Blood, sweat and beers

For those of you who just tuned in, I am still on my blogular holiday, so for now all you get is some pictures to keep you entertained.

Today's theme is blood, sweat and beers. There is no blood (thank goodness) but plenty of sweat, and a great beer called Saison de Dottignies. Dottignies is a town that is also known as Dottenijs near Kortrijk -but just over the language border. The beer is actually brewed in the Flemish region by Brouwerij De Ranke in Wevelgem, but is in the Walloon style. I love it. I like it even better than the Saison Dupont I reviewed earlier -and which may be more authentic for all I know.

What is also ironic -at least for Europeans- is that these are seasonal brews (saison means season) meant for late summer refreshment but I am drinking them in winter.

Sweat on the floor. Also notice the rust on the roller frame. Hard workouts!

A good brew to rehydrate!

Finally, this shot of people waiting outside the Apple store for the iPad2. They had been there for over 6 hours already and there were at least another six to go.

The umbrella line

A crisp beer for the holiday

Yesterday we tasted a Saison Dupont with dinner. Named the Best Beer in the World by Men's Journal in 2005, this one is highly recommended. I will not go as far as calling it the best in the world, but it is definitely up there. I am also not sure which one Men's Journal choose as the Dupont brewery has several styles including some dark ones and some that are only available locally.

We had the Vieille Provision, a beer described as crisp and well balanced, with a hint of citrus and a slightly bitter finish. It is a blonde ale -Like all gentlemen I prefer blondes.

Saison means season in French and Saison beer was traditionally a low alcohol beer brewed in Walloon farm houses  in Spring to refresh the farm workers during the upcoming harvest season. Traditional Saison is a 3.5% beer but the Vieille Provision we tasted was more at a more typical -for Belgian beer that is- 6.5%. Still the alcohol is not very noticeable and the beer goes down smooth and easy.

Vieille Provision is an unfiltered -hence cloudy- bottle conditioned brew that looks just great in my opinion. This is the ideal refreshment after a long ride through the country side. I also found it a fitting reward for finishing my 2X20 interval workout.