Oh, Look.... Another Belgian. But Different.

Beer #53 Premium Pilsener / Brouwerij Martens, Bocholt, Belgium
In my book, 53 beers is a lot.  And yet, we're only 14.5% of the way done with this adventure.  I can confirm, in case anyone was wondering, that 365 days is a long time to do something every single day.  However, we either get better each day or we get worse, we never stay the same.  So let's get better today.

Today's beer is a break from the saisons, IPAs, and barley wines.  We're going straight up pilsner today, and to no one's surprise this pours a clear gold color, with a thin, light head.  The taste is light and fluffy, with some very very mild hop and barley flavor, with a nice clean finish.  Whereas last night's beer was deeply complex, this is a walk in the park on a spring day - fitting, as today's weather sort of made it feel like a spring day.  If you're ordering a pilsner, you're looking for something smooth and easy, not complex and thought provoking.  So, if you're going for something easy, you might as well kick back  something outside the norm, like this one. The ABV is 4.8%, which is higher than I would have guessed.  Would pair nicely with spicy food, perhaps.

Damn, my phone takes shitty pictures

I've mentioned earlier that I'm fascinated with history, so it makes sense that I'm intrigued with this brewery perhaps more than the beer.   I find it awesome and fascinating that Martens has been brewing beer since 1758.   To put this another way, before America was a country.   It's currently under management of the 8th generation to run the brewery.  Maybe I'm fascinated with history because beyond my grandparents, and to a lesser degree my great-grandparents, I have no idea of my family history.  In my mind, I'm heir to the throne in Iceland, or something similarly awesome.   Seeing how I'm not attending many royal court functions in Reykjavik, maybe not.

Thing to Think About Today:
Seattle?  Yeah, I'm not going there this week.  Perhaps next week, maybe not any time soon.  Easy come easy go.  But, I've been planning the trip for some time, so let's go ahead and think about one of the great movies that uses Seattle for a backdrop - Singles.  I'm at the tail end of Gen X, so much of the angst in this movie was lost on me.  Everyone seemed so old and depressed in this movie, which didn't make sense to me when it first came out.  Now that I'm older, I get the more subtle nuances of relationships, jobs, and friends.

Let's all think about my favorite scene from this movie, starring the wildly talented Jeremy Piven, and let's all enjoy his mad beat box skills:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0PP5ENgXLiI

Of course.....you may be busy.

And, because we're trying to be better, I'll throw in the clip from Singles that features my favorite Pearl Jam song of all-time.  ALL TIME!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nJjB4MyBGyg

Um, please disregard the dubbing of the dialogue into a different language.   Hopefully that didn't distract you from the most awesome song in the Pearl Jam universe.

Until tomorrow, my friends.