Beer and Shellfish

Well, I'm using the term "shellfish" very loosely here, because I'm talking about escargot...snails for the non-gastronomically inclined.

As we were walking around Brussels on our first afternoon here, we ran across this little gem:


That's right...snails from a truck. Well, Dru thinks that tacos from the taco truck near our house is sketchy, so snails from this run down little trailer sounds like a "no-can-do, monsieur." However, in retrospect (and since I had some snails at lunch today), I'm thinking that I will try out the escargots if we see another street vendor like this.

I'm a little curious how it is served...covered in sugar a la gaufre (Belgian waffles from a truck)? Probably not. In a paper cone with mayonnaise, like frittes (French--or rather Belgian--fries)? I guess I will just have to get some and report back.

Dru says: You are just asking for a case of salmonella if you do that.

And the beer


I promised to dedicate a post to liquid bread a few days ago, and here it is. Thesis: Belgium knows what it is doing when it comes to beer. Evidence: There are hundreds of breweries in the country (I've seen numbers between 100 and 300), for a population of about 10 million people. By comparison, the US has about the same number of breweries (excluding brewpubs and restaurants), for a population approaching 300 million. Further, in the US, about 5 of those breweries are extreme outliers from the pack, in terms of production and sales. While there are leading brands here, a much wider variety is available anywhere you go.

Over the last few days, I've made an effort to not drink the same beer twice. Here is a quick list of beers that we have had:

• Grimbergen
• Chimay Blue
• Rochefort
• Cantillion Labic
• Cantillion Gueze
• Morte Subite Framboise
• Morte Subite Kriek
• Westmalle Dubel
• Duvel
• Ramee
• Serafin Celtic Angel
• Kwak
• Belgoo Luppo
• V Cense
• Hofbrouwerijke Hofblues

...and there are probably others that I haven't written down. I list this not as proof of addiction, but rather as evidence of the extreme variety available. We will talk about the Beer Circus in another post, but besides that one meal, we haven't gone to any "beer specialty" places. Rather, every bar, restaurant, and brasserie is a beer specialist.

Another interesting point about advertising and consumption here: each bar has a "house" beer, with a sign out on the street. This is analogous to a bar serving primarily Bud or Miller products in the US, except that there are probably a dozen "inexpensive" brands that have bought house status: Maes, Palm, Stella Artois, etc. (Yes, I just did that...Stella is piss. And I apologize to all of you back home who have succumbed to a good advertising campaign, but honestly--try a real beer.)

Now the one drawback. I hate to criticize beer culture here, but the one thing that I have found is that variety of styles is lacking. Every single brewery offers a Belgian Ale, with a few others brewing lambic, gueze, kriek, and variations. I think there is a slight movement to "hop up" the beer, like American brewers have done since the early '90s, but it is not widespread. Having said that, all of the beers are distinct from each other.

We are also going to write about our visit to the Cantillion brewery, but good day to you, for now.