Happy New Year!

Another year comes to an end. Much to be happy about in our household however. Our Daughter is in Belgium visiting from the US for almost two weeks, which is providing me with some much needed family time. She is also doing really well at University which is all any parent can ask for. Our new life in Belgium has settled in and we are now through all of the associated immigration issues. And the new job seems to be going really well and is very interesting. So all in all, much to be thankful for.

So in a celebratory mood, I purchased a Deus, Brut des Flanders. Bottled in a champagne bottle, this is really a very interesting and festive beer. It is a very pale golden color with a fine head. As you approach the glass there is a distinct spicy scent with clove and ginger. The flavor is very complex with notes of spice and citrus. At 11.5% this is a very strong beer, but it does not drink like one. The flavor is crisp and clean and does not have the heavy alcohol bite one would expect from a beer at this level. Not a beer for every day, but it is festive and a good choice for New Years Eve. 4 Drunk Monks!

De Verboden Vrucht

Posts have been a bit absent the last few days due to a combination of the holidays and an upper respiratory infection that left me unable to taste anything I put in my face. My daughter is in Brussels for about 10 days visiting on break from university and I tried to get her to guest blog about her St. Louis Framboise this evening, but no dice. So you are left with what I could pull together this evening.

After a full day of showing her the sights, including the Christmas Spectacular and light show in the Grand Place, we all decided we were too tired to try to find a restaurant. We took the tram home and ordered some pizza from our awesome local pizza joint and I cracked open a Verboden Vrucht. This beer is brewed by Hoegaarden, but is closer to a Bruin than the very light pale hoegaarden standard. The beer itself is a cloudy brown color. There is a nice balance of spice and sweet with a bit of hoppy bitterness. Honestly, if it were truly Verboden, I dont think it would be a problem for me. It is fine. Not inspiring, but not bad. Very middle of the road. 3 Drunk Monks.

Cuvee des Trolls

What could be more Christmassy than Trolls?...Except maybe Elves and Mr Hankey? I have no idea.

Picked up some Cuvee des Trolls the other day. This beer is brewed by Dubuisson which brews up the Bush Beers. The website is a must see:
http://www.cuveedestrolls.com/



This is a really interesting beer. Very light golden color and quite clear, which due to bottle fermentation is a rarity in these parts. The flavor is similarly light and quite fruity. They use dried orange peels in the mix and while I dont usually approve of that sort of behavior, in this case it works. This will be a really good beer for the summer time. Crisp, light, and tiny 25cl bottles so it wont get warm. 3 and a half Drunk Monks!

Snow

We had another bit of weather here in Belgium. About 4 inches of wet snow came in over night. Of course this meant that I could not go to work. My garage box (more on that in a moment) is at the back end of a parking area with a reasonably steep incline up to the street. The real issue that this presents is that in order to get to the parking area, you have to thread your car through a small passage in the building. I literally have about 10 inches on either side of my mirrors on the BMW 520. So with the combination of the parking area being an ice skating rink from the snow and the tight opening not allowing anything larger than a car back, I was stuck. Everyone here takes this all pretty much in stride however, so we figured that this was the appropriate reaction. Do as the locals do.

The garage box is an interesting thing. First off, I have a decent walk from my house to the garage box. Not too long, but certainly worth noting when raining. And it does that often. I think garage box is a good term for what it is in that it is not really a garage and pretty close to a box. It has enough room for a small car. My Citroen C3 rental fit in it, barely. The 520 is hopeless. I have to bias to one side so that I can get out of the car and I cannot close the garage because the car is too long by about 18 inches.

By 2:00 lots of digging and copious applications of salt let us get out. We attempted to get snow tires put on the car but unfortunately, the tire place was sold out. The dealer was nice about the whole thing. His comment was, "I do not think you will see snow tires this winter. Maybe next???" Not the most poitive outcome but about what we expected. What Belgium really needs is a tire warehouse.

All was not lost however. There was a carpet place next to the tire shop that She who must be obeyed has been talking about going to. So with the afternoon not being spent on the car, we bought an area rug for our living room. The wife is happy and it covers up some of the 200 years of wear on our floors.

The beverage of the evening was a nice La Chouffe Blonde. At 8% it is a reasonably strong ale, but not out of control. Very nice cloudy amber color with a good balance of hops and yeasty goodness. Quite easy to drink and excellent with a spicy pasta with a pork and beef ragout. 4 Drunk Monks!

Vin Chaud & Hanging with the Multitudes

Christmas is obviously a big deal in Belgium. Most companies, mine included, shut down completely between Christmas and New Years and throughout December there are festivals, Christmas Markets and a variety of other things to offset the intense Seasonal Affective Disorder that you would likely incur from the generally gray and damp weather. This is not the gray and intense cold of my childhood in New Hampshire. That sort of soul crushing weather is peculiar to the Granite State. But it is still cold, gray and wet.

Last evening we went into Brussels center for a little holiday cheer. Brussels has the largest Christmas market in the area that they bill as Winter Wonderland. There is a large Christmas tree in the Grand Place and they do a light show projected onto the City Hall. Througout the evening they also have different types of performances like opera singers and other festive activities. One of the things that strikes me as an American is the lack of product placement. The whole thing is sponsored by Electrabel and yet the only sign of them was a small scroll at the end of the light show that lasted for all of 4 seconds. In the US they would have had the Electrabel singers along with every manner of promotional gimic known to man. Obviously they are missing a commercial opportunity.

The Christmas market itself was covered in an earlier post, so I don't need to cover old ground but it takes on a different sort of charachter with the wall to wall crowds that converge there on a Saturday night. Moving in and around the area was periodically challenging. I am not a big fan of close crowd situations but sometimes you just have to grit your teeth and bear it. That being said, in an environment like that, I cannot understand why people with small children would try to push strollers through the masses of people. Pushing your beloved child through a sea of hostile legs seems a recipe for disaster and clearly from the looks on some of the kids faces, I am not wrong.

The plan yesterday was to arrive in the late afternoon and sample a few of the delicacies at the Christmas market, then find a warm place for happy hour and then a late leisurely dinner. After wandering for an hour or so we stopped at the Tartiflette stand (potato, ham, gooey cheese) along with deux Vin Chaud. I have to say, there is something quite festive about drinking mulled wine while knoshing on a cardiologist's nightmare using a barrel as your diner table. As the evening went on, we made the usual trek over to see if Mannekin Pis was wearing one of his outfits. Turned out to be a wasted trip because he was completely unrobed. We found a nice little Bistro to get out of the cold and enjoyed a couple of other seasonal treats. Following our appetizers we ventured back out into the snow and cold to meander some more and look for a nice place for dinner. We found it in the fish market. She who must be obeyed had probably the best steak we have seen since being in Belgium and I got the moules. Stuffed to the gills we trammed it back home feeling remarkably festive. Cant wait until our Sun Devil joins us for the holiday so we can share all of this with her.

X-mas Shopping when you are functionally illiterate

My schedule has had me hopping for the last month, so true to form, I have been neglecting my shopping duties. Fortunately, She who must be obeyed, is blissfully unemployed and has taken up much of the gift giving slack, including (and this is huge) getting all of the Christmas cards in the mail. In the past this has been a divided effort but this year, she stepped up and took care of them all earning my eternal grattitude. The one person I will not allow her to shop for however is her. (Even though she offered to). So for the last couple of days I have been trying to find suitable gifts for my bride. This would be simple if painful in the US. Go to the largest mall. Identify the must have items according to herd mentality and purchase away. Unfortunately, not so easy in Belgium. For one, the crass commercialism is at a pretty low level. Add to that all the stores are closed by 7PM, which leaves very little time after getting out of work and you begin to see the problem. Even more challenging is that all of the products are in Dutch or French which for me, while progressing, still represents an interpretive hurdle. So with that I went out this morning in search of the perfect gifts. As she reads this blog, I wont bore you with the details but I found three things that I think she will like and a couple of stocking stuffers. I probably need to keep at it but of course everything is closed tomorrow being Sunday and I work until Christmas eve. Wish me luck.

Proving that she is a better person than I, She who must be obeyed brought home a Straffe Hendrik. This is a beer from the De Halve Maan brewery in Bruges. They have a nice website, so I will let them give you the background:

Straffe Hendrik is a Bitter Tripel Ale of 9% abv. The beer was originally from Bruges and brewed in Bruges by brewery De Halve Maan.
In 1981, Henri Maes and his daughter Véronique followed the demand of the mayor and created a strong blond beer for the inaugration of the statue of Sint-Arnoldus, the saint of all beer-brewers. However, the beer became so popular, that the demand fot the beer continued. It was given the name of Straffe Hendrik (Strong Hendrick), since it was a rich and strong beer.
Today, Straffe Hendrik is the last authentic Tripel Ale of Bruges.

This is a really nice Tripel Ale. The bitterness of the hops is more pronounced than in many tripels and there are many layers of flavor here. It is both full and crisp at the same time. If it wasnt so hard to find, this could easily find a home in the regular rotation. Really an excellent bier. 4 Drunk Monks!!

'Tis the Season

"Tis the Season"...Apparently for mediocre beer. I have had the opportunity to try two Christmas Beers recently. The St. Feulien Cuvee de Noel and the Leffe Biere de Noel or Kerstbier (depending on where you live). Short story, neither is that bad but nor are they that good.

St. Feu First. It is a very pretty beer. Not much of a head on the pout but the color is gorgeous. A rich red amber. It is a little sweet on the palate and I have already discussed my feelings on that. there is a hoppy bite and it is generally pleasant but very one dimensional. I assume that they do not want to put out their best beer for the season, so Job Well Done.



The Leffe is about the same really. Not quite as pretty. Not quite as tasty. But not far off.

Both rate 2.5 Drunk Monks. If you want a good Belgian Beer for the holidays. Buy the Chimay Bleu.

Back in the US

Back in the US for business this week. Duty calls, so I am freezing in Philadelphia. Arrived late last night after the long flight. Grabbed a quick bite in the bar and ordered a Victory Hop Devil. True to its name, it was hoppy. Like drinking some astringent shrubbery. Not a big fan of super hoppy beers. I like a good IPA, particualrly when it is hot, but these hopped up beers I really dont understand. They are not balanced and not pleasant to drink. You expect to find bits of vegetation in your teeth when you are done.

Tonight I get to go out with a couple of great friends. I will not be ordering a Victory Hop Devil. Thinking I may have to go with something from Kentucky, preferably over a little ice.

Evening at Den Engel

Long week and about to get longer. She who must be obeyed and I decided that it called for an evening at our favorite local pub. It is really a great place. A very limited menu but the atmosphere is really fun. Friendly and entertaining barkeep. Old Europe style with brick floors and lots of locals bringing their dogs in for a pint and a snack. Tonight was steak frites with Bernaise and a visit from a very inquisitive Boxer looking for a free snack.

With my steak I ordered an Achel 8. The Achel is a Bruin with a substantial, lacey head but unlike a lot of Bruin's was very balanced in flavor. It was not as sweet as many of this style. The first flavor that hits you is almost a savory baked apple with a good hoppy bite. It was a really good complement to the richness of the steak with bernaise. I am guessing that it will become a fairly regular participant in the rotation when we go here. I give it 4 drunk monks!

Starting to feel like winter

Awoke this morning to a light dusting of snow. It was really very scenic on the cobblestones. We used the opportunity to go into Brussels center to visit the Winter Market. Hundreds of small kiosks set up with small gifts, food and chaude adult beverages. We enjoyed the Boudin blanc sandwich with onions. Unfortunately, I am still trying to get over the cold that I caught in the US and so our usual forced march was a little more than I was up for. So we returned home to watch College Gameday on ESPN America. So the afternoon was not a total loss. Actually, this 6 hour time delay works out in many respects. I cant always see the games that I want, but She who must be obeyed doesnt get nearly as irritated as football doesnt really get going until 7PM. Which bring us to a new beer.




Gribousine Blonde de Malonne is a beer that my wife picked up while I was away in the US. As the name suggests, it is a Blonde Ale with a very golden color. It pours out with a small creamy head. The aromas are very yeasty although I had a hard time smelling it over the garlic that was on my wife's hands. The taste is fruity and herbal with a slight hint of garlic (obviously from my wife's pour). Quite a nice beverage that will likely go really well with the garlic bread tonight.

three and a half drunk monks.

Are those angels singing???

I was prepared to be dissappointed. Something as overly hyped as Westvleteren 12 cant be as good as they say, right? But it is Thanksgiving so I thought I would crack it open. And the result is, it's pretty damn good. I had the Westlvleteren 8 previously at the Belgian beer festival and enjoyed that immensely. It is the standard by which I have been judging all the others. The 12 is more complex. It pours a dark brown with a very small head. The taste is nutty and chocolatey with an really interesting mix of bitter with the sweet of the caramel malt. It is far too rich to drink much of. It is really a lot like a desert wine. Rich, sweet, complex. A good finish to a nice meal. Wish I had been able to enjoy a Thanksgiving dinner prior to enjoying it, but turkey's are scarce in these parts. Even still, it is a beer worth being thankful for.

5 Drunk Monks!!!

Long time No Blog

Just got back to Belgium. Jet-lagged after 10 days in the US that had me hitting Chicago, Boston, San Francisco, Frederick (MD) and Philadelphia. When I traveled a lot, these time changes didnt hit me as hard but I am really feeling it this time around. Add to that, I caught a cold and my ears keep popping. Whilst I was gone however, She who must be obeyed, was busy shopping. Including scoring a Westvleteren 12 which I will review when I am feeling a little more human.

Kwak

OK, So I really wanted to hate this beer. The stupid beer glass and holder. It seems like the originators all got hammered and decided on a glass design that made you look drunk even when you were sober. I think it was an act of aggression and not creativity. It is generally accepted, that most of the people who drink this beer in Belgium are tourists. But...they sell it in the grocery. And you see people buying it. Hmmmm. Must be something else going on here. And there is. Kwak has a bit of residual sweetness, a fairly nice yeasty flavor and a surprising complexity. The color is a medium amber and quite clear. Overall, it is not a bad beer. Solid. Three drunk monks.

Sightseeing on a Damp Saturday

Woke up to a rather moist Saturday morning. After the last few weekends of errands and residency issues, we decided to take a sightseeing trip to Namur. Namur is a centrally located city about 40 minutes from Brussels. One of the things that strike me about Belgium is how compact it is. In two hours of driving, you can hit three countries and three different linguistic regions. We weren't that ambitious today however, so we only crossed two linguistic zones and drove 30 minutes.



We arrived in Namur in about 30 minutes and quickly found some on street parking. 3 euro for 4 hours! Bargain. We wandered about for a little while trying to orient ourselves and wound up finding a large Saturday Market. One of the great things about Belgium are the markets. Our town has one every Friday but it was much smaller than this one. They had everything from Bolts of fabric to whole pigs heads. (MMMMM Pigs Head). The smell of these markets is amazing because the stalls alternate between raw veggies and meats to cooked meals ready to go. There is everything you could imagine and probably a few things that you cant. My favorites are always the butcher carts and Charcuterie. Really an amazing quantity and quality of food. Currently it is the Chasse, which is game season, so in addition to the usual cow, pig, horse, duck, chicken selection, there is also a whole variety of game birds, wild boar and venison.



After the market, we decided to not scale the Citadel of Namur due to the rainy conditions and amount of leaves on the trail. We will save that for a spring trip out to Namur. It looks very impressive however, so we will definitely be back in better weather. We grabbed a leisurely lunch of steak frites and killed the rest of the afternoon enjoying the old city.

On the way home we stopped at the grocery to buy meals for the rest of the weekend. While there we purchased a Watou Tripel. This beer is lower in alcohol than many of the tripels that I have had at just 7.7%. It pours a nice amber color with a bit of cloudiness. In many ways it is very similar to the Leffe Tripel. Creamy mouthfeel, nice hop flavor and crisp finish. For me, the lower alcohol level is the key for this beer. It is a good balanced beer. It is not overly complex, but not bad at all. Two and a half drunk monks.

St Feullien Saison & La Guillotine

Last Friday, my wife took the trip into Brussels to scope out what was going on for activities. The Brussels websites all seem to be a bit of a mixed bag, so the best way to find out if there is anything going on is to go and find out. During her scouting mission, she was kind enough to stop by the Beer Temple and picked up a couple of new beers for me to try.

La Guillotine is one of Hyughe beers. A brewery familiar to anyone who has seen the Delirium Trmens pink elephant bottles. La Guillotine would probably qualify as a Belgian Strong beer at more than 9%. This is one I would definitely recommend. There is a nice hoppy herbalness to it that makes it crisp and refreshing. Four drunk monks.

St. Feullien Saison is a farmhouse ale with pronounced spicyness and hoppy flavors. I really like this style. It reminds me of some of the craft brews through the Pacific Northwest. The is clearly among the best beers I have had so far. Four and a half drunk monks.

My wife didn't find anything for us to do in Brussels, but the trip was not a bust as she brought back two excellent beers to try.

Kasteel Bruin

Catching up on some beer reviews.

From my first sip of Kasteel Bruin, I regretted buying the 4 pack. These things are a sugar bomb. Waaaay too sweet. Bruins generally are sweeter but in this case the overwhelming caramel malt flavor was just overpowering and at 11 percent the alcohol bite was pretty harsh as well. There are many better examples of the style. One and a half drunk monks.

The Food is Better. It Really Is.

Food is better here. I am not saying that great food is not available in the US. Of course it is. There are great restaurants and artisanal producers of extremely fine food products throughout the US. But as whole, the quality of the food here is better. In our home in the suburbs of Washington DC, we had to drive an hour to find anything approximating fresh fish. We had Hedgeapple farms (http://hedgeapplefarm.com/) close by with their wonderful grass fed beef. But you had pay for that level of quality. It could not be an every day thing. The local groceries stores were at best uninspiring and at worst had food that was obviously past its prime. It is different here. Even the small Carrefour expresses that are everywhere in the Brussels area have a small variety of high quality food. If you are willing to take some time however, you can find amazing quality produce, meat and fish at various local butcher shops, produce shops and bakeries. We are willing to sacrifice quality for convenience in the US in a way that is simply unacceptable here. This goes for the restaurants as well. In the town we live in, there are several small pubs and tea rooms with simple, but very high quality food. What we do not have is a Mc Donalds or any other fast food chain. Every restaurant is a sole proprietorship and it shows. And I am not even going to mention the fries. (It’s true, they are better. They are fried in animal fat, which is always a good thing.)

I do miss some things about US food already however. First and foremost, is good Mexican food. There are a few “Mexican” restaurants here. Chi Chi’s being notable for their footprint in Brussels. Short story, it is not Mexican. Not even close. I also miss good Bar B Que. Something I hope to correct as soon as the weather starts to warm up. I also miss bourbon. You can get Jack Daniels here, but that is about it. And as they will tell you, Jack is Tennessee whiskey and not bourbon.

I am sure that as the shine wears off, we will start to see the flaws and begin to have issues. But I have to say, the difference in the food is really striking when you live here. When traveling through an area as I have for the last 15 years, you eat in restaurants or food stands. You do not shop and your experience is not typical. Live in a place, shop in their stores and eat where the locals eat and your experience is different. In our case, it is better.

Mort Subite Framboise

Today did not wind up as we had originally planned. I have never really trusted weather forecasts, but in Belgium, there is even less of a reason to believe them. The original plan for today was for a day trip to either Namur or Antwerp for an afternoon of sightseeing. The forecasters were predicting a beautiful, crisp afternoon, so it seemed like a good plan. Of course, when we woke up, it was raining. Hard. So we opted for plan B. First order of business, was shopping for food. It is a three day weekend, this week. Monday is All Saints day. So shopping must be done. Everything except a few small package stores will be closed until Tuesday. Errands completed, we spent the afternoon building a wardrobe from IKEA. Here in Belgium, very few homes have built in closets. Ours, amazingly has them in our bedroom, but this does not compare to the walk in that we enjoyed in the US. So, for extra space we needed the wardrobe. Predictably, about an hour into building the wardrobe, the weather cleared and the beautiful afternoon arrived. Too late now though to stop, we pushed through with only a few expletives and tears. Wardrobe mostly completed, we broke around 4, to enjoy an afternoon stroll through the square. The square has been taken over by a small carnival with the typical assortment of games, rides and food venders you see at similar carnivals in the US. There are two main differences that I can see as compared to the US variety. Soft core airbrush work on the sides of some of the rides and escargot. Both make sense in the context of Europe. I do find it interesting though that there are only three food vendors and two of them would serve escargot. Not that I am complaining. I happen to like snails. I just think it is an interesting choice juxtaposed against the hamburgers and hot dogs also available. One thing that we could definitely learn from in the US is the placement of the carnival. By putting it in the middle of the square, it was possible for parents to get a table at the local public house, enjoy one or several adult beverages while their spawn spin on the merry go round.

Following our walk, I was a desiring a refreshing beverage myself. Not usually being a fan of fruity beers, I have not logged any time with the many fruit based options here in Belgium. I thought today would be a good time to expand my horizons a bit and was quite surprised with the outcome. I cracked open a Mort Subite Xtreme Framboise. Mort Subite means sudden death and it takes its name from the bar in Brussels called A la Mort Subite which was not far from our former apartment.. As I opened the bottle, I was hit with a strong scent of raspberry. I was prepared for the sourness that lambics are known for but was pleased with that firs sip. Very crisp, somewhat sour but actually quite refreshing. I can easily see sipping one of these on a hot afternoon. The sourness is definitely there, but it is really well balanced. The color is strikingly red and clear with a pinkish foam. Not the most butch beverage in the world, but I don’t care what you may think. Overall pretty tasty. I give it two and a half drunk monks.

St. Feuillien Triple

Herbal. That is the first thing that runs through my mind when I taste this Abbey beer. Hops are very pronounced but in a very floral way. There is also a spicy note that runs through. The beer itself is a nice amber color with a little murkiness and a creamy mouthfeel. The fact that their website has two recipes including sweetbreads and one with freshwater eel makes me like this beer even more.

World Beer Awards

Six Belgian beers win international award.

Six Belgian beers took home awards at the World Beer Awards, an annual international competition. More than 500 beers from 27 countries took part in the competition.
The winning Belgian beers were:

A. In the World’s Best Styles category:
Saint-Feuillien blonde (Saint-Feuillien brewery), World's Best Pale Ale-Abbey/Trappist;
Gouden Carolus Classic (Het Anker brewery), World's Best Dark Ale-Abbey/Trappist;
Rodenbach Grand Cru (Palm brewery), World’s Best Dark Ale - Flavoured.
B. In the Regional Best Styles category:
The jury also ranked the best beers per continent. In addition to the three winning beers above, the following also scored:
Houblon Chouffe (Achouffe brewery), Europe’s Best Pale Ale - Imperial IPA;
Urthel Saisonnière (De Leyerth brewery), Europe’s Best Seasonal Pale Ale;
Floris Kriek (Huyghe brewery), Europe's Best Fruit Wheat Beer.

Courtesy of the Belgian Embassy Website.

www.tastingbeers.com/awards/wba/2010/

Mc Chouffe

Mc Chouffe is a bruin from Brasserie La Chouffe. These guys definitely have a sense of humor. They had a tent at the Brussels Beer Festival and were selling gnome hats which were vying for the most popular headgear with the Delerium Tremens pink elephant hats. Mc Chouffe is a very malty bruin with some sweet raisin background. Very dark brown with a lacy foam. Overall a solid beer that will complement this evening's carnitas well.

Recycling

One of the first things you have to learn when you move to Belgium is how to empty the trash. This is not as straightforward as it sounds but very important if you are enjoying the locally crafted brews. When we lived in Maryland, we had the benefit of single stream recycling and twice weekly trash service. In Belgium, things are a little different. First, you have to figure out what bag scheme your commune uses. Yes, that is correct, the communities are called communes. In Brussels, garbage was white, plastic was blue and paper was yellow. Bottles had to be carried to the nearest green bin, of which there were very few, at least in our old neighborhood. (Fortunately for me, my wife always did it.) In our new commune, garbage is brown, Plastic is still blue but paper goes in boxes and you still have to carry your bottles to a glass-recycling bin. The bin is thankfully a nice short (10 minutes) walk from the house. (Again, my wife usually takes care of it here too.) The bags are sold at any of the local stores, but you do have to use the locally approved variety. The blue bags for plastic that worked in the Brussels Capital Region do not work in our current commune in Flanders. If you screw any of this up, your garbage will be left behind for you to correct. Lastly, you have to request a recycling schedule from your commune to figure out what days of the month are slated for which varietal of recycling. After all of this, the system actually works pretty well.

Leffe Trippel

You may ask yourself, Why would he start off the blog with a beer that you can buy in the US? But this is precisely the point. The Leffe Trippel was probably the first Belgian beer I had. Probably even before a Stella. Leffe beers are ubiquitous in the Brussels area. The Blonde is the beer that you are most likely to find on tap in the restaurants in and around the city.

The trippel is a creamy, lightly hopped 8.5% Abbaye. Is it great?... Well, no. It is good, but in the same way that a Toyota is good. It is serviceable. It wont offend anyone. And it gets you where you are going.

Against My Better Judgement

Succumbing to my narcissism, I have decided to start a blog. Primarily I intend to focus on the many wonderful beers that this country produces, but I will also try to comment on the food and some of the experiences that I am having as an American expat. I have no idea how often I will post or what I will share, but if you like Belgian beers or have nothing better to do, feel free to read on.