Saturday, August 19, 2006

Water beats out beer!!!

Every year, the consumption of beer decreases in Belgium. This year, water beat beer as the country's most popular drink. Water! That thin, weak, tasteless, un-artisanal, ordinary drink. And people pay for it, as restaurants do not serve tap water. They serve mineral water in little bottles that only half quench my thirst. Maybe they're large enough to quench European thirst, and I, at 5 feet and 52 kilograms, require at least twice that amount to feel as if I'd had a real drink.

On the other hand, beer comes in far more generous quantities. I can drink only a quarter of the beer that's served to me as my alcohol tolerance is so low. Somehow my hydration needs are the inverse of the norm here. Then again, how can I be speaking of hydration. A tiny bottle of mineral water probably hydrates the body twice as well as a monstrous glass of Duvel.

1 comment:

Klaas said...

I agree it's a shame restaurants and bars rarely serve free tap water. An expensive 2 dl of mineral water doens't quench my thirst either. The Hot Club de Gand is one of those rare bars, and it works in their own advantage: people can get rid of their thirst first, and then enjoy the booze without getting drunk by drinking too fast. This way, they'll buy more alcoholic drinks anyway.

However, I strongly disagree water is thin, weak, tasteless and un-artisanal!! The only good water is water with taste. This is why Spa outcompetes the other brands by far :-)