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.
Unfortunately, my trip to Bootleggers is only further reminding me of my classes, and I think they had a much more subconscious influence on my purchases than I had imagined. Each of these beers is dedicated to my classes for my final fall semester, and any relation to their reviews and course evaluation cards is wholly unintentional and accidental.
Advanced Topics in Applied Mathematics
#9 Not Quite Pale Ale is Magic Hat's flagship brew, and there's no surprise there?it's delicious. Considered in some circles a fruity beer, it has correct apricot flavoring, which complements the beer. Each sip is both welcome to the previous, and not regrettable as you go to the next. This beer is highly recommended if you are just getting into the realm of "good beer," and is affordable and accessible almost everywhere for any party. Truthfully, math left the option open for any beer, given that the focus of my final project in the class was optimal control of beer fermentation. Yeah, I would.
Independent Study in Engineering Physics
"Viscous, Chocolatey, Roasty" is what reads on the bottle of Harviestoun Brewery's Old Engine Oil. Its name is obvious; it pours a solid black into a glass with little to no head or carbonation at a slow pace. It tastes a little bit like drinking a chocolate bar, but a chocolate bar that's secretly made out of roasted wood. I've heard that "Old Engine Oil" is something like the Moxie of beers-it has a small audience of those who call it an acquired taste. I like Engine Oil and Moxie, but that really isn't saying anything, and bringing out Old Engine Oil at a party is sure to make one lose some friends...or gain the best friends you'll ever know.
Ancient Philosophy
I love my Belgians, and Three Philosophers is a good step-up to the plate. It is a quadruple ale, meaning it's been brewed four times, and it's reasonably strong but not too overpowering. It has hazing with some sediment on the bottom (it's typical for Belgian beers, in particular, to not screen all the haze in order to produce a fuller tasting beer). It has the essence of either a port wine or a beer to drink with dessert, tasting either like sweet cherry fruit cake or like sweet cherry cough syrup; I can't exactly decide. The beer is a borderline lambic, and I'm not entirely sure how I feel about that, but the reassurance of a malty aftertaste is nice.
War and Society
"This Premium dark beer honours the brave soldiers of the Carignan-Salières Regiment and their traditional black hats..." Chambly Noire is a fancy-looking beer from Unibroue Brewery in Québec, which is known for making beers with labels that look like they could be the cover of a Meatloaf album. Unibroue also specializes in Belgian styles, and has several beers that I particularly like (like Maudite). Noire tastes like it came from the same brewery, but with a coppery tasting twist on a Belgian. I've definitely had more interesting brews, and nothing in particular stands out aside from the darker color and more carbonation... so I'm going to do a saké bomb.
Whoa, wait, really?
Saké is Japanese rice wine, although the process includes making alcohol by using sugars produced by starch?similar to the way beer is made. Although saké undergoes a "parallel fermentation," it is closer to beer in brethren.
This was a terrible idea. Wake me up for finals.