Ok, Abby caught me.
She noted on the last posting that there appeared to be a pattern in my pictures. In a number of my postings, there may be a picture or two of one of my favorite libations (aka beer). I have to admit, on these road trips, I have an ulterior motive – I’m trying to drink my way across Europe. Since I have only been to Germany, England, and Belgium, I have a long way to go.
I think I explained this to Rock when we met at (of all places) a pub. I used to be a Miller Lite fan for many years. I experienced some really excellent German beer when stationed in Stuttgart back in the 80s, but when we moved back to Texas, I switched to “Great Taste, Less Filling”. Oh sure, I have partaken of some of several different commercial brands like Heineken, Corona, Dos Equis, and Shiner Bock. A few summers back, my bride and I flew out to Seattle for a week to visit with my brother and my son while he was working for the Evil Empire (Microsoft). While we were hanging around the area, I got to sample sample several local breweries (i.e. Red Hook). Seattle is famous for having a wide variety of some really stellar local microbreweries and I got hooked back on craft beer. The trip wasn’t long after my cancer surgery and I've decided that life was too short to settle for cheap/mass produced beer (or scotch). I been on a mission to try different brands and varieties wherever they present themselves. I even rediscovered a local Houston Brewery (St Arnold) that has become my signature beer in town.
Since I my current job has me on the road a lot, I make it a point to research the areas that I am going to visit to see if I can sample any local brews (when in Rome). California, New York, Austin, Milwaukee, Pennsylvania, Germany, and now Belgium and England. Some places have been a challenge to find a good brew, but Germany and Belgium were over the top. After living in Germany, I was a German Beer fanatic and hadn't really been interested in Belgian beer in my old age (Heineken doesn't count), but while in Brussels, I had an epiphany. The have some really, really GOOD beer. And sooo many varieties. Whenever I had the evening free, I would take the train downtown and find a good hole in the wall that served up some local brew.
When I go on these road trips, there is a running joke at my office. I will take a picture of my meal and/or drink and e-mail it back to my coworkers. Given the time difference I am usually out drinking for the evening when my e-mail shows up in their box in the morning. I have gotten more than a few unprintable responses from my fellow coworkers. I even started to amass a collection of road meals and beers from my travels and I have even created a folder in my Flickr account to track my conquests. Juvenile? Perhaps. But IMHO, that's a cheap way to enjoy life.
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| Brussels |
5 comments:
I have never understood the beer "hobby." I like my beer, but when I say that, I mean that I like the one beer I drink, Michelob Golden Light. Other beers taste funny to me. Maybe it's an acquired taste thing?
I agree that it is an acquired taste. Some beers have a flavor to them that is hard to describe but some people will pay serious money for.
I kind of do understand the beer hobby. I'm no wino, and going on wine tours sounds boring, but if I were in Europe, I would do the beer thing. Those Europeans know their cars and their beer.
Wonderful photo montage!
With the spread of products world wide I think that beer is one of those things where you can still find a lot of good local variation. It would be a crime to drink American beer while in Germany!
Man, I used to LOVE beer. And now I really miss it!
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