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yes, to echo some of what has already been said--the wonderful world of belgian beers in particular now becomes open--many of my absolute favorite beers are trappist--i have a particular fondness for achel--but it is quite strong---the deceptive thing about it--and this is unlike many of the strong beers like delerium tremens--is that the flavors are complex and interesting (and lovely in my opinion) but the beer does not taste particularly strong (i think achel is around 9%)---eating before/during is a good idea--you wont realize how trashed you are getting in some cases until you try to navigate the path to the bathroom. the really strong beers often taste to me like a depth charge or something---since i feel a little old to do the "dressed up to get messed up" thing directly, i stick to my pals from the trappist monastaries, who let me pretend that i am doing something quite other. with that fig leaf (too often) firmly in place, i can sail into a situation that comes to the same thing more or less exactly.
btw most belgian beers do not leave you with anything like the hangovers you get from crappier beers. given how the first encounters with beglian beers went for me--until i figured out how to interact with them---this fact came as no small solace.
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a gramophone its corrugated trumpet silver handle
spinning dog. such faithfulness it hear
it make you sick.
-kamau brathwaite
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