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.