For My People...

This is something of a double post, two for one, a twofer if you will. The first half of this post is dedicated to My People, the Filipinos, and their plight during an unfortunate series of events that have left my motherland in a very dire situation. A combination of incessant rains, terrifying storms, and a dilapidated infrastructure has flooded most of the Philippine National Capital Region. In some cases, the water has reached chin-high or even higher. Images of the disaster are gut-wrenching, with landmarks familiar to yours truly either flooded or peppered with debris. Despite this calamity the spirit of my people marches forward. Rich and poor, the have and have-not, both restoring my faith in my countrymen as they lead relief efforts big and small.

Not really sure where this is but yeah, it was that bad. (Reuters) 

I have done my part (though it seems as if its not enough) from overseas by donating monetarily and so can you. Check out the Philippine Red Cross website for instructions. Every bit helps, it does not matter how much you donate, just know that you will be helping out people who, despite their tragic situation, can still make light of the matter.

Not my ideal wedding but it'll do if she's game.

To those who are back home, doing everything they can to help their family, their friends, and strangers, I salute you. And if we ever cross paths in this manic world we live in, I will gladly buy you a round of this...

Now on to the beer of the week.

Ah, Duvel Belgian Golden Ale. My first Belgian beer in this endeavor. If there is one time that I would mention the devil and have it bring good thoughts, nay great thoughts, this would be it. Duvel is Barbantian (or Ghentish?) for devil. Now, "what is Barbantian" you ask? Well, without getting too much into it, Barbantian is a Dutch dialect spoken by those who consider themselves Flemish (ie. poeple who are from Flanders, a historical geographical region that is located within parts of the Netherlands, France, and Belgium). To explain further, if you wanted to divide Belgium into two parts, it would be one part Flemish (who more or less speak Barbantian or Dutch) and one part Walloon (a French-speaking community with historical and anthropological ties with France). I feel like there was more text in brackets than not. Ugh. As the story goes, the Flemish brewery, Mootgart Brewery decided to produce this marvelous ale to commemorate the end of the first world war and wanted to call it Victory Ale. However, as one of the brewers tasted the fruit of his labor, he yelled "That's a devil of a beer!" They started to call the brew Duvel and it became so popular that the brewery incorporated it to their name and is still known today as the Duvel Moortgart Brewery. 

Yes, that's a bottle cork. And no, I don't  have the official glass.

Duvel, I believe, is bottled in two different sizes. This particular one is a 750ml corked-topped bottle (about 25.5 oz or around a pint and a half). A smaller bottle which comes in at under 12 ounces is also available. Both are bottle conditioned which makes for a beer that can be stored for an extended period of time and still come out fantastic. Of course all of that depends on how you store it. It has a wonderful Pilsner feel but with the depth of flavor you come to expect from an ale. They use Bohemian hops and a unique yeast strain for fermentation that creates a simply unique flavor that you really cant find anywhere else. That's the beauty of most Belgian beers, its usually the only one that tastes like it, at least in its region. Now, the wonderful flavor of this blonde beauty (blonde is what some use to describe a pale colored beer), is not the only thing that connects me to this beer. My late father spent many weeks abroad when I was younger working for Jansen Pharmaceuticals. Many of his stories involved Belgium and the nights he spent with his trench-mates carousing the beer halls with my god-father Rudi Cranshoff. And if there was one time that my father would mention the devil and remind him of good times, it would be about Belgium, and about Duvel.