[Sca-cooks] Help me drink beer (semi-OT)

[Robin Carroll-Mann]

First of all, this is *not* an invitation to a keg party, so don't get
excited.  I need advice.

I dislike beer, ale, etc.  My lord was a connoisseur, and sometimes
offered me a sample of imports and micro-brews that he assured me were
really good beers that I might like.  All of them tasted unpleasant
and bitter to me.  Some of you are wondering: what's the problem?
There are many delicious beverages in the world, both alcoholic and
not.  This is true.  Wine is good, and in England I rejoiced in the
easy availability of cider.

I'm going to Belgium in May.  Belgium, one of the Holy Lands of beer.
I know that, even there, I can find other things to drink.  But I
understand that they have thousands of kinds of beer, and it seems
wrong to not give a local specialty a proper try.  (I suspect my late
lord might haunt me if I didn't even try.)

I went into a local liquor store today, found a knowledgeable person,
and asked for help.  He suggested that a wheat beer might be more to
my taste.  I took home some Leffe blond, and sampled it.  It's not bad
at the beginning.  Mild and slightly tart, like a dry white wine.  But
then the aftertaste hits, and that seems bitter to me.

Any suggestions for *Belgian* beers I might like?  Something common
enough that I could order a glass with my lunch in a mid-priced
restaurant, not an exotic brew that is only available in alternate
Leap Years in a back alley in Brussels.

My hopeful thanks in advance. . .

Brighid ni Chiarain