"But what of the ordinary North Koreans’ drinking habits?"

Somewhere in the lengthy canon of the television series M*A*S*H, Hawkeye Pierce is trying to find the words to describe the foulness of something, and comes up with it being similar to liquid traveling through rusty drain pipes fixed to chicken coops, to be filtered through dirty socks.

Such was the only North Korean beer I ever drank, as presented to me in bottled form circa 1989 by Kim Wiesener, one of my Danish friends, who had a relative working for Aeroflot (Soviet airlines). She brought it to Kim, and he saved it for me. It was very, very bad.

And yet, that very same year, I briefly had a booking to visit Pyongyang. In a mailing, the organization called Volunteers for Peace offered spaces at the International Youth & Student Conference, held in the North Korean capital. I signed on and anted up, only to lose my spot when the youth section of the Communist Party USA demanded accreditation rights, and got them. I wanted to go to Pyongyang, but couldn't make the case that I was a Commie.

So, I went to Moscow instead. Too bad about missing the chance to drink in North Korean beer halls, even if the beer was wretched.

The whole article is worth your time.

Homebrew and house parties: how North Koreans have fun, by Daniel Tudor and James Pearson (The Guardian)

Despite restrictions on money and free time partying is integral to North Korean culture. But how does it compare to cutting loose in the South?

 ... But what of the ordinary North Koreans’ drinking habits? It is impossible for the average North Korean to afford the tequila enjoyed by Kim Jong-un. Most will only have had state-produced drinks like Yangdok-Sul or the famed Taedonggang beer on special occasions , and will probably never have tried any of the powerful fruit-based brews (such as Paektusan Blueberry Wine) that can be bought by foreigners on visits to the country.

Other spirits on sale to tourists include a strong, hangover-inducing pine mushroom soju, and a peculiar alcohol that is apparently made from seal penis ...

... According to one defector, around 80-90% of North Korean men drink every day. There is even a popular song, “Weol, hwa, su, mok, geum, to, il Banju”, which can be translated as “Drink on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday”.

A world away in the capital Pyongyang, the growing elite means that new bars and restaurants are springing up all the time. There are several microbrewery bars that produce their own lagers and ales on site.

British "malt manifesto" in an American context?

There's plenty to think about in this piece. Not all of the points therein are applicable to America or to our craft beer culture, but some points are well taken, and when there is time, I hope to return to them.

I have a manifesto of my own in the works, although it remains sketchy.

The malt manifesto, by Tony Naylor (Guardian Word of Mouth blog)

Current efforts to portray traditional beers as modern unisex drinks seem to be missing the point. It's not bitter on Twitter or the 'ale' in 'female' that counts if you want to turn young, funky types on to cask ales

"Blue Grass & Brown Whiskey": Southern Foodways Alliance coming to Louisville in July.

In January, I learned about the Southern Foodways alliance:

The Southern Foodways Alliance documents and celebrates the diverse food cultures of the American South. We set a common table where black and white, rich and poor -- all who gather-- may consider our history and our future in a spirit of reconciliation.

It's true that I often have an adverse relationship with certain social and political aspects of my Southern heritage ... but food and drink is a different matter entirely, and that's the whole point of the Alliance.

The specific reason all this came up was an interview I did with Amy Evans, an oral historian:

Southern Foodways Alliance oral history project includes the Publican's testimony about the late Max Allen.

The SFA is coming to Louisville for its annual field trip, and even though beer isn't a part of the program, it looks awfully interesting.

Lousiville: Blue Grass & Brown Whiskey ... Eighth Annual Southern Foodways Alliance Field Trip

Join the Southern Foodways Alliance as we travel to Louisville, Kentucky, home of the “most exciting two minutes in sports,” and the arguable birthplace of the old fashioned.

We’ll play dainty, an only-in-Louisville game, in the streets of the city’s Schnitzelburg neighborhood. We’ll gather in the Rathskeller, beneath a tooled leather ceiling, to toast the work of Minnie Fox and the African American cooks she honored in the Blue Grass Cookbook.

We’ll taste Benedictine spread and Henry Bain sauce. We’ll sip brown whiskey from the state’s best distillers and red wine from grapes raised by a onetime tobacco farmer. We will dine on fried catfish at the All Wool and a Yard Wide Democratic Club. And farm-fresh fare at Lilly’s. We’ll sample bourbon-marinated smoked fish. And bourbonbarrel-aged sorghum.

The region’s best scholars will show us the way, providing context and amplification. Smart talking and great eating (and drinking), that’s what we promise.

Cafe exteriors, Poperinge, February 2007.

While strolling through the Belgian hop capital of Poperinge, I snapped a few exterior shots of the town’s “locals” – the places where neighborhood regulars gather, the majority of whom can be spotted drinking Stella or Jupiler or Maes while having a smoke, watching a match, and chatting up their friends.

It was early in the morning, which accounts for the shuttered appearance of more than one.

It’s worth remembering that while “real” beer in Belgium remains a source of wonder, and increasing numbers of foreigners make the pilgrimage to Belgium in search of the obscure, interesting and delightful -- and average folks there certainly have a better rudimentary knowledge of beer styles and intents than their counterparts in metropolitan Louisville -- most of them drink Stella, Jupiler, Maes or another of many watery “pils” lagers on a daily basis.

The difference, perhaps, is that even if the cafes pictured here wouldn’t be the enthusiast’s first choice, there’s something inside, probably bottled, that would suffice for time spent waiting for a bus or the rain to stop falling. A Duvel would do fine, thanks.

Check back tomorrow for more on Monday’s Extreme Belgian beer dinner at Bistro New Albany. Spaces are available; call bNA at (812) 949-5227 to reserve your table.