When your uniqueness is appreciated

Over the last few years I've grown in my appreciation for that marvellous amber liquid that the Belgians call bier (I appreciate that English has a word of the same spelling with a slightly different meaning).

I tend to be not so hot on lagers (bar a few), but pretty content with most ales. Either way, there's no shortage of choice in Belgium; they produce over 500 different standard beers (including their unique lambic).

While I often take my standard straight out of the bottle (not so keen on cans), the Belgians are definitely serious about their beer glasses. So here's the kicker: every standard Belgian beer has its own glass. And its own special method of presentation (the preparation of the glass and the pouring is itself an art).

I think that's amazing. For most of us Aussies, beer glasses are generally either 'middy' or 'schooner', or (perhaps at a stretch) 'pint' or 'stein'. The concept of each beer having its own glass and presentation style seems a little beyond VB.

I guess I should be thankful that my company is based in Belgium - and, yes, there are some prospects of visiting them at some stage. Purely business, of course.

And maybe a glass of red.