The wine's of beer

As I was standing in my kitchen, drinking a glass of Chimay out of my goblet wine glass, I thought about all the ways this ale was similar to my usual glass of wine while cooking dinner.  The ritual is the same, Open bottle- Pour glass- Decide on dinner- staring endlessly into the fridge at an array of seemingly impossible matches of food left in the fridge. 

Chimay is admittedly 'wine-y beer' as are most of the Belgians in my beer fridge off the kitchen.  But it is also so similar to wine, that lately I've been diving in for the ale over the wine for my ritualistic 'glass before dinner decision'.  Usually the quintessential 'cold one' after a long day was preceived to be the light refreshing drink with lots of carbonation and not too heavy on the flavors.  But the wine drinker in me wants to relax with a stronger punch of alcohol and a left hook of tanic bliss before hitting the couch.  Switching to the Trappist style ales, rich in flavor but not super heavy on the mouth feel was as easy as it was fiscally responsible.  I would open a bottle of wine and have a glass- put the bottle in the fridge and forget about it until the next evening- usually dumping it down the drain a week later.  I can pop a bottle of ale for myself and enjoy a fresh one each time for virtually the same alcohol content and cost of the glass of wine without the waste.

I know there are plenty of other examples of a wine like beer- Dogfish's Midas Touch, Cantillian Geuze, Duvel, Rochfort 10, or many of the Lambics- but tonight Chimay is in my wine glass.  It reminds me that the crossover between the beer, wine, and most things fermentable, can be so similar in texture and content that it has lost it's 'cold one'  or wine snob status- and becomes end of the day dinner decision maker- staring in the fridge- deciding to call for take out.