09/25/2026
Here’s a toast and PROST to 30 years of BIER!
Twas right before Brewfest
As from far and wide
The crowds had been gathering
On the City's Northside.
And my wife with her scarf
And I in my cap
Had just settled in
To see a keg take its tap.
Scarcely knowing the difference
Between porter and stout,
We'd come to give our palates
A craft b**r workout.
When what to our wondering eyes should appear,
But that fellow from John's who knows all about b**r!
Oh, his demeanor was dapper,
His eyes twinkled non-stop;
He could tell limbic from l***r
Just by tasting one drop!
He fielded all questions
With aplomb and no trouble;
He would expound at length
About a triple and double.
It had begun long ago
When one special yeast
Had made "liquid bread"
The first moveable feast.
'Til now -- as Hawks to the end zone
By their courses they came --
As introducing good friends,
He called them by name:
Now, porters, now pilsners, now, witbier we bring!
Here's dunkels and pale ales -- and a good bock from last spring!
As the harvest moon brightens without any glare,
So he his wisdom did graciously share.
And we heard him exclaim as the crowds started to clear,
Merry Brewfest to all -- and to all a good year!
R.C. Swartz
2011
