Monday, March 28, 2011

Here Comes the Sun


My favorite Shakespearean play, A Midsummer Night's Dream has a character who shares a name with Bell's seasonal summer beer Oberon (my colleague Mr. Connor Barrie has already briefly highlighted it).*

I have loved Oberon since my earliest days living in A2. It's a great summer beer, but it inspires a lot of activity as its release date (the final Monday in March, I believe) draws close, culminating in the release night parties like the one last night at Ashley's. It's a little hard to say why it gets such love. I mean, no one does release night parties for Bell's Winter White (aka Snow-beron).

It's easy to pin it on the season - Oberon marks summer, and we've all suffered through chilling months to get here. That's a little too simplistic for me. For those of us in school, Oberon is summer - free of classes, free of responsibilities, the possibility of barbeques and picnics. For those of us not in school, Oberon means that soon A2 will be clear of those fucking students who take over everything. It's a win-win.

I'm not one for release parties (a few too many crazed Harry Potter events, surrounded by screaming children, turned me off) but I was pleased to grab a beer with a friend this afternoon to celebrate an MTTLR-related accomplishment. But I made sure to specify in our plans that we'd grab an Oberon. It made it more of an event.

* Mr. Houston suggests this alternate origin story.

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