As far as I'm concerned, Ivies started Monday. This being my last Ivies, I've decided to share some of the most school spirited beers I found with old alumni brews, as well as celebrate or try to forget that the end is coming in less than a month.

Out of curiosity as well as by accident, I have recently tried a couple of beers that do not rely entirely on a wheat source. In the beer making process, a starch source is needed for a fermentable material and is a key ingredient related to the taste and alcohol content of the beer.

In the cold wind of the everlasting winter that will eventually make its way to spring, it's good to have a beer that keeps you warm and helps you feel protected throughout this extended season. Dogfish Head Fort fits such criteria. It's named Fort since it is meant to be a beer that will last the ages, like a fort is meant to do.

If Willy Wonka really existed, he would not own a chocolate factory. Instead, he would run a large microbrewery in Burlington, Vermont, doing many of the magical things that he is told to do in legend, but with beer. Magic Hat Brewing Company is, by all standards, a successful hippie brewing company. It is constantly creating one-time only brews, and provides infinite fan-submitted wisdom under each of its bottle caps (examples below). The art on the box of the Spring Fever Variety Pack is a half-bird/half-guitarist with a Mardi Gras mask and number nine pants—an appropriate mascot for any promotion for this brewery.

It's probably just me, but recently I've seen a ton of references to Sun Wukong, the Monkey King. In honor of the little guy who wanted to be more than just a monkey and to attain powers comparable to—if not more powerful than—the gods of heaven, I chose a couple of beers that will pay tribute to this mythological figure.

Welcome back. Welcome back to campus, welcome back to Maine, welcome back to America. Regardless of where you've been for the past one or six months, you may have noticed some national changes over the past couple of days. What better way to celebrate the new semester in Maine and our new president then with some local brews with a patriotic theme?

Classes are done, the dance show is danced, course cards are in, and my last paper has been turned in. My only obligation now is to buckle down with the books once more and get ready for exams. I need a drink.

Shipyard Prelude is terrible. Not only does it not live up to the standards of a decent winter ale, it is simply an unacceptable beer. It is formed from the scum of beer making, and only the scum of beer drinkers would dare to admit that they like this travesty. Were I to go to a friend's party and find a 12-pack of Prelude purchased in an attempt to class up the party from the 30-rack of PBR next to it, I would politely say my goodbye, go home, and de-friend that person on Facebook. That's a flat-out lie. But it's worth a shot to discourage you from purchasing it so as to leave more for my roommates and me to drink.

In honor of Halloween and in the spirit of the falling leaves, I've decided to sit down and invest in a handful of pumpkin ales before the snow hits. Pumpkin ales are usually a seasonal beer, and are only released in conjunction with the changing color of the leaves. It is difficult to actually create a pumpkin taste in a beverage since pumpkin alone doesn't taste like anything, or at least anything interesting. Brewers, in order to circumvent this problem and create something that will sell, started adding cinnamon and nutmeg and other spices associated with the more distinctive (and delicious) taste of pumpkin pie. This leads to many different brews?more than 200 in the world.

If someone were to ask me which beer they should try to get a sense of a craft beer, a Maine microbrew, or an example of a modern Belgian beer, I would recommend Allagash Brewing for each. I'm somewhat partial here?not only is Allagash my all-time favorite beer?but I have also worked at the brewery for the past two years.

An ancient burial chamber at Gordian in central Turkey supposedly houses the tomb of King Midas. Midas was not only a myth, but an actual king of the ancient kingdom of Phrygia around 700 B.C.E. His intact tomb seems to have been the location of the final funeral party for its permanent resident, and someone neglected to clean the 157 different drinking vessels left behind.