randy_byers | Another visit to Brouwers

Had a lovely afternoon yesterday with

akirlu, and

libertango at Brouwers Cafe right here in fabulous Fremont (which is actually going through a major overhaul of street design at the moment, so it's like walking through a warzone). Brouwers is the kind of place that

suaveswede might like, with 60 beers on tap and over a 100 bottled beers as well, not to mention the bar dedicated to single malts. I drank two Belgian winter beers with multiple names that I can't remember, although one was a Dupont and one was St V-something, the former quite sour (in a good way!) and the latter quite sweet. I also drank a local winter ale called Fimbulvinter, which got lost in the shadow of the Belgians I'm afraid, but I liked the name. The local breweries have embraced the big winter ale style, and I can't complain. There's a big Belgian-style winter ale called Malaise at the Tangletown right now that's satisfying and delicious, even if it can't quite make the sun shine.

I also ate a stew called hutsepot that had bits of corned beef, sausage, and bacon, several root vegetables, and a fresh leafy green that was still crisp and crinkly. Wonderful food! Very savory, which was perfect for those big beers.

Conversation was the usual eclectic fannish fare, with a recurring theme of Swedes, since

daveon works with (and for) Swedes and, of course,

akirlu is (or at least was born) one. Perhaps that's another reason I thought of

suaveswede, although it was also the Oud Beersel lambics on the menu. Anyway,

daveon brought out his new nano iPod to play us a very funny song that I hope that he will post the details of here (once he gets settled into Tokyo after a typically horrific flight via Chicago). It's a country song by a British comedian, sung from the point of view of a US red stater telling the blue staters to take a hike. Well, it made me laugh, even if I ain't goin' nowhere. I'm stuck in this blue city, sipping my fancy Belgian beers with their fancy French names. It ain't so bad, as far as a life goes.