Global Beer Network

Move over Hop Head… Make way for the Sour Puss!

2010-01-15T12:29:00.018-05:00

Flemish Sour Beers like Monk’s Café Creating Change with Craft Beer Drinkers

written by Steve Villani President of Global Beer Network

Sour beer lovers are paving the way for a fun new beer category that may someday rival the IPA.

India Pale Ales have been the rage of the change in the American beer industry over the last decade. These brews are categorized by the bitter flavor characteristic of the almighty hop leaf. The hoppier the better... The U.S. market has become flooded with this style of brew and Hop Heads from coast to coast could not be more mouthwateringly pleased...

While the IPA craze continues to grow, a new segment is beginning to emerge... THE FLEMISH SOUR... Although the sour category is still a small niche within the already small craft beer segment, the passion for these brews are very similar to their flavor, INTENSE. These beers are definitely an acquired taste like big oaky red wines, but once you're engaged in the craze your taste buds will hold no boundaries.

These ales are complicated to produce but are the passion of many Belgian brewers. The beer is brewed then piped into oak casks where they mature between two and three years!!!

The oak is porous allowing a measured amount of oxygen to invade the brew, which over time thoroughly sours the beer. The finished product, known as the "Mother Brew" is either blended with fresh sweet beer. (Flemish Red) or directly packaged for sale for the most extreme Sour Puss...

Two great examples of these sour beers are Petrus Aged Pale and Monk's Cafe. Aged Pale is the mother brew of the Petrus Aging Cellar from Brouwerij Bavik. This beer was once only used to blend with other Petrus brands until the late great beer writer Michael Jackson persuaded the brewer to package the beer for sale. WARNING: Petrus Aged Pale is for the extreme Sour Puss only...

Many beer lovers replace their New Year's Eve Champagne toast with this type of Ale.

Monk's Cafe is a more-friendly version for Sour Puss wannabees. This beer, brewed by Brouwerij Van Steenberge takes the mother brew and beautifully blends it with fresh sweet beer. The nose has a vinegar bite leading the drinker to believe that the beer will be VERY sour. However, the beer hits the pallet sweet, which causes a true explosion of flavour... Some will tell you the brew is sweet while others will tell you it's sour. This beverage is the perfect match with sweet and sour dishes (Asian Food), Mexican Food, Dessert, or even as a salad dressing...

An Experience of a Lifetime!!!

2010-01-04T14:41:00.016-05:00

The Belgian Beer Consumer and Fun tour 2010 will be an experience of a lifetime!!!

2009 tour group at La Ruelles Brewery.

You will meet new people who like to travel and enjoy great Belgian beer!

You will visit three breweries a day and other historical sights!

Indulge in fantastic Belgian beer lunches and dinners every day!

The tour runs from September 12th to September 19th 2010!!!

Brew kettle near Brewery Bavik.

Tour Price Includes:

*Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner
*Ground Transportation
*Professional Tour Guide
*Pub Crawls
*Hotels
*Beer tastings at all the Breweries
*Visits to the following sights: the Atomium, the Cinquntenaire Monument, Royal Palace, a castle, Brewery Van Steenberge, Brewery Bavik, Brewery Van Eecke, Brewery De Halve Maan, Brewery Silly, Brewery Roman, Cantillon Lambic, Boon Lambic, De Ryck, Dubisson, Alvinne, Westvletern and Struise Brouwers.

Visit www.globalbeer.com, click on “Beer Travel”, then “Go with us” then “2010 Tour” for more details and to reserve your spot!!!

You can also contact Cassandra at 1-800-442-3379.

Looking to impress your holiday guests---Try this savoring dessert!!!

2009-12-14T15:40:00.008-05:00

Greetings from Global Beer Network!!!

The holidays are upon us!!! Are you looking for a good holiday recipe? We thought we would share a recipe that was given to us by one of our brewers. His name is Kris and he is from Brewery Bavik. It is a light dessert called Sabayon and it will surely be a hit at your next holiday party!!!

Sabayon:

Ingredients:

8 egg yoks
8 Tbsp beer (Petrus Dubbel Bruin)
8 Tbsp sugar

Directions:

-Beat the egg yolks with the beer in a double boiler pan
-While beating, add the sugar gradually, to prevent the egg yolks from burning.
-Keep on whisking on a very low heat until smooth.
-Serve in a glass (preferably a Petrus glass---you can get this glass at https://globalbeer.3dcartstores.com/index.html)
-Enjoy it with a nice rich Petrus Dubbel Bruin.

If you have any good holiday recipes using our beers then please comment on this post and with your permission, we will post them on our website.

Cheers!!!

Global Beer Network

2009-12-04T16:09:00.001-05:00

Share Your Stories About Gulden Draak & Piraat...

Holiday Season!!!

2009-12-03T13:05:00.003-05:00

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

2008-11-04T15:26:00.004-05:00

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!!

2008-10-14T10:52:00.010-04:00

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

2008-10-11T10:13:00.015-04:00

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

Beer-- A good investment??

2008-10-08T14:16:00.011-04:00

In the past few weeks, the United States have experienced drastic changes in the economy and people are fearful of where to invest their money. Therefore, we share with you an email that was sent to us about the amount of money a person would be left with if he/she invested in these companies.

Enjoy!!

If you had purchased $1,000.00 of Delta Air Lines stock one year ago, you would have $49.00 left.

With Merrill Lynch , you would have had $16.50 left of the original $1,000.00.

With Lehman Brothers , you would probably have nothing, but if you were lucky, less than $5.00 left.

However, if you had purchased $1,000.00 worth of BEER one year ago, drank all of the beer, then turned in the bottles and cans for the recycling REFUND, you would have $214.00 cash.

Based on the above, the best current investment advice: drink heavily and recycle.

It's called the 401-Keg plan.

Picture taken from http://www.flickr.com/photos/somesay/2787962630/

Also, in other news:

A recent study found, the average American walks about 900 miles a year. Another study found Americans drink, on the average, 22 gallons of alcohol a year.

That means, on average, Americans get about 41 miles to the gallon.

Makes You Proud To Be An American!

Lesson of the day: Drink more beer and recycle!!

Quote of the day:

Some people see the glass half-empty. some people see the glass half full. I say it's beer man, just drink it!! ~author unknown~

Cheers,

Global Beer Network

Food and Beer: A Great Combination

2008-09-09T17:37:00.005-04:00

Hello! It was a rainy day in Mass. today. However, we were happy when we got to watch the show: TV Dinner with Billy Costa. In the episode, Bill Flumerfelt and Carolyn Johnson use the Poperings Hommel beer (brewed by Brewery Van Eecke) to cook with. Carolyn is the chef at the Rialto Restaurant and Bill is the chef at the Icarus restaurant. Both of these restaurants are in Boston. They are making a clam dish.

Grab a glass of Poperings Hommel beer! Relax and enjoy the show!

Cheers,

Global Beer Network

The link came from www.necn.com/tvdinner.

Quote of the Day:

"Without question, the greatest invention in the history of mankind is beer. Oh, I grant you that the wheel was also a fine invention, but the wheel does not go nearly as well with pizza."

Quote by Dave Barry

New Quiz!!

2008-09-08T20:08:00.000-04:00

Hi Everybody!! Check out our new quiz on our website at: www.globalbeer.com/body_pages/knowlege.html All answers can be found on our website/newsletters. We have also added the August/September 2008 newsletter. We are currently working on our October/November 2008 newsletter.

Quote of the Day:

"Beer is the only virtual reality I need"

Quote by Leroy Lockhorn

Cheers,

Global Beer Network

Belgian Beer Fest 2008!!

2008-09-05T12:23:00.000-04:00

Quote by Ben Franklin

Hi Global Beer Network Fans!!! On August 23rd, Global Beer took a break from work and went to Lovell, Maine for Ebenezer Restaurant and Pub's Belgian Beer Fest 2008. We had a really good time and met some awesome people. We were amazed that alot of people frequent this pub because it is in the middle of nowhere. People camped out in back of the pub. The food was amazing especially their pommes frites (French fries). For drinks, we of course drank our products which consisted of Bier du boucanier Gold, Gentse triple Keizersberg and Gulden Draak.

Please check out Ebenezer's website at www.ebenezerpub.net!!!

All pictures were taken at Ebenezer Restaurant and Pub.

Quote of the Day:

"Not all chemicals are bad. Without chemicals such as hydrogen and oxygen, for example, there would be no way to make water, a vital ingredient in beer."

Quote by: Dave Barry

Welcome to the new Global Beer Network blog

2008-09-02T17:17:00.001-04:00

Hi! We at Global Beer Network want to welcome you to our new blog. If you have any questions or suggested discussion topics then please send us your comments.

ABOUT

2008-09-01T06:00:00.010-04:00

Global Beer Network, in business since 1994, is the exclusive U.S. importer for nine family-owned, award-winning, independent Belgian breweries. We import our famous Belgian beers from across Belgium including; Van Steenberge, Icobes, Tikka, Bavik, Van Eecke, Silly, Silenriuex, De Halve Mann, Boelens, Musketeers, and Roman. We are enthusiatically educating you, our customers, about the long standing tradition of drinking the finest beer Belgium has to offer from how to pour our beer with that perfect head, to recipes using beer and beer pairings. We offer a full line of beer accessories to further your beer enjoyment. This blog is an extension of ourselves, one more way we can reach out to you and let you follow along with us on this great big Belgian beer journey.