Beer: The Belgian (-style) spectrum

Eric Asimov on beer:

A good selection of Belgian-style ales is like the very best kind of buffet, offering an assortment of flavors, aromas, styles, strengths and types. You want strong ale, sour ale, sweet ale, dry ale, golden, dark, wheat, fruity and malty. When we set out to draw a stylistic standard for a planned tasting of Belgian golden ales, it seemed as if we’d taken on an impossible task. But glory does not come to those who quit easily ….

I admit, Belgian aren’t my favorite beers, but I’m not going to complain. After all, it’s beer.

Oh, right, and their winner was Jolly Pumpkin, from Oro de Calabaza of Dexter, Michigan:

Our No. 1 beer was the Oro de Calabaza from Jolly Pumpkin, which, like the Good Harbor Ale, is from Dexter, Mich., a small town near Ann Arbor. A cabal of Belgian beer lovers in Dexter?

Perhaps, but these two beers were brewed by the same man, Ron Jeffries, the founder of Jolly Pumpkin, who also finds time to do the brewing for Leelanau. Both of these beers were unfiltered, giving them a hazy appearance, and aged in barrels, but beyond that they are completely different. While the Good Harbor was funky, the Oro de Calabaza was spicy, fruity and floral, with soft carbonation and fresh, vibrant flavors. Same man, different yeasts, at the least.

I’m sure it could have been worse …

… though I haven’t put much thought into how. Really, it’s not that big a deal. But, still ….

Government at its finest:

The general manager of the Chilean mint has been dismissed after thousands of coins were issued with the name of the country spelt wrongly.

The 50-peso coins – worth about 10 cents (6p) – were issued in 2008, but no-one noticed the mistake until late last year.

Instead of C-H-I-L-E, the coins had C-H-I-I-E stamped on them.

The coins have since become collectors’ items and the mint says it has no plans to take them out of circulation.

According to the BBC, it’s not the first time in recent years mint employees have shown a certain talent for ineptitude. Last year, two medals—one a museum piece—were mistakenly sold.

Write a punch line if you need one.

(And a tip of the hat, of course, to Mr. Ben Schott for pointing this one out to his readers.)

Best wishes to … well, Mom

Hi, Mom.

Yeah, well, I guess with all that was going on earlier, I kind of forgot to post this before midnight came around.

But, hey, now I have a water heater that isn’t leaking all over the place, and our adventure after dinner was, well, yeah. Excuses, excuses. Isn’t that what a younger son is for?

Happy birthday. I love you.