highly recommend the tour to anybody regardless of your knowledge of Belgian beer. Our second BBM! tour was the Oktoberfest & Bamberg: Best of Bavaria Tour.”
–Steve & Paulette from Mountain View, California
"Whether you are a die-hard beer aficionado or just beginning to develop a love of fine beers, this tour is well worth the trip. Between my boyfriend and I, we were able to sample over 100 different beers on this tour and had a fantastic time doing it. The tour was a nice balance of structured activities and time to explore on your own. Stu was also great at making suggestions for beers to try based on our tastes."
– Angie & Aaron from Boston (Zythos Tour, Bruges Beer Festival Tour, and Oktoberfest & Bamberg: Best of Bavaria Tour)
"Hey Stu, just wanted to touch base and thank you for an awesome time in Belgium. It was a great trip and I now feel prepared to strike out on my own beer adventures there after having the benefit of your guidance in how things work (or don't work!) in Belgium. Many Thanks!...
Thanks again for a fantastic tour and give me a shout when you are in my neck of the woods, we should hoist a few pints together again in the future."
– Chef Rich from Seattle
"I had the pleasure of joining The Best Damn Farmhouse Ale Tour of Belgium & France with my husband and father. The tour could not have been better. Great beer, fabulous food and getting one on one time with the rock stars of artisanal brewing. Stu is a knowledgeable and enjoyable guide. I highly recommend this tour."
– Jill from St Pete Beach, Florida
Second from left on the other Abbey Road.
“I thoroughly enjoyed the Best Damn Farmhouse Ale Tour….I use this experience as an opener to so many social situations that I’ve lost count. Everybody loves beer…or loves someone that loves beer….so it is a natural segue to deep and meaningful conversations! On a slightly more serious note, our tour was great because it was small and very personal. Though Stu planned it out, there was a lot of room for adventure and serendipity. I highly recommend it and other Belgian Beer Me! tours based on Stu’s knowledge of the subject of beer, his ability to work with the group in setting the day’s agenda, and his sociable, friendly nature. No ‘beer snobbery’ here!”
– John from Marin County, California
We had a blast on the Zythos Tour. Thanks again Stu for setting up an awesome trip!! Tried lots of beers and met lots of cool people on this trip. It was fun hanging out with all of you. My only regret is that I couldn’t bring back more beer than I did.
– William & Sharon from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
"Had a wonderful time on the Ardennes Mountain Spring Beer Tour of Belgium -- beautiful scenery, great beers and nice people. Stu made sure we were well taken care of, finding unique out of way places that we would have never toured and beers we may not have discovered on our own. He eased us into this great experience from travel preparations to sending us safely on our way back home. Not that we wanted to leave -- already dreaming of our next tour!"
– Lynda & Jim from Norristown, Pennsylvania. * They also did the Christmas Beer Tour, too!
"Had such a great time on our Zythos Tour. I admit we were a bit sheepish to be travelling with so many people but each one of you was such a pleasure to meet, tour, and enjoy fantastic beer with."
– Kathy & Ryan from Hood River, Oregon. (Zythos Beer Festival Tour, Ardennes Mountain Beer Tour!, and Oktoberfest & Bamberg: Best of Bavaria Tour)
"My brothers and I had an incredible time with you beer hunting through Belgium. Thank you for setting up the private tour (Great Chicago Brothers Beer Tour of Belgium). It was an amazing experience we'll treasure for a lifetime."
– The Valdez Brothers and Eduardo, Chicago.
"Myself (L) and a brewing mate from Bendigo in central Victoria, signed up very early for the Farmhouse Ale Tour of Belgium in September, we had plenty of time to wait. The tour through west Belgium and north eastern France was even better than expectations ( which were high ). The scenery during our travels was brilliant, as were the wonderful breweries we visited. The matching of and cooking with beer was delicious. The beer and food of Belgium and France were great.
Stu has a great relationship with all the brewers we met. They were happy to answer any questions and were very knowledgeable and friendly. Stu’s knowledge of Belgium and his relaxed and friendly guidance was of great help. The beers on offer from everywhere we went, were superb and what a thrill to sample the latest Trappist beer from Mont des Cats Brewery in France , West Flanders, right on the Belgium border. Our accommodation was very comfortable with lovely breakfasts.
A brewery tour is a great way to meet interesting people from all walks of life, I would thoroughly recommend Stu’s tours to anyone."
– Andy from Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
"Our honeymoon to Belgium and France (Farmhouse Ale Tour of Belgium) in October was awesome and beyond expectation!"
– Nikki & Michael from Chicago, (Half Acre Brewing Co.).
"I’d like you to know that Susie and I had a GREAT time on the tour (Bruges Beer Festival Tour) – and I know Aaron and Angie did as well. We enjoyed all aspects of the trip and thought you did a great job. We never felt rushed but got to accomplish a great deal in a relatively short amount of time. The accommodations and meals were super and the trip was just plain fun. No wonder Aaron and Angie were so excited to get to go again!!"
– Hobie from Lancaster, Ohio
"...We both want to thank you again for doing such a good job putting this tour together and leading it. Insuring that everything runs smoothly and looks effortless takes a tremendous amount of work and a diverse skill set and you did an extraordinary job putting everything together. In the past Anne and I have always put our own trips together, and we were a little nervous about what it would be like to do a group tour. However, our fears turned out to be completely unfounded and we both agree that there is no way we could have come close to duplicating your tour on our own. We are already talking about what our next tour should be."
– John & Anne from Boston
"Okay all you beer nuts! I remember the people and the places like it was yesterday and it was AWESOME!!! He knows what he is doing. We never would have found some of the places he took us to! If you are interested in traveling to world class breweries in parts of Europe, check out his webpage. He's the best!!! Trust me!"
– Deb & Brian from Lambertville, New Jersey
Larry with Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top in Brussels during the beer tour.
"Stu, not a day goes by without thinking about our trip! (Trappist Tour) I hope to join you again sometime. Keep up the good work, changing lives, one beer tour at a time!"
– Larry from Tulsa, Oklahoma
“Thank you Stu for such an incredible trip to Belgium. We not only got to visit more breweries than we could ever have hoped to see on our own, but we really appreciated your attention to every detail regarding not only the brewery visits, but your food selections, beer recommendations and those extra special opportunities to find new experiences that weren’t necessarily planned. We loved every moment, including getting to know so many other beer explorers. We can’t wait to go on another BBM! Tour!”
- Sara & Kristi from Palm Springs, California
(Back to back - Best Damned Farmhouse Ale Tour & Lonely Monks Tour, Oct 2014 and Wild & Spontnaeous Tour '15)
Rebecca & Matt - 2015 Wild & Spontaneous Tour
"Man, that was fun! I will definitely consider another beer tour as way to get away from it all. You basically covered all of the details so that all I had to do was get on a bus. I've been on tours before, and this was my favorite by far. Not just because of the content (obviously awesome), but because of the good pace and organization. I never felt rushed or hurried (maybe a tiny tiny bit during the Toer de Geuze, but if that's not frantic you're doing it wrong), and I never felt like I was bored and pointlessly sitting on a coach. That organization and pace are the mark of an experienced guide with common sense. I feel like you made a tour that you'd enjoy, and that's pretty cool." – Matt & Rebecca from Rochester, Minn., Wild & Spontaneous Tour '15 & '17 and Farmhouse Tour May 2016.
"Everyone enjoyed the tour... I really thought you were 'hands on' and went the extra distance on many occasions. We are all beer geeks and you catered to that crowd very well. I will absolutely take another tour in the future with BBM! and highly recommend you to my friends!"
–Big Mike from Roseville, Cal., Legendary Zythos Beer Festival Tour, Best Damn Farmhouse Ale Tour & Lonely Monks Trappist Tour.
"How can I explain how much I loved my experience on the Wild & Spontaneous Tour? The words that come to mind are "incredible" and "beyond expectations." Stu is an accomplished tour guide. He sets the tone of camaraderie; our group had a lot of fun as we visited the scheduled stops including the breweries, blenderies, cafes and other destinations. Whether you are a brewing industry professional, a homebrewer or maybe you are not even a beer enthusiast, BBM! is a great way for anyone to experience everything Belgium has to offer. Getting around in an efficient and effective way is very important so that your valuable time is not wasted. With BBM!, your plans are well thought-out and you feel like a VIP with every step. It was a vacation of a lifetime and I will be joining BBM! trip again in the near future."
–Scott from Danville, Cal.
Mimi & Scott in the foreground with the Fall Ardennes Mountain Beer Tour ‘18 at Brasserie d’Achouffe. This was their second BBM! tour.
My husband Scott and I had a fantastic and memorable time on the Summer Tour 2017. We had a great group and our tour leader Marty was incredible -- very knowledgeable, very caring and inclusive and also flexible to meet everyone's needs. If you like beer at all and/or are interested in learning more about some of the very best beer in the World, I highly recommend you join one of the tours. We had such a great time that we very seriously considered taking another tour this fall. Alas, we just could not make it all happen (life got in the way), but we hope to be on another Belgian Beer Me tour very soon! LOVED EVERY SECOND!--Mimi from Chicago
That's Doug with the beard and brown shirt top right, down a little.
"Exceeded my expectations by a mile. You never know what something new is going to be. Are there a bunch of drunks with one brewery/bar after another? Will there be time to do our own thing? How is it all going to play out? BBM! has this down to a science. No drunks, just nice people. No trudging from one beer to another. Plenty of time to see and do things separate from the trip. Stu is a font of knowledge on the beers, but also the areas where we are staying. Bike trip...no problem. Taxi instructions to a off the beaten path location?...no problem. Willing to help other travelers. No skimping at breweries, festivals or dinners. An amazing trip. Can't wait to do it again."--Doug McNiven, Edmond, Oklahoma, Legendary Zythos Beer Festival Tour.
"It's always great to think about the beers you had in certain places with certain people. I was just listening to a Harvard study podcast and everyone they interviewed, who were in their 80s, remembered their relationships, and the times they had with good friends and family. It wasn't so much the material things they had or their financial achievements. You're single handedly creating lasting friendships and memories through your profession. Thank you, Stu!"—John Nelson, San Diego. Lonely Monks Trappist Tour. * Editors Note: John brought his three sons on this tour. It was gratifying to see them bond as adults with a common interest and create lasting memories as a family. Since then he and his son, Hunter, have gone on two more tours.
The benefits were and are immense--the people, the sights, the meals, the beers, the bicycling, the memories, the total immersive experience... This past week marked another fabulous tour with Stu and Belgian Beer Me! Beer Tours of Belgium: the Farmhouse Ale tour. I’ve also done the Belgian Family Brewers Tour, the Ardennes tour, the Christmas Beer Festival & Winter Markets Tour...and they've been mind-expanding, to say the least. Some would call these "bucket list" experiences, and I'd agree. The first time I went with Stu Stuart, he cautioned me to be prepared to bring some beers back. I recklessly dismissed the advice--how different could the ales be in Belgium that never come to the U.S.? I traveled with a backpack, but ended up buying a suitcase as a result.Those beers are long gone, but I was able to bring back some extraordinary favorites. Thank you Stu, for planning and leading another amazing, wonderful experience. —Phil Ardanuy, Silver Spring, Maryland.
Anne & Paul enjoying vintage Bush Noël at Brasserie Dubuisson.
“Thank you, Stu, for another great tour. We really enjoyed the Christmas Beer Festival & Markets Tour of Belgium. You outdid yourself! All of your hard work and established relationships really paid off for us. Some of the very special highlights were the vertical tasting of Bush Noël at Brasserie Dubuisson and the tour of Dada Chapel Distillery, with the Master Distiller, Cedric, mixing drinks for us. Just when we thought it couldn’t get better, we were treated to our own private room looking out over the Christmas Beer Festival in Essen, where we were able to sample more than our share of the 230 Christmas beers on display. Prost to you and all our fellow travelers!” — Paul & Anne, Alpharreta, Georgia
"The Legendary Zythos Beer Festival Tour was truly one of my best beer travel experiences. (Yes, you can quote me on that)."–Tom Dalldorf, Publisher & Editor of Celebrator Beer News, Nevada City, California.
Former Brewmaster Willy Contreras of Brewery Contreras passed in Oct., 2020. Tom (L), had featured him on the cover of CBN in 2015 after meeting him on the Zythos Tour.
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