The Mussels from Brussels

You know, given this blog has a distinct focus on beer and cheese consumed, I had a very strong feeling that Belgium was going to be a winner here. Sure Belgium doesn't evoke the same epic visions as other lands, but the reality is Belgium is so much more an adventure in taste than just sight. All edible pleasures gravitate here in a nexus of nom (as in the nom nom nom eating sound) and even though the people here are somehow not overweight, give me fermented curds and brewed hops and I will give you a traveler with pants suddenly one size too small.

Beer.

It permeates every aspect of Belgium to such an extent that liver complacency is essentially impossible. There is literally so much choice that mortals can be blinded by it, couple the temptation to try it all with stupidly high alcohol contents and you are now in a magical realm of blurry memories and photos. One beer house we went to offered no less than 400 different types of beer, all detailed in a menu that looked not unlike an ancient spellbook with a wooden cover. Somewhat comically, the first two pages were devoted to food just to keep up appearances.

At this point I now have to share with you a very special moment for me personally. There was so much beer to pick from that I resorted to the age old technique of "flick to a page and point". I really had no idea what I was going to get (nor did I notice the price tag!) but it turned out to be a moment of divine inspiration. By all accounts it seemed like a normal day so far, how was I to know that the incredible was about to happen. When the waitress returned I was delivered a rather plain, boring and nondescript beer bottle that wasn't even cool enough to have it's own dedicated, branded glass.

I suddenly felt a bit duped.

However, once it was poured and I began to drink, a surreal feeling occurred. I realised that what I was drinking was possibly, no, quite probably, no ... most surely the best beer I had ever tasted. Now as you can see on the list to the right, quite a few beers have been tasted now so at first I was skeptical but the more I drank the more I was stunned. Yes, this beer was stunning me! Ladies and gentleman I present to you my most favourite beer in the entire world: the holy brew of Westvleteran.

That was the high point of my beer experiences. It is all downhill from here, you see since my beergasm I've looked into this beer a little as I wanted to get more or send some home. Unfortunately, it's like a Shakesbeerean tragedy; this beer is possibly one of the hardest to get hold of in the entire world.

It's brewed by trappist monks and they only brew enough of this beer to run their monastery, and will make no more regardless of demand. They do not supply to wholesalers, they only sell to individual buyers who drive to the abbey in person and even then you must book an appointment months in advance and can only take one small case, per car license plate per month. The resale of the beer is also strictly prohibited, so what I had was essentially a "grey market" sale. The head of their order, Father Abbott, states "We are not brewers. We are monks. We brew beer to be able to afford being monks."

My untold joy is thus married to an unfathomable sadness that I may never drink it again and there may be nothing better from here on. I imagine this is what a dabble in heroin feels like. Oh well.

Mussels.

Big pots of them, cooked in a white wine and butter stock with fresh vegetables - always served with frites / fries. This meal is just amazing and was enjoyed at a small restaurant where the locals came from miles around just for this one dish. Table neighbours, two chaps from Antwerp who worked for Godiva chocolates, were also very happy to share their tales and experience of Belgium. These moments are always the best parts of traveling, a connection with strangers from another place, even if just for a passing moment, over great food.

Chocolate.

Belgium is renowned for it and for good reason. Sure they don't grow the beans, but it's what they do with them that truly stands out. There are pralines and truffles everywhere, made the same way for hundreds of years. There is also a chocolate museum too where you can not only learn the long and glorious history of all things chocolate but you can watch pralines being made too. If you're game, you can also partake in a spot of cocoa snorting. You know a country takes it's chocolate seriously when you can do a line of it.

Waffles.

Synonymous with the Belgian way of life. Is there truly a time or meal of the day they can not improve? In Belgium you'll become one with the waffle. You'll learn to respect it's crispy goodness and tremble in the presence of the sweet minions that accompany it. I really wish waffles were more common in Nottingham, especially the little portable honey Stroopwaffles. One can dream.

Add to all of this the pancakes, the roast eel, the Flemish rabbit stew, the Belgian breads and suddenly leaving Belgium becomes so very, very difficult. Partly due to a food addiction, partly due to digestive related lethargy.

All in all, Belgium is a lot better than one expects. It really just doesn't have much of a reputation but it should! It is actually very scenic in parts (Brugges and the Grand Place in Brussels are especially amazing), the people are really cool and the food, well, read above.

I'll sign this blog off with a bit of trivia for those of you  know of my fond love of the beer called Kwak and it's rather eccentric chemistry-set-like glass. In Brussels I found a small story on why the glass is so shaped.

"Under Naploeonic law, the coachmen where not allowed to down as the diligence other travellers, so created on a glass shaped may contain some amount of beer and stay within reach. On the diligence, was an easel set in which the glass was put to that beer does not escape despite the shocking and road horses started at a fast pace."

Appalling English aside, what it means is basically the Kwak glass was designed so apparently people could drink in bumpy old stage coaches without spilling their beer when they put it down. Clever!