notbob wrote:

>
> In CA, canoe beers used to have 85% of the shelf space in supermarkets.
> Now, it's more like 20%! I realize CA is not Middle America, but CA has
> always been the precurser. Likewise, NY and the East Coast. NY has some
> killer microbreweries. A NY brewery, Ommegang, is the first state to
> successfully market an excellent line of Belgium style beers. For you of
> you who don't know, Belgium is the center of the beer universe. They are to
> beer what France is to wine.


I am still kicking myself for not finding out what brand of beer I had
in Ypres, Belgium when I was there. It was a hot day in mid May when we
went into a small restaurant by the town square and I ordered a beer. It
was incredible. It was by far the best beer I had ever tasted in my
life. I jsut wish that I had asked what kind it was in case I might be
able to pick some up here.