Let's Get It On, Val(-Dieu)entine's Day

Beer #66  Grand Cru / Brasserie de l'Abbaye du Val-Dieu, Aubel, Belgium

Happy Valentine's Day to all, but most importantly to my darling wife.  For those keeping score at home, this is our 17th Valentine's Day together and we're still going strong.  Of course, as a rule we don't celebrate this made up holiday.  Started when we were in college and didn't have any money, so with what little we had (who am I kidding, I just tacked it on the credit card) we would go out for a nice dinner instead of exchanging gifts.  Kept that tradition going post-graduation, and haven't looked back.  Although this morning Marci curiously asked if I was sending her flowers today... which is odd as I haven't done that in the previous 16 years.  If anything, we now view this day much like New Year's Eve - it's amateur hour, so instead of trying a new restaurant we stick with something local and awesome.  Not a day for adventurous dining.

I think The Oatmeal sums things up nicely through their Valentine's Day blog.  Big fan of The Oatmeal and their warped sense of humor, particularly the BOBcats.

While I wait for my beautiful wife to arrive home so we can get dinner, I'll share my beer of the day.  It's another beer Marci has already sampled (she's clearly a trendsetter here), the Grand Cru from Abbaye du Val-Dieu.  The Belgian quad pours a dark color with a thick head, and has a sweet, malt aroma.  The taste is warm and boozy - the 10.5% ABV definitely doesn't hide in the corner.  There are flavors of honey and ripe fruit, malt, and biscuit, with a slight bitterness on the finish.  Smooth and tasty.  Definitely worth your hard earned dollars.   Much better than that overpriced bouquet of roses you were thinking about bringing home....

Thing to Think About Today:
Look, I think today is a fake holiday intended to sell product and make people feel bad about their relationships.  However, for those romantic folks out there, for those trying to take their relationship to the next level, for those trying to get laid: allow me to suggest you think about Marvin Gaye.  If you look up "sexy time" in the dictionary, you get a picture of Marvin Gaye singing his damn ass off during this song.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZAoh2ttQzMk

As The Oatmeal tells us and Marvin confirms: less whining, more sexy rumpus.  And to all, a gooood night.

Beer 60: Val Dieu Grand Cru

Gary and I have a plan to visit all fifty states. The original goal was to run a half marathon in all fifty states but then I quit running and really threw a wrench in the plans. So we are back to just visiting, which means we have to spend quality time in a state, perhaps having a meal or visiting a museum and definitely more than just sitting in an airport during a layover or driving through the state without stopping. Evidently we like rules.

I wanted a visual record to log our progress toward this goal and finally after searching for a ridiculously long time, I found this map. How excited am I, right?!? This is perfect. I found a canvas to adhere it to and every time we cross off another state, up on the map it goes. It will look a little wonky at the start with most of the east coast stuck to the canvas, a giant chunk of the midwest missing and a few western states represented. I hope it becomes a fun conversation piece.

So I order the map and wait patiently for its arrival. A few days ago, Gary calls to tell me that the map has been delivered and proceeds to open it while we talk on the phone. The following conversation ensues:

Me: Hurry up. I can't wait to hear how super awesome it is!

Gary: (making noises that sound like progress opening up the delivery tube)

Me: Well...is it awesome???

Gary: Wait, I'm unrolling it. Umm. I don't know what this is.

Me: Huh?

Gary: It's not the United States.

Me: What?

Gary: It's like lines. Stripes.

Me: It's supposed to be the United States. You know what the United States looks like. You've been there.

Gary: No, I think it's birch trees. I also have three degrees. I think I know what a U.S. map looks like.

Me: It's really trees?

Gary: And a deer. They sent us f------ Bambi. What the hell??

Me: I don't want a deer in the trees. That's weird. Who would want that?

Gary: You have to fix this. This is too weird.

Then we talked about dinner and beer. So now I'm going to write about beer.

***

The Abbaye du Val-Dieu Grand Cru Belgian Abbey Ale poured quite dark in the glass with a slightly off-white head.  Some intense twisting and turning in front of my kitchen light revealed maroon-red color where the light penetrated.  Very interesting to look at.  (I went with the beeradvocate.com link since this particular beer wasn't listed on the brewery's website.)

It smells like sweet ripened bananas with hints of vanilla.  First sip.  Goddamn.  There is alcohol in this here beer.  I like big strong beer.  Victory 12 is a favorite.  At 10.5% ABV, this one is also a doozy but, wow, it packs a kick with that ABV combined with all that flavor.   (I also forgot to eat anything today so there’s that.)  These monks know how to make some beer.

The taste is complex.  Upfront it is well balanced.  There isn’t one flavor that stands out from the rest and it all blends very nicely.  There is banana on the back end with a sweetness that reminds me of really good icing.  Sweet and complex and not sugary.  C’mon, someone with a sweet tooth like me has to understand that one.  Right?

I’m off to savor this beer and ogle Ryan Gossling in Drive.  Cheers!