The last time I did have a sip was a can of Red Horse about 2 weeks ago. I downed that with a couple shots of Tequila, as I took a really cold swim in a mini pool somewhere in Antipolo. And then the flu set in. Good thing I didn't wait around for beer-bong time that evening. Took me a bit of time to bounce back from the fever and chills. Age had caught up. Ten to twelve years back, I really felt I was invincible and thought that I would remain so forever.
Nope. I'm not swearing off beer forever, but just like most beer ads say at the end: "Drink Moderately". Maybe I would have to drink more moderately now than I did a year ago. Anyway, this edition zeroes in on 2 beers I tried over the last 3 months. Of course, on occasion I would dip into my modest cache of Heineken that I was more than happy to share with my dad; my brothers-in-law and my father-in-law. But a staple's a staple, and then some.
Belle-Vue Kriek Beer: For some reason, I could not find an official website for this beer. Hmmm, it would probably be in Belgian(French or German) anyway. The label says this about the product: "Brussels Lambic-Ale Matured in Oak Barrels". There was no mistaking that this was beer, cherry-flavoured beer. But the bottle had a punt at the bottom and a mushroom-shaped cork plus some twisty wires to seal it, which made me wonder the first time I pulled one off the shelf at DFS Subic. It looked like a small bottle of wine. The green bottle was a bit heavy on the grip, so I opted to hold it at the neck. It seemed ridiculous for me to hold it at the punt anyway - I didn't exactly have a tux on and I wasn't exactly pouring into wine glasses.
The first swig I took of this beer reminded me of the first time I took a sip of Cherry Coke. The only difference was that as a beer and not a soda, this drink had sour cherry flavour set against a bitter background. Wifey loved it, and she doesn't like beer at all. But she drank more than the amount I was prepared to share, so I would definitely conclude that this beer is something women might learn to like. Don't let the flavour fool you into thinking that this is not a man's beer though. At 5.1 percent alcohol, the right number of bottles might just knock you or any 6-footer out, if you don't give it enough respect. At 3usd a pop when I bought it last April, I bought 2 just to satisfy my curiosity. It wouldn't be something I can consider a staple. Not for me, and perhaps not for the majority of beer-drinking Pinoys. You just might want to drive over to Brew Brothers at Timog(if they're still open), or over to the Shang at Watering Hole(if they still served flavoured beer) for acceptable and perhaps cheaper(?) alternatives.
Corona Extra : It took me long enough to finally open 2 more bottles of this very popular beer. The last time I drank them was like 10 years ago. Like my other beer supplies, I only recently got 2 of them from DFS Subic for 1.90usd a bottle - about 20 pesos less than I would have paid had I gotten them from S&R. The one dumbass thing that I did was to forget to take pictures of the bottle with the beer still in it. Yup, I was that excited to drink it. It was the one beer I had to walk a kilometer to the nearby grocery one Saturday night, just so that I could buy a lemon to go with it. The best way and perhaps the only way to drink this Mexican hottie was to slice a piece of lemon and pop it into the bottle. Of course, it would have to be really cold, as in with white frost on the bottle surface. The smooth, golden contents go very well with the citrus-y contrast that the lemon gives off. It lends a bit of a tang to the not-so-bitter ale, that even at 4.6 percent alcohol, goes down really smooth and light on the belly.
The bottle is nothing special. Topped with a standard cap, it had the all-too-familiar look of our San Mig Light and San Miguel Strong Ice bottles. I wasn't complaining though. The grip was easy and in front of the TV with some chips, it was the final ingredient for a truly relaxing time. I remember watching Restaurant Makeover when I finally drank the 2 bottles I bought last April.
Beer remains to be an acquired taste in general; but anyone, man or woman, who refuses to try even this one might be passing up a lot. Make no mistake, Corona Extra is one beer I intend to have a few bottles of in my humble cache of imported beer.
A final note before I turn this edition of my beer belly chronicles over to history: I read an interview of Heroes' Dania Ramirez in an issue of Men's Health magazine recently. Dania, God bless her sexy soul, claimed that the best beer she's ever tasted was Presidente Beer, from her native Dominican Republic. I have yet to find any store selling this brand here in the Philippines, but you can bet I'm going to try a couple of bottles where I can find them. Too bad their website's down today. Oh well...'til next time. Hic!
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