Another TODO checked. Found in Brussels, of course. Not my favourite Rochefort though. It has very distinct Helles vibes.
Not my favourite Trappist Rochefort, either.
Nevertheless, to my mind, all of the Trappist Rochefort beers are excellent, and, as that particular beer is - comparatively - relatively low in alcohol, it does make for a easy sipping beer, and an occasional welcome change from the more powerful (not to mention profoundly alcoholic) beverages offered by the brewery, which, while perfectly splendid, can also be rather over-whelming, at times.
I'm starting the weekend with a lovely Weihenstephaner Hefeweizen. Still not my favourite Hefeweizen, but hey - it's there and it's fresh from the fridge... I tend to go for a Weihenstephaner rather often recently, I admit.
There is nothing wrong with an excellent Weihenstephaner Hefeweizen - it is a glorious beer, and is probably the best Hefeweizen that can be obtained in our corner of north west Europe.
My little (wine) world is falling apart: my favourite wine merchant (at least not the same as my favourite wine place, which is in another city) with its excellent advice, family-run in the third generation, is closing its branch in my town at the end of July; the youngest son prefers to run online shops and wine tastings. That's a bit annoying because my town is now left without a wine merchant who gives good advice - all we are left with is a soulless chain whose shop assistants don't really know what they are even selling, and a small but always well-stocked wine garden, whose boss I can't quite figure out yet.
So, in the future, I'll have even fewer options for enjoying a spontaneous glass of wine in the evening. I'll try out the wine garden next Tuesday.
Commiserations; it is always heart-breaking when wonderful, small, family owned (and run) businesses decide to shut their doors for business.
Online offers, - even if from the same small business, (or, its descendants) are simply not the same.
My favourite local (family owned) wine shop decided, some years ago, (according to what I have since been told, an internal dispute within the family concerning the future of the valuable - and quite old - city centre property, rather than simply pure greed, - although this was also a factor - determining this decision) to permanently shut its doors, remove its presence from its city centre location, and confine its business in the future to the online world, which I regretted at the time, and still do.
This means that the sort of pleasure that one can take to browse wine shelves, and (often after a chat, and upon a recommendation from knowledgeable and enthusiastic staff) then, to spontaneously select a bottle to take home, is lost; choosing wines from an online catalogue is not the same as handling a bottle, examining its label, and discussing its merits, provenance, style and taste with someone (a human being) who knows what they are talking about.
