They Eat Horses, Don't They.

Today at lunch I was eating with two of my German colleagues. We all are new to Belgium and are in the same group so we generally have a lot to talk about. Today, one of them got the "Jockey Salad". Essentially a meat patty with a fried egg on top surrounded by some greens. I quipped that I was going to get that but figured with a name like Jockey salad, the meat was probably horse. To which my friend replied, "Could be" as he continued eating.

The fact is, there is quite a bit of horse meat around here and many people do enjoy it. She who must be obeyed made learning cheval and parden a priority so she didn't bring home Trigger or order it in a restaurant. The horse comment got us talking about the fact that much of the horsemeat in Europe comes from the US, which can be seen here http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=6478115. I am not sure how I feel about the whole thing. Conceptually, I don't have a problem eating horse, but I do have an issue if it is not treated humanely. I would have the same issue about any other species though. That being said, there are enough protein alternative here that I probably won't be bringing home seabiscuit for dinner any time soon.

In terms of dinner, I am glad I had a full dinner before trying the Straffe Hendrik Bruge Quadrupel. Similar in style to the Quadrium I reviewed previously, this is not a beer for an empty stomach. At 11% it is high in alcohol and you do taste all of it. The flavor is sweet caramel malt with that strong alcohol bite. Frankly, I prefer the Urthel, but this is not a bad beer. Straffe Hendrik is brewed in the center of Bruges. When She who must be obeyed and I were there in the Spring, they were getting a delivery of barley. I wish we had taken a picture of that because the tractor trailer delivering the barley was wedged into this tiny courtyard where the brewery sits. Having had a hard enough time driving my 520 in that town, I have the utmost respect for anyone that can snake a vehicle that big through those streets. Overall this is a good beer. A little too much alcohol bite for my taste, but worth a go if you happen to see it. Three and a half Drunk Monks.

Too Much of Too Much

Well I hate to admit it, but my week in the US left me with a few extra LBS on my frame. I think the combination of hotel breakfasts and 16 oz ribeye's are the culprits. Which of course means a culinary austerity campaign whilst back in Belgium to get back to my pre-US weight. I am heading back to Chicago for 10 days at the end of May, so I am more than a little worried about my will power for that trip. Business travel can only be descirbed as toxic. Too much food, too little sleep, not enough exercise. Until then, She who must be obeyed has vowed to march me around Belgium until I shed the extra pounds.

Not terribly in line with this goal is the boerinneken beer for this evening. Boerinneken is a strong pale ale. The beer pours a cloudy amber color and is quite rich. It has a creamy mouthfeel with a sweet yeasty finish. Hops are light but present and give it good character. I like the beer and would not hesitate to order it again. Three and a half drunk monks.

Hooters for Mothers Day????

I just returned from a week long business trip to the US. I started in Chicago and then went to the Bay area. Returning to the states these days provides an interesting set of observations. I have maintained all along that as good as the food is in Belgium, nobody does a steak like the US. A big juicy dry aged ribeye is a thing of beauty and something that is all but impossible to get in Europe. Bourbon is another weakness. I can get basic Jim Beam in Belgium, but something more refined like a Woodford Reserve, is not so easy. When combined, a Woodford and a Ribeye, I start feeling a little homesick.

There are other things though, that leave me shaking my head. As I was readying to leave San Francisco, I was watching ESPN and an ad for Hooters came up. The Advertisment was promising 10 free wings for mom for mother's day. That is correct, Take mom to Hooter's for Mothers Day! I realize that they have good wings, but shouldnt common decency dictate that you not bring the mother of your children to Hooter's on Mother's Day? And if that is where mom want's to go, perhaps there may be other issues that require addressing? Maybe I am a prude, but even taking the love of your life to Chili's is probably better received than Hooters. Shouldnt the Hooters people focus on Cinco de Mayo or even Father's Day??? And what about the kids? I find this more than a little disturbing.

Returning home from the US, I broke open an Urthel Samaranth Quadrium 12. The Urthel is a a very strong complex ale. The Urthel pours a deep caramel color. The nose is yeasty. The flavor is heavy on caramel malt sweetness but with many layers of hops and butterscotch. As you drink the beer there are additional flavors of spice that come out with exposure to the air. Complex, tasty and kicks like a mule. 4 Drunk Monks!!!

Golf, Belgian Style

Played golf for the first time in Belgium at a nice course called Pierpont Golf Club. (http://www.pierpont.be/) A friend from work invited me to join he and his cousin for a round. The course itself is great. They were in the process of putting a new roof on the place when I arrived. It is essentially a great house with several attached outbuildings which form a picturesque courtyard. Like a lot of the new courses in the US, they have used the original buildings to create atmosphere. The course had some ground under repair from quite a few renovations that they seem to be doing. It really seems as though they are investing some money into the place and I have to say, I am thinking it might be a good course to join.

One of the differences between golf in Belgium and golf in the US is that very few people use golf carts. The order of the day is walking. I like walking a golf course. I think it slows you down a little and makes you see the hole better. That being said, I am not ashamed to say that at the end of my 18, I felt it. As much as we walk here, I seldom have occasion to walk for 4 hours over hill and dale without a break. It didn't occur to me until I was done, that in the entire day, I did not see a single golf cart.

My game was a little up and down today, which is to be expected as I have not played since last August. Missed a few short puts but had a couple of birdies and shot 86. All in all, a great first outing.

In a celebratory mood, I opened a Tempelier. We have owned the tulip glass since we moved here but have not yet tried the beer. The tempelier pours a deep amber color. A nice yeasty nose and lacy head. There is some hop, some malt and a little spice. This is a very acceptable beer. Easy to drink, low on alcohol (relative to most Belgian beers), but is not memorable. Three Drunk Monks.

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!