The Devilish Brilliance of Belgian Beer
The Devilish Brilliance of Belgian Beer
Belgian Beer in Maastricht
There’s much to say about beer, and one of the best places to discuss the subject is in the Dutch town Maastricht, along the Belgian border. There you’ll find The Duke, a bar with a long, wooden counter dominating the room and a formidable record collection. Belgian beer is not simply beer: it is a celebration, and at The Duke, it is served with exalting excellence.
The best time of the day to start drinking Belgian beer is when the most important business is taken care of and there are more serious matters to discuss, so usually some point between 4 and 6 o’clock. A good discussion thrives best in a pleasant place with light jazz, which both simply makes the drinks taste better. So head on, down to The Duke were these factors come together to form a rabbit hole for great minds, good beer and jazz, just open at the right time.
Belgians are renowned for their beer culture. Each beer comes with its own glass, perfectly matched to the type and taste of the brew itself. Some names presage the content and its effect, such as Delirium (decorated with pink elephants) or simply Duvel. One of the latter will cheer you up, two will elate you, three will excite you, more than four and things start to become a bit crazy as you go through the rabbit hole. The key is to cruise to the point of elation and utter wastedness.
In a country built on beer brewed by Trappist monks in tiny abbeys, Duvel might not be the most original choice, but as far as mass-produced beers go, you’d be hard pressed to find a better blonde. It is a fiendish drink, letting you slowly slip away into a delirious maze of the mind. The beer was first brewed and marketed to commemorate the Allied victory in World War One, but avid drinkers soon changed the name to the Brabantian Dutch word for devil.
As the first beer shows its effect, you are still perfectly aware of what is happening to you, so why stop? After all, time is on your side and tomorrow is another dawn and another hangover away. And then there is no stopping the bubbling of great ideas, which get tossed around like salad in a spinner, the best and most perfect plans ever conceived by a single human mind. There is still much to discover, be it simply the universe of one’s own mind, relationships with long gone friends and lovers, or perhaps the history of science, sociology, and philosophy. At the bottom of each glass you’ll find a D engraved. And immediately afterwards you will find yourself, yet again, pouring in another perfect glass of bubbling Belgian beer.