Author: André Silva

  • 5 years without a new post ???

    5 years without a new post ???


    OK…. it wasn’t 84 years waiting like the granny in Titanic, but it was 5 very busy years!

    Well… first of all I apologize to you reader who had FIVE YEARS without new posts here… yeah, 5 years, what a shame =/
    Even with that period off-radar, I had a few hundred monthly visitors, that was one of the things that made me want to write again.

    In fact the reason I do not write anymore has first and last name: Best Beers.

     

    In case you didn’t read already, I did a tour in Belgium in 2010, take a look here, here, here and here. Since 2010 I went to Belgium every year until 2017 to visit the breweries and attend to annual meetings; I had the opportunity to get to know Belgium from north to south.
    My will to be an entrepreneur was an old dream but I never knew exactly what to do and after this trip to Belgium I decided to open a company to import Belgian beers.
    After almost 2 years of planning, in 2012 our first Belgian beer container arrived in Brazil:

    Beer has been my passion since 2009 and working with it and running my own company is a personal accomplishment. We started working with Verhaeghe Vichte, a brewery in northern Belgium, famous for their sour beers aged in French oak barrels, see here and here.
    It’s impossible to talk about 5 years in just one post, but since 2012 we have increased our portfolio by importing beers from Belgium, Canada and distributing Brazilian craft beers, take a look: www.facebook.com/BestBeers and www.bestbeers.com.br

    As running your own company is not an easy task, I’ve been very busy and ended up leaving the blog aside, as you can see in my other posts it takes a lot of time to do just one post, in two languages!

    Why get back writing to this blog now ?

    In January 2017 we decided to leave Brazil and move to the Netherlands, that way I could maintain a closer contact with the Belgian breweries and realize an old dream of living in another country. Due to the proximity of the countries and the European Union, moving to Netherlands was a strategic decision so we could travel more and have a new life experience!

    My last post was about Las Vegas in 2012, take a look: https://www.travelandbeer.com/en/eua-las-vegas
    From 2012 until now, I traveled to the following places: Canada (Quebec, Ontario, Alberta, British Columbia), United States (Colorado, California, Georgia, Florida, Texas), Switzerland, Denmark, Germany, Portugal, Argentina and Uruguay.

    I never updated the blog, but I always kept a “diary” about the trips and I’ll post everything here, a few at a time. I have photos, videos and many memories of everything!
    My last trip was last week to Lisbon, Portugal, and this will be the next post, I’ll see you soon!

     

  • USA – Las Vegas

    USA – Las Vegas

    USA - Las VegasWelcome to fabulous Las Vegas!

    Places like Asia and Europe has always called me more attention, but my wife always wanted to go to United States, especially for Disney.
    This year I had no way out and went to the land of Uncle Sam, starting in Las Vegas and ending in Orlando.

    What is Las Vegas ?

    Basically, Las Vegas is the idea of ​​a mad-genius named Bugsy Siegel, who worked for the mob.
    One day driving through the desert of Las Vegas in the 40s he had a great idea: “Why not make a super hotel/casino in the middle of the desert”???
    And so he created the first hotel in Las Vegas, the Flamingo.

    Bugsy was murdered by the mob a few years after the opening of the Flamingo for failing to pay the 5 million dollars loan.

    Bugsy DVD - Creator of Las VegasA great film about Bugsy’s life and the creation of Las Vegas

    Las Vegas - Flamingo Bugsy PlateIn the garden area, Flamingo did a tribute to Las Vegas’ creator with a plate telling his history.

    Viva Las Vegas!

    Not only Elvis Presley uttered the words “Viva Las Vegas!” Vegas was created thinking of a place where people can gamble, party, getting married drunk and do all sorts of madness, recalling the famous saying: “What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas“.

    The image I always had in mind about Las Vegas is what films shows: A lot of people screaming, having fun, several model-like prostitutes in a very crowded place. The reality is much less fun.

    Actually, I found the environment of several casinos depressing, with an excessive smell of cigarettes, too many “down” people, drunk and melancholy. I didn’t see the model-like prostitutes, just the average ones.

    The thematic world

    There is no denying, Las Vegas does not really exist.
    All that is there was done by copying something famous, but that does not mean that it loses its authenticity.

    The hotels are the big draw in Vegas, they all have casinos and several other major attractions such as concerts, theaters and zoo.

    Las Vegas - Caesars PalaceCaesar’s Palace – Mention to the Roman empire

    Las Vegas - VenetianGondolas at the Venetian, mention to the famous canals of Venice

    Las Vegas - Caesars PalaceCaesar’s Palace

    Las Vegas - Paris HotelParis Hotel, where we stayed

    A gastronomic tip:
    In the U.S., there is a franchise called Cheesecake Factory.
    No, not like that which appears in the Big Bang Theory, is far more sophisticated, with good food and even better desserts.
    In Las Vegas, at Caesars Palace there is one and as the name implies, they are specialized in Cheesecake.

    Las Vegas - Cheesecake Factory at Caesars PalaceThe best cheesecake you will ever had

    Shows

    The best shows in the world are in Las Vegas.
    Here in Brazil we have Cirque Du Soleil just a few times a year. Las Vegas has seven Cirque Du Soleil shows in different casino 7 days a week.
    See the difference ?

    Cirque du Soleil - O - Bellagio

    You can get an idea of the quality of the show and its price, by the hotel where the show is presented.
    We saw “O”, aquatic show from Cirque du Soleil, which is presented at the Bellagio.
    Fabulous.

    Bellagio fountains

    A remarkable spot is the water fountains that are in front of the Bellagio.
    From time to time a song starts playing and the fountains dance to the music.
    http://www.bellagio.com/amenities/fountains-of-bellagio.aspx

    The video below shows a recording I made they played Con Te Partiro.

    This is another video, which gives an aerial view to get an idea of the majesty of the fountains:

    Las Vegas is also very good for shopping, with outlets and shops true with trifles.

    Beer

    It was very interesting for beer, I tried my first american beers there.

    Samuel Adams Boston LagerA classic american craft beer, Samuel Adams Boston Lager. Pretty basic, but classic is classic

    In addition to bars and restaurants, I went to Whole Foods supermarket, which is a paradise for those who like beer.
    I found many Belgian and American craft beers, bought some from Sierra Nevada, Stone, Lagunitas and many others.

    American BeersMany of these came com Whole Foods

    Veredict

    Las Vegas is a hot place… REALLY HOT!
    During the day, the city is calm, but around 18:00 people go to the streets and it is when Vegas shows why it exists: Sex, get drunk and great shows.

    Las Vegas - StripThe Strip, Las Vegas’ main avenue

    Are you going just you and your wife/girlfriend? It’s a nice place.
    Are you single and going with friends or more couples? It is fuc**ing awesome place!

    My impression is that Las Vegas has only these two types of audience. Either you’re going to fool around or you go there to see the best show in the world who are not cheap.

    It’s a nice place, unlike anything I’ve ever seen, but still not the kind of place that attracts me to a return visit in the near future.
    Overall, I expected more, but writing this brought me good memories …
    Maybe when I got some good extra money, I’ll be back to Vegas to party at The Hangover style.

    Welcome to Fabulous Las VegasYou can’t miss the most famous sign in the city

  • Trappist Tour – Chimay in Auberge de Poteaupre

    Trappist Tour – Chimay in Auberge de Poteaupre

    ChimaysChimay beers and the charming trappist chalice

    In addition to my visit to Brussels and Brugge in Belgium, I made ​​a visit to the cities to my beloved namesake beers: Rochefort, Orval and Chimay, to learn more about the world of  trappist beers.
    In this post I’ll talk about Chimay.
    Read more » »

  • Trappist Tour – Orval in Abbaye Notre-Dame d’Orval

    Trappist Tour – Orval in Abbaye Notre-Dame d’Orval

    Trappist OrvalOrval label in detail
    This picture was a courtesy of Matt Caldwell – http://onebeeratatime.wordpress.com

    In addition to my visit to Brussels and Brugge in Belgium, I made ​​a visit to the cities to my beloved namesake beers: Rochefort, Orval and Chimay
    In this post I’ll talk about Orval.

    Read more » »

  • Trappist Tour – Rochefort in Abbaye Notre-Dame de Saint-Remy

    Trappist Tour – Rochefort in Abbaye Notre-Dame de Saint-Remy

    Trappistes Rochefort BeersRochefort 6, Rochefort 10, its gorgeous chalice and Rochefort 8

    In addition to my visit to Brussels and Brugge in Belgium, I made ​​a visit to the cities to my beloved namesake beers: Rochefort, Orval and Chimay
    Read more » »

  • Menos impostos para as microcervejarias brasileiras

    Menos impostos para as microcervejarias brasileiras

    Não aos impostos de micro cervejariasUma luta ao incentivo do crescimento das microcervejarias

    Estou reproduzindo este texto do blog do cervejaso do Ricardo Amorim, pois ele mostra uma luta que precisamos vencer para que nosso crescimento seja condizente com nosso âmbito.
    Leia mais » »

  • Belgium – A paradise with beer and chocolate!

    Belgium – A paradise with beer and chocolate!

    Grand-Place in Brussels, BelgiumLa Grand Place, in Brussels – Belgium

    Two words never gone so well as travel and beer when it comes to Belgium.
    Thanks to Belgium I named this blog as Travel & Beer.

    Read more » »

  • Norway – Preikestolen in Stavanger

    Norway – Preikestolen in Stavanger

    At the top of Prikestolen in Stavanger, NorwayAt the top of Prekestolen, in Stavanger, Norway

    Yes, when I decided to do the hiking to the top of Prikestolen, it was one more episode of “my wife is gonna kill me” saga.
    If you didn’t understand , take a look at this post.

    Read more » »

  • Wäls – Lecture

    Wäls – Lecture

    Wäls Brut

    We have a new brewery here in Brazil, I’m talking about Wäls.

    Wäls got its differentiation by exploring beer styles that are not so common here.
    Nowadays, they have a Dubbel, Tripel, Quadrupel and recently, Wäls Brut, a beer made by the champenoise method, that became famous by some Belgian brands like DeuS and Malheur Brut.

    Read more » »