This series of posts is dedicated to the many, many six packs, pony kegs and pints that have sauntered into my life at one point or another.

Sure, any time I walk on down the hill and maybe buy a beer, I naturally think about my friends and wish they lived out here. But, as I’ve discovered from my own residential wanderings, there is a distinct benefit to having beloved compatriots scattered across our national geography. For one thing, visits can include some sudsy explorations. We broke a longstanding household rule and took to the roadways over the long holiday weekend, finally disembarking from the vehicle in the city of Columbia, the Athens of Missouri, where a pants-less tiger reigns and true/false is far more than a lazy instructor’s favored method for exam construction. Columbia is also the home of Bur Oak Brewing Company, named for a local landmark justifiably referred to by the citizenry as simply “The Big Tree.” I sampled a few of Bur Oak’s potable wares, but the one that will inspire a craving painfully immune to relief for a good long time was Clyde’s Caramel Cream Ale. Flavorful, smooth, and possessing a distinct current of the sugary twist promised in the name, thankfully without the sort of sickly sweet quality that one might fear, it was a delectable, highly drinkable wonder. My fellow imbiber informed me that it was difficult to get his trusty growler filled with the beer since it always seemed to be on the verge of running out in the brewery’s tasting room. It wasn’t difficult to surmise why that might be the case. I’m amazed it doesn’t disappear with even greater speed. Consumed my first night there, the beer was a dandy way to be welcomed to town. Thanks, CoMo — ’twas fun.

(Picture nabbed from elsewhere.)

Previous entries in this series can be found by clicking on the “Beers I Have Known” tag.