Managing Editor's Letter

The Motherland

Matt Simpson
Managing Editor
President, Ale Atlanta

What drives you to drink? For many, it’s a long, hard day. For others, it’s a debilitating depression or the need to forget something tragic. Not me. For me, most forms of alcoholic beverages hold little gratification, save swift inebriation. True pleasure, for me, is in the slow savoring of a fine ale.

Every time I pop open a Trappist trippel, I’m reminded of the first of my gourmet ale encounters … my first epiphany. I was visiting with a cousin in New York City, about 12 years ago. I can’t remember the occasion, but it’s really unimportant. All I remember is going to a bar where we met a few of his friends; it must have been a local haunt of his, since he lived in NYC at the time.

We sat down, but before we ordered he said, “There’s this beer you’ve got to try … it’s awesome.” Well, I’d never seen beer served in a 750 ml bottle with a cork before, so, naturally, I was slightly taken aback. Lacking the palate (or at least the education to accompany that palate), the only word I could muster after my first taste was “WOW”. That was the best beer I had ever had. It was a party in my mouth! Sweet, floral and flavorful … I’d died, gone to beer heaven and this, my friends, was my manna.

Not only was it the best beer I’d ever had, it was the most expensive. That 750 ml bottle cost us $20. And so did each of the two after that. It was New York, after all. And to tell the truth, at that point, I really didn’t care; it was also the first beer I’d ever had with a 10% a.b.v!

That bottle was Chimay Grande Reserve. Twelve years later, my favorite style to drink is barleywine, but those Belgian ales have a deep-rooted hold on my heart. There’s nothing in this world like a well-crafted trippel or Abbey ale.

Barring any unforeseen mishaps or tragedies of my own, I’ll be christening my passport with a trip to Belgium next month. It’s really only fitting that the first stamp in my passport will be the homeland of the first beer to awaken my senses and bring me to the wonder of gourmet beer. Of course, I’ll need to stop by brewery Chimay for a chat with the brothers, if possible…that would truly make my pilgrimage complete. Stay tuned for details.