This coming Wednesday is not just any other Wednesday, it is Ash Wednesday. If you are unfamiliar with Ash Wednesday you certainly are NOT familiar with Mardi Gras. Ash Wednesday begins a season for Christians called Lent, typically a 40 day period leading up to Easter, in which adherents focus on the principals of their belief in homage to Christ, accompanied usually by some sort of fasting. That’s where Mardi Gras comes in. While it is simply a party now in which attendants may or may not have any faith affiliation, it is historically an event in which folks can indulge in that which they are soon to be fasting from.
Thus said, this week’s beer has been chosen for those who may be serious participants of the Lenten season. Whether they may be giving up meat, television, or even beer out of spiritual devotion, we feel Koningshoeven Dubbel, a beer brewed by Christian Monks, is only fitting.
Cheers!
Looks like my local store carries this beer. I’ll see if I can grab a bottle!
BTW Mike: I have converted my buddy Eric, the one you met in Pasadena, into a Belgian beer fanatic. He’s into the Rochefort, Westmalle, etc.! He also just started trying the tripels.
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Amen! Dude, isn’t fun to convert beer drinkers. One person at a time multiplies so rapidly. Let’s put Bud out of business
. I’m seriously glad that your friend is now drinking so much good beer. There’s a lot of it out there. I also love hearing how much more exuberant you have become about craft/import beer over the last year.
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It really is fun watching guys and gals discover good beer. Eric told me a story about a Belgian beer he bought last weekend. He was explaining to his wife about “bottle conditioning,” how the beer is made by monks, the left over yeast sediment, etc. Apparently, she just rolled her eyes. It sure was cool hearing about him talk Belgian beer, however.
I also introduced my wife to a Lindemans Raspberry Lambic. She really liked it and kept tasking, “Are you sure this is a beer?”
My brother is still enjoying sours. He bought a Rodenbach Grand Cru last night and had to call me this AM to tell me about it!
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Sweet. I always have a degree of envy when I see people first “discovering” beer. Their excitement is so high and their joy so profound. Of course, there is a joy and excitement for the old vets, too. But the newness is just not the same. I think, in part, that’s why so many beer geeks keep roaming the earth. They are looking for those beers that make them feel that way again.
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Interesting observation, Senior Scientist. I am finding it fun to go back and re-try beers that I reviewed a few months prior to see if my opinion is different or if I can taste something new. Sometimes it is like trying the beer all over again!
Maybe we should all have a “second tasting” addendum to all of our beer reviews!
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http://thankheavenforbeer.com/2010/02/05/driving-along-in-my-automobile-my-baby/ That’s part of what I was getting at in that post.
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Bummer. My store only had the Quad, not the Dubbel.
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