Beroepsmisvorming...

Beroepsmisvorming.... This is a Flemmish phrase, of which there is no English equivalent, for someone who has a lot of experience in something and notices things without really thinking about them. Imagine walking into a book shop and seeing a childrens book and it reminds you of your very normal adult job. It's like your job is you and you are your job. I suppose, it's a bit like the top-down approach as opposed to the bottom up. I used to have this when I worked in Social services in London, I could immediately sense the issues and difficulties a client may have, often before the assessment, just by observing and getting a feel for the environment. I wasn't always right, and in that scenario you cannot replace the importance of a bottom-up, detailed assessment, but you get a feeling for these things the more you experience them. I have been at the receiving end of this phrase in recent months in my current job. My boss, and many of the clients who come into the bar have a keen interest in how the bar is run. This is understandable considering my boss, is my boss, and many of the locals are known as vaste klanten or "regulars". Many of whom have been drinking at the cafe for longer than I have been alive. It does, however, go a bit deeper than that. There is one thing that I am always being watched doing. One thing that clients and my boss always have an opinion of, and this is the one thing that I always get wrong, especially when the "observer effect" comes into play. You may think pouring a beer is a relatively simple task, but here in the land of beer, its a way of life. Belgium is famous for their Trappist beers, or beer produced by monks. They are famous for their (literally) hundreds of strong flavoursome beers and the myriad of different shaped glasses needed to serve them. However, there is one beer that is very close to the heart of most Belgians. The Pintje. Literally meaning "little pint" (its 250cl), the Pintje is by far the most widely drunk of beers in Belgium. Every bar has its own Pintje. You will see this on the (normally neon) sign on the front of a Cafe. The most popular tend to be Primus, Maes, Jupiler or Stella Artois (There are many many more). But when you ask for one of these beers you don't need to say the name of the beer, you need only say "Een Pintje Alstublift". Once you have said this, a process is triggered which has barmen and women scrutinised from the Netherlands to the WestHoek. This is no exaggeration, as I mentioned before, it is this that has people commenting from the bar. It is this that has my boss looking over his glasses at the way I pour his pint. Being English puts you at a distinct disadvantage I should add. We are famous for our beer without any foam at all. The process known as "Pintje Tappen" is ALL about the quality of your head.

Recently a Flemmish guy called Jan Van Dessel won Belgium's national competition for pouring beer. It's no mean feat and he will now be on his way to Argentina for the world championships. Van Dessel was praised for his adherence to what the adjudicators called "The pouring ritual". There are around 8 steps to this process (depending on what you read), all as important as eachother:

-The first is The Cleansing, where the glass is rinsed in cold water.

-Second is The Sacrifice, this allows the first few drops of beer to fall outside the glass.

-The third step is known as The Alchemy as the beer fills the glass.

-The Collar is the fourth and is when the head is allowed to form.

-Fifth is known as The Removal. The glass should be removed from the flow at just the right time.

-The sixth is The Beheading. This is when the head is scraped off to the level of the rim of the glass.

-Seventh is The Judgement where the thickness of the head maybe no more than 3cm.

-Lastly the aptly named Final Cleansing, where the glass is dipped in cold clean water to remove any beer from the outside of the glass before being served.

So as you can see its serious stuff. Next time you are sat in a cafe and someone brings you a big bowl shaped glass full of dark, strong Belgian beer. Spare a thought for the relatively normal looking Pintje and the painstaking work that has gone into producing the perfect glass of beer.

See this video for a Dutch example of the above process.. this time in 7 steps.