Limericks for Oktoberfest

I teach literature, and I am a literary beer reviewer. I write about literary-themed craft brews like the Leaves of Grass series from Bell’s (a tribute to poet Walt Whitman). And I often write about craft beer in a literary form: the limerick. My latest beer limericks for the Massachusetts Review pay tribute to Oktoberfest; some verses get tongue-twisty if you read them aloud. I parse Märzenbiers from Massachusetts, Michigan, and Colorado–plus a Festbier lager from St. Petersburg, Florida. Enjoy in moderation.

If you can’t fly to Munich, don’t worry –
American brewers have scurried
To release in due season
The beer lover’s reason
For drinking outdoors before flurries.

When it’s Autumn and weather behaves,
Tis the malts that the beer lover craves.
Don’t put pumpkin in beer!
(That’s for baked goods, my dear.)
Märzen madness tastes good, not depraved. . . .

You can read the rest of “Märzen Madness and Florida Festbier” right here.
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