Hello Folks,
Belgium, among other things, is noted for it's beer .... we all know Stella Artois ... but underneath that bit of pure marketing genius, there is a long history of beer making in this country. It was the Trappists monasteries that provided the template for the modern day production of over 3000 individual varieties of beer ... each seemingly having it's own unique glass for presentation .... if ever a grail was going to hide out, Belgium would be the place.
To truly understand the grail though ... I needed to see something similar to it in action ... so at the train station upon arrival in Belgium, I ordered a Leffe Blonde. Leffe was originally an Abbey beer ... produced by monks, but is now brewed commercially. The 'grail' it is served in looks to be like a wine glass perched on a short stubby stem ... Leffe is sweet and herbal ... and it's very good ... not a great beer in Belgian terms, but a good beer to grab on tap everywhere throughout the country.
Now the 'grail's job in Belgium terms is to enhance the beer drinking experience by highlighting the colour and enhancing the nose ... all this having an impact on the flavour of the beer ... but the 'grail' does something else ... it gives the beer 'it's form' ... once you have had a Leffe in a proper glass ... you really don't enjoy it as much in any other glass ... the beer 'needs' that presentation to complete it ... in other words the glass gives form to the beer's function ... just as the 'grail' gives form to what some people think of as 'mans' function ...
So ... if I were the grail where would I hide out ... I would hide out in plain sight in Belgium ... but not anywhere in Belgium ... in the biggest, most popular beer bars in the major cities ... it was now quite clear that I was going to have to visit all these bars .... on the 'trail of the grail' ....
The madness starts shortly as I will head for Chez Moeder Lambic ... a pub devoted to beer (can you say temple) with over 450 varieties on tap and in the bottle ..... of course anyone going to Chez Moeder Lambic as a serious devotee as I am could only be referred to as a Templar .... meaning serious devotee of the temple .... only if I was there at night could I be referred to as a 'night templar' ... could it be that the 'grail' is simply here and I just have to have the endurance to find it ... we shall see ... the crusade begins shortly ...
To quote from verse 867 of the Krome Koan,
' .... man made beer, God made pot ... you make the choice .... '
The G.R. Ale Hunter
No comments:
Post a Comment