Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1999/01/24

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Subject: Re: [Leica] Belgian beer
From: Alan Ball <AlanBall@csi.com>
Date: Sun, 24 Jan 1999 18:08:50 +0100

Pascal wrote:
> 
> On 20-01-1999 19:20 Alan Ball wrote:
> >...snip...
> >So Duvel was a no-no on campuses and
> >Brussels trendy bars during a few years. That dust  seems to have
> >settled today.
> 
> It's the first time I am hearing that story, Alan. Goes to prove one can
> always learn...:-)
> Anyway, I usually drink up to three of them, after which it is high time
> to stop...

Pascal,

I do not remember any written sources on the matter and have found none
on the web, but it was 'obvious' that it was not PC to drink Duvel. This
dates back to the late Seventies-very early Eighties. The 'neo-fascist'
label (VMO) associated to the Moortgat brewery was probably unfounded,
maybe due to some kind of distorted conclusion after long nights in bars
;-) . But in my fogged memories, I seem to recall that Moortgat bought
advertisement space in Nouvel Europe Magazine, which was closely linked
to the neo-fascist Front de la Jeunesse. I must stress that I am not
sure my memory is correct on that point.

Anyway, no 'liberal' (in the US understanding of that word) student
would have wanted to be seen drinking Duvel at the time. This has not
been a subject of conversation for many years, and younger beer amateurs
I drink with do not seem to be aware of that old reputation of Moortgat.
I have not found any web site mentionning this either, except old posts
in alt.beer (01/96, through DejaNews).

At that time it was also considered 'a well known fact' that some
American cigarette brand (Malboro ?) was a front to the KKK, because one
could decipher 'symbolism of the Klan' in hidden parts of the package.
In fact those were the cutting marks symbols printed by the manufacturer
of the packages. 

Guess those rumours were precursors of the nowadays conspiration
theories...

Anyway I do not smoke and never liked Duvel, so that was not really a
problem for me...

Alan