The Manneken Pis?
“The Manneken Pis?”
Beer consumption in Belgium is the highest per capital in the world.
I’ve been going to Belgium frequently in the past 30 years, attending the Brussels Beer Festival at least six times. That’s 3 days of over 300 different Belgian beers. They shut down the entire Grand Place in central Brussels for the festival.
For a break, we walked over to visit Joe, the owner of Delerium Cafe’, pink elephants and all.
In those 30 years, the Muslim population has skyrocketed. So has the crime. It’s not the same anymore.
There is a Jeanneke Pis; Dutch for ‘Little Pissing Joan’, right across the street from Delerium Cafe’ next to Joe’s absinthe bar, Floris Cafe’, famous for having over 600 different absinthe brands.
I used to brew a lot of beer and got to party(taste test) with the Belgian brewmasters, including those from the Trappist monestary breweries.
For me, Brussels is like a good marriage that turned bad over the years. Lots of good memories of good times and good friends, but like a spouse that changes and goes bitter, it’s not the same anymore.