Five Hours in Heathrow

I was in London for an overnight to facilitate a workshop the other day. Workshop went well and it was a good opportunity to meet some other members of my company. As a favor to the attendees, the organizers decided to kill the last session of the day so everyone could leave an hour early to manage the traffic caused by the Royal Wedding. My secretary, being uber-efficient, had foreseen the traffic and booked me a later flight on Brussels Air. So this left me a five hour wait in Heathrow's terminal 1 without the option of an earlier flight. My fault, I probably should have checked that there was no earlier flight before heading to the airport, but didn't think that would be possible. So I got some quality time with my computer at the airport.

While sitting in the airport Star Alliance Lounge, I heard no fewer than four American ladies "of a certain age", who said to their husbands "I wonder if we will see any Royals coming in for the Wedding?" Which I could understand if we were in the arrivals area of terminal 5 and not an airport departures lounge in terminal 1. Surprisingly, only one of their husbands told them not to be "f&$%ing stupid, why would they be in a lounge waiting for a flight if they were in for the wedding?" Here Here, sir. Well played.

All this time and stupidity works up a thirst and so I was fortunate enough to find a couple of Cask Conditioned Real Ales. The Abbott Ale was first up. The Abbott is a creamy, easy to drink beer with hints of butterscotch and barley. It is very lightly hopped and quite a departure from the Belgian strong ales I have been drinking predominantly since moving to Europe. I like cask conditioned ales. The smooth mouthfeel and low carbonation are a nice change of pace. The Abbott is a tasty offering although somewhat bland. For this reason, I offer it only Three Drunk monks.

I also tried a London's Pride IPA that was also cask conditioned. This was not an IPA as we would know it in the US. There was some hop, but it was not the astringent hoppiness that have become so characteristic of the style. I found it a bit murky however. Also Three Drunk Monks

King Tut - Not So Funky

She who must be obeyed purchased tickets to the King Tut exhbit at the Brussels Expo Centre around the holidays. We were looking forward to a nice morning looking at some ancient treasures and learning why people would stand in line to see him. The drive to the expo center was predictably Belgian. As we left, She who must be obeyed commented how easy it would be to get there because it is so well marked. I replied, "it will be until we get to the last few turns and then the signs will either be hidden or dissappear". True to form, when we got within eyeshot of the Atomonium, the signage started to get a little sketchy and we almost missed the turn for parking. Fortunately, we caught it at the last second and found a convenient place to park.

We had tickets for the 11AM viewing and arrived about 10 minutes before. Smooth sailing into the exhibit, validated our parking, got the audioguide (in English!!) and entered the exhibit. The first audioguide entry stated that the entire exhibit was "replicas made in exactly the same way as the original artifacts". Huh?? Everything??? No Condo Made of Stone-a??

Nope, Condo made of architectural foam-a

I understand that the artifacts are fragile and that perhaps a full exhibit of them would not be practical or possible in our modern world, but I felt a little like I was bait and switched. Staring at artifacts that are younger than me sucked the enthusiasm that we had for the exhibit out of us. The cheesy videos didn't help either.

Fortunately it was a beautiful day today, so we collected ourselves for a nice outdoor lunch near the house. A little cheese croquette, some croque and frites and we were in a much better mood. To go with my croque, I tried a Tongerlo Prior. The first thing that made this beer a little different, it that it was served with a standard tulip glass AND a shotglass. Apparently the shotglass is for a yeast shot. You swirl that last few sips of the beer with the sedimented yeast and pour it into the shotglass. Unfortunately, I did not figure that out until I had already had the beer. Not sure I get the point, but it was kind of interesting. The Tongerlo is an interesting beer. The first sip is all sweetness and alcohol. There are hops and some fruit. After it has sit for a little bit, the sweetness starts to give way to more herbal notes. Overall a decent beer. Not a standout, but flavorful and interesting. Three and a Half Drunk Monks!!

Back to Work

Had a few days off to visit the Sun Devil and enjoy a little sun in Arizona. Returned to beautiful weather here in Brussels. While in Arizona I tried a couple of different local beers, the Four Peaks Hefeweizen and the Four Peaks Kiltlifter. Both were OK, but not inspiring. I will refrain from a formal review because this is a Belgian beer blog. The Hefe did not have the fruityness that you expect from a Hefe and the Kiltlifter seemed a littel thin but that could be just the after effects of having had too many Belgian strong ales.

Last night after work, the weather was so nice I had to log some time on the patio. She who must be obeyed has been complaining about the last two Belle-Vue Framboise that have been sitting in the fridge since the Sun Devil was here for the holidays, so I decided to eliminate the issue. I had not tried the Belle-vue before and found it to be very berry. It reminded my of the Bartle and James beverages of the late 80's. Very sweet with a bit of lambic sourness. These are really popular when the weather is nice and I can see why. Fairly light, lower in alcohol and quite refreshing. Not my cup of tea every night, but when the weather is good, not bad.

Three Drunk Monks!

Sunny Days and Three Hour Lunches

Great weekend, sun shining, trees blooming and with that the inevitable allergy related issues. Still, it is a nice change from the cold and rain and probably a good transitional period before we head off to Arizona to visit the Sun Devil.

The weather called for an outdoor table, so we found the only available spot at one of the local restaurants. It was not in the sun, but it was still outside. Apparently, most of the town had the same idea and within a few minutes the place was packed and every outdoor table across our little town square was occupied. Outdoor cafes are one of the most noticible things about Europe. In the US, every outdoor space has to be roped or fenced off to prevent the horrors that might ensue if an underage person were to taste a sip of an adult beverage. Here, whenever the weather is nice enough, the tables and chairs pour out onto the sidewalks and any available space. This creates a situation that is not as obvious but also different from the US. Belgium is not a tipping culture as I have mentioned before. Consequently, most restaurants and cafes have a limited number of waitstaff, so on days like today, they are hopping. Or not, depending upon their mood. The result today was a three hour leisurly lunch of warm chevre salad for She who must be obeyed and a Toast Cannibal (steak tare tare on a slice of toast) for me. Afterwards apple tart. Not a bad way to kill an afternoon.

With our leisurly lunch I tried the Keiser Karel Robijn Rood which is an 8.5% red ale. This is a dark red ale that looks almost like a kriek but darker. The nose is sweet and hoppy. The taste is crisp, very fruity, bannana, dried fruit and some toffee. A very nice beer, I would definitely order it again. Three and a Half Drunk Monks!!!

Fomagerie, Bucherie, Boulangerie

We went for a stroll in Brussels to enjoy the weather. At least it was a stroll by She who must be obeyed's definition. For me it felt more like a forced march. From Parc to the fish market, over to see Mannekin Pis (Dressed like dracula, WTF????), then up to Avenue Louise. She took pity on me and allowed us to take the Metro to Schuman, where we then walked down to Chez Antoine then back to the Metro for one stop. Lunch at Merode, then a walk up the hill to a great little fromagerie where we picked up our cheese course, a St. Felicien. Next door to the Bucherie to get a brochette de saucisse, then around the corner to the boulangerie. Stood in line for a few minutes only to get shut out when the dude in front of us bought all of the remaining baguettes. So we headed back home and got a great baguette from our local boulangerie.

The St. Felicien was really excellent. A raw milk cheese, you will not find it in the US thanks to the FDA. Gooey, funky and really creamy, absolutely delicious.

The brochette de saucisse was fun. How can you go wrong with a bunch of sausages on a stick cooked over glowing embers?

Pulled it all together with some stoemp.

Spring Fever

As a highly secular individual, The Masters golf tournament is the closest thing I have to religous observance each year. For me, the Master signals the beginning of Spring and the beginning of golf season. This year has wound up a little different. Every year for the last ten I would manage to watch all four rounds of The Masters, either in tape delay or on line. I was all set to do the same this year. I had assumed, incorrectly, that I would be able to watch the first two rounds live on line as I have the last few years. When I logged into the Master website however, it said that the video stream was not available in my area. I then spent the next two hours trying to update my ipad so that I could download the Master App. Unfortunately, in Europe it only offers highlights and clips not the live streaming of the US version. As of this writing, it appears that I might get some live coverage over the weekend on the BBC but I am not holding my breath. As consolation however, I am able to watch the REd Sox Yankees home opener on ESPN America. Not only that, but it is the NESN feed with Rem Dawg, so not all is bad. Although the Red Sox could start winning any time now.

So to Celebrate Beer Friday, I had a couple of St. Bernadus Abt 12 over dinner. I have to confess, that I like the St.Bernadus beers. I had not had the Abt 12 before, so when I saw it as the special for the evening, I had to give it a go. The first thing you notice with this beer is the smell. It is floral. Floral like a rose garden. Your first sip is a combination of fruity, yeasty goodness. There is a lot of complexity to this beer. The next thing you get is a strong alcohol bite with a smooth caramel/toffee finish. The mouthfeel is creamy smooth that makes you want your next sip. This is an exceptional beer, high in complexity but easy to drink. Four and a Half Drunk Monks

Sympathy for the Duvel

Things have slowed down just a hair. The in-laws who must be obeyed have returned to the US. I am down to just four presentations that I have to prepare for the next two days and I actually got home before 7PM for the first time this week. Today was the day to get home at a reasonable time. Another absolutely gorgeous Belgian Spring day. As I write this it is 8PM and it is still 70 degrees outside. She who must be obeyed suggested we do burgers on the grill to enjoy the great weather. As a bonus, she was able to make pasta salad with the Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing her mother brought over from the US. Ranch dressing is one of those things that we neglected to bring with us from the US. The things we knew we would have a hard time finding we purchased and packed immediately before leaving. Chile peppers (15 pounds of various types), Cholula sauce (regular and chipotle 6 bottles), fresh spices from Penzeys, Franks Red Hot (for wings). Sense a pattern yet? Most of the time, we have no problem buying the Belgian alternative. Some things are similar. Others are completely different, but you figure it out. There are a few things, however, that you just want the original. Ranch Dressing, Hot sauces and chile peppers among them. The food here is great, but it is generally not spicy and sometimes an American ExPat wants to bring the heat.

On the burger front, we still have to figure that one out. This is the second time we have done burgers and She who must be obeyed has purchased "Filet Americaine" both times. This is essentially ghetto steak tare tare. It looks like hamburger, but with a really low fat content. Consequently it makes a pretty dry burger. There is probably a way to get an 80/20 mix here but her Flemish is going to have to get a lot better.

Tonight I will review an old favorite, Duvel. Duvel is a beer that you can get easily in the US. It is a very clear amber color with a hoppy, fruity nose. Duvel is quite crisp with some sourness from the Belgian yeasts. It has good hop bitterness which gives way to herbal and bread flavors. The back story on the name is that according to legend, at a tasting in the village, the shoemaker Van De Wouwer said that it tasted like a real devil. So the name Duvel (devil) stuck. There are many beers here in belgium that follow in this tradition (lucifer, Satan, Etc.) I will eventually get to these but for now Duvel is alone with Four Drunk Monks!!

Sunny Belgium

An absolutely gorgeous day in Belgium today. T-shirt weather. As with any place with somewhat sketchy weather, when it is good, people are out. Today was no exception. We took the in laws who must be obeyed to Durbuy to enjoy the weather. Per usual the weather brought out the crowds. Still, it was not bad and we scored an excellent parking spot. We spent a bit of time wandering around and then headed back home to relax and spend their last day.

Whilst in Durbuy I tried a Diekirch Grand Cru. This beer is not actually Belgian but from Luxembourg. Hopefully this is not what we can expect from other beers from Luxembourg because frankly, it was not very good. I know I am becomming a hopeless beer snob, but with the competition this beer has less than 2 hours drive away, you would think it would be better. The Diekirch is very much like a pilsner but thin. A little like an Amstel light. A little hop, a little crisp but no depth, no complexity. Two Drunk Monks.