We had friends over for dinner last week and for l'apéro, I thought it'd be fun to do a little beer tasting. Back in college, I came to appreciate all kinds of beers and really miss the microbreweries of the States. Unfortunately, since I moved to France, I haven't had a lot of opportunity to drink beer. As a consequence, I know very little about European beers. Anyway, I thought I'd go out and grab some random bottles at our local beer store (which is huge btw) to sample with friends. This is what I ended up with:
My favorites were the first two on the left and the last on the right .
Abbaye des Rocs a dark Belgium beer (9 %), Tripel Karmeliet (8.4%) a Belgium light beer that claims their 3 grain beer recipe dates back to the 17th century in the Carmes de Termonde monastery. And lastely, Chimay (9%) another Belgium dark beer brewed by Trappist monks of the Abbaye de Scourmont.
The Quintine (8%) was a light beer and the only reason I got it is because I like the label. Serves me right, it really does taste like witches brew. The Timmermans (4.5%) was a bit too aggressive to my liking as far as taste, and the Goliath (9%) was so strong I ended up watering the weeds with what was left in my glass.
If anyone has any suggestions I should try let me know. Got any favorites?
And for you non-alcoholic / chocolate fans, here's something really simple to make and an instant smile generator no matter what time of year. Make hot chocolate and use a tooth pic to skewer two marshmallows and pinch them to the edge of your mug. See, you're smiling already. (:
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| My kids love this. Even in the summer, it's a hit. |
