Drink Up- a blog about Belgian beer (and some others)

Why would people give a crap what I have to blog about? It seems like everyone with a computer and a thought has taken to blogging. Some people have worthwhile things to write about while others not so much. In the vast internet world, it doesn't matter because there is enough space for everyone to write about what they feel like writing about.

My blog will be about beer. Why? Because after about seven months in Brussels, the only charming thing I find about Belgium is its vast array of beer. Often I lay awake at night or roam the often deserted and graffiti-covered streets of Brussels trying to find some redeeming quality to the city. I make a mental list in my head - the dense chewy Belgian gauffres sold everywhere, the chocolates, the mussels, the Brussels sprouts, the frites, the Belgian endives, the beer and the list goes on and on. When I try to think of beautiful places in Brussels that I would swoon over or recommend to visitors, I think of Grande Place and the Mannequin Pis. But the food always outweighs the pee pee boy. I always come back to the beer. The great thing about the beer is that you can enjoy the beer in a nice building and get buzzed enough that anything in Brussels will look decent.

Wherever you walk in the city, you see signs on restaurants, bars or cafes advertising beer. Beer is not alcohol but a way of life in Brussels. You drink
beer not to get smashed but because it tastes good and compliments your meal. Don't get me wrong, there are lushes and drunks lurking here. I saw a couple at Gare du Midi. However, you won't find the drunkards indulging in US mass produced beer, no. They will drink Jupiler or Stella Artois, two decent beers that are standard in Belgium but sold at a premium in the US.

A disclaimer: I am by no means a lush. I am a responsible mother and wife. I never drink out of depression (though I should sometimes) or drink myself to sleep. I am just an expat who enjoys a nice tall mug of beer.