OWL-DRAGON

Beer

Sometimes you know exactly when you got interested in some activity. For example I know exactly when and how I began running and in particular began running races. (The impulse to do a marathon is a little fuzzier.)

However, I don’t remember when I got interested in beer. I know it had something to do with the advent of micro breweries and the possibility to get real beer (not to be snobby) as oppose to the big commercial breweries.

Despite my wife buying me a number of beer books and having gone to a beer tasting I am still vague to all the various terminology surrounding beer. It is definitely as arcane a discipline as wine. There are beer styles, beer color, gravity, alcohol content, glass type, and on and on.

Still I am developing a taste for what I like.

Wednesday six of us went for dinner to Monk’s Café. They have hundreds of beers and a good selection on tap. If you know anything about beer you’ll know from the name that they specialize in Belgian beers. I haven’t decided about Belgian beers. The taste is very distinctive but not as robust as I come to like. On the other hand my friend Denis loves stouts. I like them occasional but they are a little much to have on a regular basis.

At Monk’s I tried Hoegaarden, a wheat beer brewed with a bit of coriander & orange peel. And later I tried triple ale. Both were light beers and good summer drinking.

Service was pleasant and we were lucky to be taken almost immediately and get a great corner table. We had a pleasant meal together. I got my friend Joe to try octopus but no one else would nibble. My wife had a wonderful bottle beer DeKonnick.
All of my favorite things - good food, good beer and especially good friends.