Share Your Stories About Gulden Draak & Piraat...

Holiday Season!!!

It is that time of year again where people are standing in lines to buy presents, watching holiday movies and drinking egg nog. It can be a stressful time but we at Global Beer Network want to wish you a safe and Happy Holiday season!!!

Anways, Did you ever wonder how people in Belgium celebrate Christmas?

There are actually two Santa Clauses. St. Nicholas is the one that visits the children who speak Waloon. The other one is Pere Noel that visits the children who speak French. St. Nicholas visits the children twice. On December 4th, he sees which ones are good and which ones are bad. Then on December 6th, he delivers toys and candy to the good children and leaves twigs for the bad children. I guess twigs are better than getting coal!!!

Pere Noel visits the children with his companion Pere Fouettard. He gives the good children candies and chocolates. The bad children get a handful of sticks.

St. Nicholas's birthday is on December 6th and he has nothing to do with Christmas. The American culture has brought their traditions over to Belgium in regards to Santa Claus on Christmas. (http://www.santas.net/belgianchristmas.htm).

And that is what occurs in Belgium!!!

Have a safe and happy Holiday season!!! Enjoy one of our many beers!!!

Cheers,

Global Beer Network

Our Tax System 101 explained in beer language

The following entry is by Dr. David R. Karmerschen from the University of Georgia. He does a beautiful job explaining our tax system in a humorous way.  Enjoy!!!
S

uppose that every day, ten men go out for beer and the bill
for all ten comes to $100. If they paid their bill the way
we pay our taxes, it would go something  like this:

The first four men (the poorest) would pay nothing.
The fifth would pay $1.
The sixth would pay $3.
The seventh would pay $7.
The eighth would pay $12.
The ninth would pay $18.
The tenth man (the richest) would pay $59.

So, that's what they decided to do.

The ten men drank in the bar every day and seemed quite
happy with the arrangement, until one day, the owner threw
them a curve.

'Since you are all such good customers,' he said, 'I'm going
to reduce the cost of your daily beer by $20.'

Drinks for the ten now cost just $80.

The group still wanted to pay their bill the way we pay our
taxes so the first four men were unaffected. They would
still drink for free.

But what about the other six men - the paying customers? How
could they divide the $20 windfall so that everyone would
get his 'fair share?'

They realized that $20 divid ed by six is $3.33. But if they
subtracted that from everybody's share, then the fifth man
and the sixth man would each end up being paid to drink his
beer. So, the bar owner suggested that it would be fair to
reduce each man's bill by roughly the same amount, and he
proceeded to work out the amounts each should pay.

And so the fifth man, like the first four, now paid nothing
(100% savings).
The sixth now paid $2 instead of $3 (33%savings).
The seventh now pay $5 instead of $7 (28%savings).
The eighth now paid $9 instead of $12 (25% savings).
The ninth now paid $14 instead of $18 ( 22% savings).
The tenth now paid $49 instead of $59 (16% savings).

Each of the six was better off than before. And the first
four continued to drink for free. But once outside the
restaurant, the men began to compare their savings.

'I only got a dollar out of the $20,' declared the sixth
man. He pointed to the tenth man,' but he got $10!'
'Yeah, that's right,' exclaimed the fifth man. 'I only saved
a dollar, too.
It's unfair that he got ten times more than I!!'
'That's true!!' shouted the seventh man. 'Why should he get
$10 back when I got only two? The wealthy get all the
breaks!'
'Wait a minute,' yelled the first four men in unison. 'We
didn't get anything at all. The system exploits the poor!!!'

The nine men surrounded the tenth and beat him up. The next
night the tenth man didn't show up for drinks, so the nine
sat down and had beers without him. But when it came time to
pay the bill, they discovered something important.

They didn't have enough money between all of them for even
half of the bill!

And that, boys and girls, journalists and college
professors, is how our tax system works. The people who pay
the highest taxes get the most benefit from a tax reduction.
Tax them too much, attack them for being wealthy, and they
just may not show up anymore. In fact, they might start
drinking overseas where the atmosphere is somewhat
friendlier.

And then, the bar closes, and we all lose!    

Quote of the Day:

"Drinking doesn't make you fat, it makes you lean........  against bars, tables, chairs, and poles."  ~unknown~   

Cheers,

Global Beer Network 

A Cultural Experience!!

These past few days have been exciting for us!!  We had the pleasure of taking two of our Belgian brewers to various restaurants/pubs and events.  Stefaan (Brewery The Musketeers) was the first brewer to visit with us.  We had the pleasure of trying his beer chocolates that were cooked with the Troubadour beer.  There was an assortment of white, dark and milk chocolates.  Maybe we will import these amazing chocolates so the rest of the world can try them??  We took Stefaan to The Public House in Boston, MA.  The food especially the Pommes Frites (French Fries) with garlic and spicy mayonnaise was splendid!!  

The second brewer was Jef Versele (Brewery Van Steenberge).  Jef attended the beer tasting that was held at Yankee Spirits in Attleboro, MA on October 12th, 2008.  The event was a great success.  After a long day at the event, Cliff  and Jef returned to Cliff's house for a lasagna dinner made by Cheryl.  We also had the chance to sample the new Gulden Draak Vintage 2008.  This special holiday beer is brewed once a year and has just arrived in the U.S.  This special brew has a 7.5 ABV compared to the 10.5 ABV for Gulden Draak.  The Gulden Draak Vintage 2008 is a dark beer but it is a different beer than Gulden Draak.   The recipe of this beer combines the ingredients of the Augustijn and Gulden Draak beers.  It can be aged like Gulden Draak.     

It was nice to learn about another person's culture.  Also, it was nice to share our culture with both Stefaan and Jef.  Jef would ask us about baseball and various other topics.  Cassandra even helped Jef set-up his new iphone.  

Thank-you Stefaan and Jef for visiting!!

"The saying "Mind your P's and Q's comes from the time when alcoholic beverages were served/sold in Pints and Quarts.  Thus, to mind your P's and Q's meant to be careful how much you drank."  

taken from: 

http://www.comedy-zone.net/triviazone/humans/page3.htm 

Cheers,

Global Beer Network 

La Dame Blanche

The White Lady is a famous French opera based on Scottish writer Sir Walter Scott's works. The tale is one of love, mystery, heroism, and romance but Dame Blanche is also the name for Belgium's classic dessert; the Hot Fudge Sundae. Dame Blanche is on most restaurant menus in Belgium and after a big meal of Mussels and Pommes Frites, this was my favorite dessert to order. A perfect accompaniment to this dessert is Cherish Raspberry a Belgian Lambic.

"Lambic is the spontaneous fermented wheat beer aged with peaches, raspberries or cherries for three years in oak casks."

Since 1784, the Van Steenberge Brewery in a small village north of Gent, Belgium on the Netherlands border has been run by an independent Belgian family. This brewery is famous for their Piraat and Gulden Draak beers by which most of you are familiar. I found Cherish to be delicious. At first impression, I enjoyed the raspberry bouquet and beautiful ruby hue. In just seconds after pouring, the Cherish came to a perfect light pink head. The raspberry flavor is distinct followed by a slight beer aftertaste. A perfect balance of sweet and sour this beer was wonderful to sip along side my dessert. I would enjoy Cherish with dishes I would usually drink a rosé wine, such as spicy appetizers, cheese flights, and poultry. If you are not a beer lover, most people, even wine lovers would enjoy this Lambic.

The 3 ingredient Hot Fudge Sauce used for this recipe is not only easy, it is delicious. It would even be perfect as a Fondue.

Dame Blanche
premium vanilla ice cream
whipped cream
chocolate fudge sauce
cherries

For the Chocolate Fudge Sauce:
In a saucepan over medium-low heat, stir one can sweetened condensed milk and 4 ounces semi-sweet baking chocolate until chocolate is melted and sauce is thick and warm. Be careful not to scorch. Remove from heat and add 1 tsp. vanilla extract. This Hot Fudge Sauce recipe is from Cheryl Lusso.

To Assemble:
In a Cherish Glass place two scoops vanilla ice cream. Top with whipped cream and a cherry. Serve the Hot Fudge Sauce on the side. Enjoy with a Cherish Raspberry or Cherish Cherry Lambic.

For a Dark Lady use chocolate ice cream and in time for Halloween, a Green Lady, use pistachio ice cream.


Sell photos on photrade By RobinSue


Impress your guests with a Dame Blanche and Cherish at your next gathering.

Cheers,
Robin Sue at bigredkitchen.com
Big Red Kitchen