Spit on you

Today's beers: Stella Artois and Keizersberg, two Leuven classics.

At the bus stop today, I was minding my own business when some guy started staring at me and kept saying boola. I think that it what he said but can not be a hundred percent sure. So I just continued to eat my snack, then he spat on the ground and walked away. Not sure what to think other than this guy is a dirty pig, I let it go. Then I began to think about Flanders. Sometimes I just want to escape the dirt, the french speakers and the hustle and bustle of this European Capital. I long to go somewhere the streets are clean, where the architecture looks very Dutch and the television is not dubbed but subtitled. Imagine watching Law and Order dubbed in French? This is when I long for Flanders. If Belgium were to implode tomorrow and you had one day to decide if you were Wallonian or Flemish and that would be it, I am on the next graffittied train north out of Brussels.

This past Sunday, the family took the train to Leuven. Only twenty minutes outside of Brussels but might as well be a country away. Everyone speaks Dutch and you feel like you are in Holland. Leuven is home to Stella Artois, probably the most famous of Belgian beers. While in the US Stella is an "expensive" beer in Belgium you can order a big mac with a plastic cup of Stella. I normally don't drink Stella Artois because there are so many other beers in Belgium to drink but since we were in Leuven, I wanted drink one of the local brews.

Stella Artois is a good solid beer. Unlike a lot of the American cheapo beers, Stella may be cheap in Belgium but it is still a decent beer. It had been a long time since I sat and enjoyed this quintessential Belgian pilsner and I am glad that I did. Stella from the tap is crisp, refreshing, robust and thirst quenching. The beer is not full-bodied but rather a nice smooth drink with hoppy notes. My dining partner decided to to try a Keizersberg, a caramel colored beer brewed in Leuven. This beer had a nice spicey essence to it with a bitter finish. My friend enjoyed this new discovery, I on the other hand was happy with the old Belgian classic.

Cheers!