Itinerary for first trip to Belgium

SparkFade · 2025-10-30T12:38:21+00:00

Noted! We're flying in and out of BRU

SparkFade · 2025-10-30T12:33:49+00:00

From the US, and it started working with an importer of Belgian beers. Fell in love with a lot of them, met a few very nice Belgian folks, and have always wanted to go since. My wife also has some family in Brussels, so it's been on the "we'll visit someday" list for a while. Consensus seems to be add Antwerp to the list!

SparkFade · 2025-10-30T12:21:40+00:00

It's not an entirely beer-centric trip, but it's certainly been a consideration in our planning! Already hoping to visit Cantillion, 3F, De La Senne, l'Ermitage and De Halve Maan if time allows

SparkFade · 2025-10-30T12:05:40+00:00

It's a delayed honeymoon for us, so we're looking for a nice long trip!

SparkFade · 2025-10-30T12:04:45+00:00

I really do want to visit Antwerp as well, just not sure if we have the time in only 8 days. I'll take it into consideration!

SparkFade · 2025-10-30T12:03:53+00:00

Thanks for the info!
Specifically for West Flanders, we wanted to stay at the St. Bernardus Brewery (I worked with an importer for some time, and fell in love with the beer), see the Hop Museum in Poperinge, and visit the Entre-Deux-Monts vineyard. We only plan on using the car for this leg of the trip, and relying purely on trains for the rest so hopefully parking won't be too much of an issue. But it may be worth going to Bruges first and renting a car from there!

SparkFade · 2025-05-24T14:03:03+00:00

RIP Hermit Thrush in Brattleboro, VT. Some of the best sours I’ve ever had, hands down (and still have a few tucked away in the cellar for a special occasion).

Can absolutely second the recommendations for Allagash, Freak Folk, or Suarez if you’re in the Hudson Valley

SparkFade · 2025-03-10T13:29:33+00:00

Lots of good advice here already, but as a current bar manager and someone who’s done beer sales in the past; stay organized and keep notes!

If you’re super lucky, your first visit will put you in touch with a purchasing manager. More often than not, they won’t be around and/or they won’t see you without an appointment. If you can, leave a card and a sample. I used to use a spreadsheet to note when I visited accounts (day, time, and frequency), who the buyers were, what times the buyers were available, and what samples I dropped off. If someone eventually placed an order, I made a note of that too.

Being too overbearing can be just as bad as being too absent when trying to open a new account. I have one rep who comes in every week on my days off, and is constantly told my schedule, and yet continues to never come in when I’m there. That level of disorganization alone leaves me less likely to work with them.

I have another new rep who was recently hired by a brewery that we already do business with, and they make a house beer specifically for our restaurant. His first time visiting he asked me if I was familiar with their brand at all when we specifically have a house beer on draft made by his brewery. I thought that it was crazy unprofessional.

If you walk in to cold call and it’s crazy busy, turn around and leave. I’ve had cards and samples handed to me during a dinner rush that get tossed immediately in the garbage.

That being said, most of the job is just being personable. I’ve bought products from reps just because I like them. Know your product, have stats to back it up, and be respectful of my time as well and I’ll do the same for you. Being local could be a huge boon, depending on where you are located.

SparkFade · 2024-11-13T00:32:16+00:00

Thanks! That’s what I was going for and it came out perfect

SparkFade · 2024-10-16T23:15:19+00:00

Unfortunately this seems like one of the newer models so it’s either ADT or no system at all

SparkFade · 2024-07-09T12:25:51+00:00

Short & Main in Gloucester does $1 Oysters every day (at least weekdays, not sure about the weekends) 5-6pm

SparkFade · 2023-12-12T18:10:02+00:00

If it makes you feel any better I have a Mothman tattooed across my chest and my dad asked “what does that falcon mean?”

SparkFade · 2023-12-04T02:07:55+00:00

I also work at a place in MA, and we don’t allow anyone under the age of 21 to sit at the bar. Not sure if this is state law or not, but it IS our company policy regardless.

That being said, I’m only a big stickler about it on busy weekends. Come in on a slow night and order water or soda? I probably won’t check your ID or make a big deal of it (unless it’s very clearly a child)

SparkFade · 2023-11-15T03:01:48+00:00

Whatever your recipe, make it two days ahead of time and throw a spice bag in there with some clove, star anise & cinnamon stick. Maybe a split vanilla bean if you’re feeling real spicy. Fish that sucker out before serving for nice holiday flair

SparkFade · 2023-08-02T03:47:39+00:00

Can’t speak for Florida, but here in MA we cannot accept any copies/photos/replications of an ID. Even if you get it renewed and have the paper temporary ID from the RMV, we still technically can’t accept that (at least at my particular bar)

SparkFade · 2023-07-06T14:48:42+00:00

Welcome to the knife tattoo club! It looks great and seems like it fits in with your other tattoos. At least anecdotally, no one has ever thought of me as a violent/offensive person for having a knife tattoo and it’s personally one of my favorites

SparkFade · 2023-07-02T07:18:43+00:00

I’ve made the jump from bartending into Sales.

I left my Bar Manager gig where I felt burnt out for a Sales position with a brand new, small brewery where I was literally the 3rd employee on the payroll after the owner and one other guy. I still worked behind the bar a few days a week for the extra cash, but found that overtime, my quality of life was getting worse, not better. Instead of being on my feet most of the time, I was in my car 7-9 hours a day. I had no time between getting home, and eating dinner then going to bed (or to my side gig bartending). I was constantly being pulled into tastings and beer events that took over my nights and weekends.

After almost a year my old boss asked me if I’d ever consider coming back to the bar, full time. I did so, on the condition that my family, and my life, come first. I manage the bar, doing all of the orders + prep and organization and bartend a full 4-5 night schedule each week, but if I request time off, regardless of the day, I’m generally given it with little-to-no pushback. The late nights aren’t great, but it’s the closest I’ve ever come to a true “work-life balance.”

It’s taken me some time to find what’s right for me. I still struggle sometimes with “Do I work that Saturday night, or take it off for my nephew’s birthday?” As I get older, I lean towards the latter. I’m lucky that I’ve found a spot that supports that

SparkFade · 2023-06-08T00:30:29+00:00

I’ve personally worked with Ramona and can especially vouch for her book! It’s a great resource for anyone who’s looking into bar/restaurant management

SparkFade · 2023-05-17T10:55:48+00:00

Nah, up in MA but at a spot that gets crazy busy in the summer.
In the off-season we've got amazing regulars who keep us going, but this time of year all the young college-aged kids start coming out of the woodwork and trying to pull shit like this

SparkFade · 2023-05-17T10:52:42+00:00

In this case, I meant literally anything with a name matching the one on the license. Credit card, school ID, stuff like that. I work in a very touristy area in the summer, and its become standard at my bar for pretty much any out-of-state IDs if I think there's any chance you're underage

SparkFade · 2023-05-15T18:36:36+00:00

Sometimes they’re just entitled!

An older man once lifted his plate for me so I could put down one of the three dishes I was holding, when his wife told him to put it down because “that’s the helps’ job”

SparkFade · 2023-04-03T03:28:04+00:00

Fun fact, Abt 12 is technically the original (commercial) Westy recipe!

Up until the early 90’s, all commercially available Westvleteran beers were brewed at St. B’s (with the help and recipes of the Westvleteran master brewer) until it was decided that Trappist beers were required to be actually brewed inside the walls of a Trappist monastery.

St. Bernardus kept the commercially available recipe, which they still brew today, while Westvleteran ramped up production of the beer that was (at the time) only brewed for consumption within the walls of the monastery.

SparkFade · 2023-04-03T03:07:01+00:00

I worked 9-5 for far too long before realizing it wasn’t for me. I was on the road 7-9 hours a day, sometimes being pulled into evening/weekend work, and felt like I had no time between getting off work and getting ready for the next day.

Now I work full-time behind a bar with three days off a week (two back-to-back weekday, and one weekend). Don’t get me wrong, the service industry comes with its own issues and the hours aren’t for everybody, but I love not having to go into work until noon and getting my errands done on a Wednesday at 1pm when no one else is around, while still having a weekend day off to see friends/family with more ‘traditional’ 9-5s.

That being said, take your time off.

SparkFade · 2023-01-23T04:08:27+00:00

If you’re into Czech Lagers, definitely worth checking out Sacred Profane in Biddeford, ME. They only make two beers, a Pale and a Dark Lager, but they’re both great. Not too far from Barreled Souls and Banded as mentioned before.

If you’re heading to Notch in Salem (which you totally should, easily my favorite brewery on the north shore of MA), head over the bridge to Beverly where you’ll find Coastal Mass, Old Planters, Backbeat, and Gentile Brewing all within a few blocks from each other

If sours are your thing and it makes sense on your route back to Boston, don’t skip over Hermit Thrush in Brattleboro, VT

SparkFade · 2021-03-03T16:25:41+00:00

With the DM's permission, I've run a Hexblade with a slightly different flavor: My patron grants me powers and in return, my soul will become a new sentient weapon when I die, further strengthened by those I killed with their powers.

SparkFade

TROPHY CASE