Perhaps it is having to attend multiple graduation ceremonies in the past month or the fact that somebody from my high school class dug me up on the Book of Faces, am I suddenly dealing with the inevitable feeling of being old?

Nah. I’m not even 40 yet.

This is my review of Alaskan 35th Anniversary Russian Imperial Stout:

I turned down going to my 20th high school reunion.  A few friends aside, I didn’t care much for high school.  The fact that 20 passes around the sun since I graduated weighed on me briefly.  It wasn’t one of those woe is me type of deals, at least I don’t think it was. It was something else:

I was supposed to be living in a futuristic version of the 1980’s as promised in Back to the Future 2; this is not the 21st Century I was promised.

  • Back then I lived in constant fear my car was going to overheat and strand me in the middle of the desert.  Now the fear is the battery will run out prematurely and leave me stranded in the middle of the desert.  Then there are flying cars:  there more like enormous drones.
  • Back then UFOs were the domain of crackpot theories. Now we’re trying to speculate if the Grays or the Lizard People will control the Earth.
  • Back then George Bush didn’t know which country to invade.  Not a problem, he still doesn’t.
  • Back then I was surprised to learn Dick Van Dyke was still alive.  Today he still is
  • Back then the joke was Nazis on the moon.  Today its communists.
  • Back then the most recognized NFL player was Tom Brady…its still Tom Brady.
  • Back then people used the entire processing power of their PC to search for aliens, today they’re searching for internet funny money.
  • Back then Keanu Reeves stars in a Sci-fi thriller with dated graphics.  Today Keanu Reeves stars in a Sci-fi thriller with dated…actually I still haven’t seen it.  I shouldn’t make fun of it.

Okay so it can’t be all bad we still live in the 90’s.  Its not like we’re about to lockdown again over monkey pox

 

Its not everyday the word anniversary shows up on a beer bottle, but it happens enough that it seems like another excuse for a brewery to put out a batch of something they rarely make and call it a special edition.  I’m no complaining, really, except for the price tag.  Although $10 for a bomber is totally reasonable these days now that I consider the rates of inflation…

…this is excellent.  Very thick though, which was to be expected.  Not something you want to do when its starting to hit 100 degrees, perhaps, but good enough.  Heavy roasted coffee overtones but sweetened a bit by the other ingredients.  It winds up finishing a bit like pancake syrup but not that intense a sweetness.  Nice and subtle.  Find while you still can. Alaskan 35th Anniversary Russian Imperial Stout: 4.5/5