It's been a little while since my last blog entry so I thought I would return with a bit about beer. But why beer I hear you ask. Well for a start it’s my beverage of choice. I used to be a wine person but times have changed. That, and as it has been my birthday recently I tend to end up with a couple of beers being sent my way by my Father-in-Law.
And here they are!
You might have noticed a little pattern here. They’re all Belgian! Only the best for me - no Carling, Stella, or Super Tennants, though in fact I quite liked Tennants at one point.
You may already know that beer is a very big thing in Belgium. In fact on one delightful family holiday to Brugge we discovered a special shop just for beer. The important thing with these shops is that next to every bottle, can, or keg sits a branded glass. There are some wonderful designs. That's their tactic to get you to try new ones - just like a book, we judge beers by their covers. On this particular holiday my dad, who is a massive fan himself, bought a glass for every single beer he got. From what I remember he ended up with between 10-15! I was the one who had to carry it all back home on the Eurostar. I was about 14 at the time. There must have been some very puzzled looks when they put my bags through the scanners. Thanfully I didn’t get into any trouble - I guess they aren't as strict with booze on the continent. Over the years my dad's beer glass collection has grown and grown, and there aren't many left for him to get. In fact he has ended up with so many that he’s started to give them away to me and my older brother, and I am always happy to take him up on the offer.
These are the ones I have. It’s only a small collection at the moment but it is slowly growing - one is actually hiding up at my in-laws house.
I blame my dad for my fondness for beer. He's taken this further and has even developed it into a new hobby, brewing his own. It’s very nice and he’s very good at it, though he often ends up with countless unmarked bottles in the fridge. If you want a beer at my parent's house check the carrot draw first and go from there. With everything being as it is as the moment he's had more time to make them. He's only delayed by the fact he doesn't have enough bottles to hand and he uses everything, even large bath foam bottles. Always be careful when you have a bubble bath round my parent's house...
As you can probably guess I have a favourite beer too, with a particularly interesting design. I'm not talking about Hobgoblin (which is very nice) but Delirium Tremens! So if you’re ever trying to think of a present to get me, you can always buy a bottle or two - that or Lindt chocolate. I'm looking forward to my present from you once Covid is over. To help if you don’t know the beer I'm talking about take a look below...
It’s named after a condition found amongst alcoholics that makes them very confused and sometimes even hallucinate. As Wikipedia says:
"Delirium tremens (DTs) is a rapid onset of confusion usually caused by withdrawal from alcohol."
It's a bit of a cheeky joke when it comes down to it - and a little bit tasteless.
As you can see the bottle has a pink elephant on it. If you look closely you can even find two crocodiles that look very similar to the ones from Fantasia. If you think about it the Disney connection actually continues. Remember that really creepy sequence in Dumbo when he gets drunk? There are pink elephants in that one too. Doesn't quite line up with the condition though.
Talking of Delirium Tremens has reminded me of a little story I have. A couple of years ago I had to visit London for a pair of auditions, but there was a huge gap between them – the first was bright and early while the second was in the evening. I was in Covent Garden and I had the brilliant idea of spending the time hanging around in a bar called the Porterhouse. Here it is:
The reason I like it so much is that they always have a good range of beers on sale. I always like visiting and trying something new, and on this particular day I decided to have a cold bottle of Delirium Tremens, amongst others, however I hadn’t actully eaten very much. As you can probably guess I quickly became rather merry – not plastered but enough to make my head a tad giddy and put a huge smile on my face. All just in time for my evening audition! As expected I didn’t get the job, I wasn’t quite working at full capacity but had great fun though. Still it was a bit naughty. I guess the moral of this story is if you are having an audition make sure you don’t drink Belgian Beers beforehand on an empty stomach. You might become unbearably charming, but beyond that it doesn’t help at all!
With that it's bye for now, I'll be back soon.
Jon
Comments