It sounded exotic to me until it was offered to me every time I ate at a restaurant in Belgium. It's not a bad beer, it's just that when there are so many options, you don't want to waste your time drinking the same thing. The walls of the bars in Belgium were covered in signs for the country's different beers, and a wide selection was always offered, at restaurants as well.

I think I tried as many different ones as I could. There’s something for everyone. You could write several books about the variety of Belgian beers, so this blog certainly can’t do the discussion justice.

Although the trip was short, those experiences helped me get started on European and other foreign beers. What I like is that each Belgian beer has its own matching glass-how cool is that? They have various and sundry logos on them. They have huge beer stores where you can stock up on your favorite drink, while picking up the matching glasses that are usually placed right next to it, for ease of convenience. I bought the glass for Hoegaarden Forbidden Fruit, which has a picture of an Adam and Eve-type-couple hanging out in a garden.

  Another beer that I tried recently was from my local convenience store, “Smiley’s” in downtown Dover. Don’t let the outside appearance fool you- the store has a lot more than Bud. There’s a nice selection of Belgian, British, and German beers; ones with funky labels, and ones that are oversized. I chose a Belgian ale (of course) called Leffe Blonde. It comes in four different varieties, the blonde, Brown, Triple, and Radieuse/Vieille Cuvée. I've only tried the Blonde one so far.

You’re supposed to drink many beers a certain way- pour some in a glass, then roll the bottle around, on its side, on the table, then pour in the rest to get a good head. I usually just drink it from the bottle. This one was very refreshing. It tasted light like an ale, but had a nice spiciness to it, like it had coriander and fruity overtones to it. It also had a crisp finish. Very drinkable.

I have to also recommend a really nice wine-- Walnut Crest 2006 Pinot Grigio. I had heard that this was a good deal and a good wine for the money. I was very excited about it and was not disappointed. It was smooth, not too fruity, but had a bit of bite at the end.

It’s the kind of wine you could continue to drink all day, if alcohol content was not a factor.

According to Walnut Crest's Web site, the grapes come from the Provincia Pavia region of Italy. It's described as having hints of pear and lemon flavor, and some vanilla, but I didn't taste the vanilla. The Web site also says that it can be enjoyed with seafood, light pastas or as an aperitif. But to me it seems rounded enough to be used for a lot of different occasions. It retails for around $7.