After what was deemed a miserable year by most, 2016 limped towards its conclusion – I hoped most of you celebrated the end of things with a nice beer – 2017 is now here. With things beginning anew its time to look ahead rather than lament the past and 2017 promises be a tremendous year for those wanting to combine their love of beer and travel.

Kicking off things at the beginning of February is the Bruges Beer Festival which is celebrating its 10^th anniversary this year. To celebrate, it will be returning to its spiritual home of the Belfort, smack dab in the centre of the historic old town, so it’s a chance to soak in some fine scenery or restage some of the hilarious dialogue from the film In Bruges…although maybe not with random strangers. The Flanders region of Belgium will also play host to several other fabulous festivals such Leuven’s Zythos Beer Festival in April; Beer Passion in Antwerp and the Belgian Beer Weekend in Brussels.

Jumping over to Germany. You can celebrate the end of the winter with the Starkbierzeit (Strong Beer Season). Which is the festival where the new beer barrels for the year are opened for the first time. It’s a little lower key than the ubiquitous Oktoberfest but if you fancy avoiding the madness its well worth checking out. If you want something more cosmopolitan ten Berlin holds the International Beer Festival on the historic Karl Marx Allee in the hot weather of high summer.

Elsewhere Prague’s Czech Beer Festival in May is one of the biggest beer festivals on the continent and in one of its most beautiful cities. Amsterdam, with its own answer to Oktoberfest, plays host to the biggest beer festival in the Netherlands, PINT Bokbierfestival, attracting over 12,000 visitors last year. However, if you decide you want something with more agreeable weather and beaches, then try the Barcelona Beer Festival, taking place in late March offering some sunnier climes in contrast to the usually wet British Springtime.

Stuttgart Volksfest

Don’t forget though, we have a few festivals here in the UK too. Chief among them is the Great British Beer Festival in London taking place in August. Its not the Bake Off, but you never know, Mel, Sue and Mary might be there. I hear they have a lot more free time on their hands these days…

Beer Junkets: 2017 Festival calendar

February – Bruges Beer Festival (Bruges, 4^th- 5^th)

March – Starkbierzeit (Munich, 10^th – 26^th); Barcelona Beer Festival (Barcelona, 24^th-26^th March)

April – Zythos Beer Festival (Leuven, 22^nd – 23^rd)

May – Czech Beer Festival (Prague, TBA)

June – Beer Passion (Antwerp, 23^rd – 25^th)

August – International Beer Festival (Berlin, 4^th – 6^th); Great British Beer Festival (London, 8^th – 12^th)

September – Oktoberfest (Munich, 16/9 – 3/10); Volksfest (Stuttgart, 22/9 – 8/10); Belgian Beer Weekend (Brussels, TBA)

October – PINT Bokbierfestival (Amsterdam, TBA); Oktoberfest (Munich, 16/9 – 3/10); Volksfest (Stuttgart, 22/9 – 8/10)

December – Christmas Beer Festival (Essen, TBA)