Breweries "Visited"

Wednesday, March 6, 2013

Day 452: The Flemish Comma?


I've been slowly coming around to supporting the concept of the Oxford comma. For years, I was anti-Oxford comma. I like a clean page and in fulfilling my desire to have as little extraneous material on a page, the Oxford comma had to go. 

Sidebar: What is an Oxford comma? Maybe you've heard of the serial comma. No? The Oxford--or serial or even Harvard comma--clarifies the meaning of a sentence when the items in a list are not single words. The Oxford Dictionary website used this sentence as an exemplar.

These items are available in black and white, red and yellow, and blue and green.
(The Oxford comma appears after yellow.)

How does Oxford factor into the name? The Oxford University Press, of course! I also believe a far superior illustration of the Oxford comma is represented by this image:

And now you know why I'm now on board with the Oxford comma. I declared my new found passion for it most appropriately on National Grammar Day, which was March 4th. 

And if you don't think comma placement is important, check out the second tweet below. Why no--I don't have time to kill Badger fans. You go to jail for that sort of thing!


And with that, it's time for beer. This one was found at Teresa's Next Door in Wayne (Pennsylvania). 

Surly Bird is a wild ale from de Proef Brouwerij in Belgium. I believe its proper name is de Proef Flemish Primitive. It poured a hazy, deep gold color with very little head. It had aromas of mild funk. The flavor has a lot going on...a mild sourness, a bit of earthy honey and a slightly stronger taste of wine barrels (white wine, if you're curious). It was very nuanced and I want to use the term delicate to describe it. It wasn't light by any means--I'd describe the mouthfeel as medium-bodied. It was absolutely delicious and fun to drink.

Beer stats
Style: Wild ale
ABV: 9%
IBUs: Unknown
Rating: Excellent

Previously reviewed from de Proef (note that most of these are collaborations)
Reinaert Wild Ale, Beer and Ball Gowns (guess who wrote that one!)
Gary's review of Surly Bird
I geek out about a Hair of the Dog homonym



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