Chancellor Ward—may peace and students’ eternal goodwill be upon him—has called it: Snow Day 2011 starts tomorrow.
Drifts of snowy white have overtaken Bascom Hill. The doors of Engineering Hall and the Chemistry Building are frozen shut and thanks to the heavy dose of saltless sand administered by the city, the roads are completely impassable.
Your first instinct is to finish the research paper due tomorrow. Mercifully, you crush that urge like the new-fallen snow beneath your boots as you march the far superior path to the liquor store.
Fighting the snow day crowds to the beer cases in back is hard enough work, but choosing your perfect beverage while simultaneously holding the fake I.D.-carrying, Uggs-sporting sophomores at bay? Daunting, maybe impossible. Before you risk ending up with the last beatup case of Natty Light, allow me to help.
In keeping with the spirit of the season and that blessed day free from class, let me recommend New Belgium’s “Snow Day.”
A “winter ale,” Snow Day is a dark wheat beer with a bitter, hoppy flavor, a smooth finish and subtle after-taste. The ale pours dark with a golden head, and boasts an aroma of roasted caramel with a whiff of fruit.
Snow Day is less filling than the usual dark beer, so you can finish off the six pack but still maintain enough energy to steal a tray and sled down Bascom Hill 80 more times (be sure to flatten some freshmen as you descend the slopes in all your boozy glory). The winter ale tops off at 6.2 percent ABV.
Snow Day is a little hoppy, but tame enough to please the average audience. The only drinkers destined for disappointment may be those accustomed to the Capital and New Glarus brands’ bolder brews.
Where Capital Breweries’ Winter Skaal pushes the bitter envelope, New Glarus’ latest “unplugged” endeavors offer yet another excellent option for those who imbibe adventurously. Not so, with the relatively tame Snow Day.
But if you’re looking for a smooth brew and aren’t concerned about buying local, the $9.99, extremely tasty Snow Day is more than competitive.
And if that doesn’t sell you, just close your eyes and imagine sipping this dark wheat delight in the warm glow of a roaring fireplace, or, you know, near a hot stovetop as it heats your Ramen noodles and Swiss Miss.
For now, students know this fantasy must end.
But as finals approach, I have a proposition Chancellor Ward should consider.
Now, I’m not trying to offer a bribe, but if Chancellor Ward—the good, the gracious, the benevolent—should happen to do the right thing and give us just one day off. Well, I’m just saying… a six-pack of Snow Day might be coming his way…
Want to drink with Alison? Of caurse you do. Email beer selections and sweet nothings to abauter@msn.com.
