Today's the 22nd of September--a Very Big Day. Not only is is Hobbit Day. Not only is it the (fictional) birthday of both Bilbo and Frodo Baggins. It's also, most importantly to me, the first official day of fall. Finally.

Fall 2021 fell with an nearly-audible thud. Seriously, three days ago it was pushing 90° and now I'm sitting on my front porch in a hoodie and sweats because (get this) it's 55°. But that's a-okay megafine by me. Just makes it all the more appropriate to drink another Oktoberfest-style beer.

Slated for today: West Side's Oktoberfest. How's it drinking?

It's suddenly hot again. Why? I mean, it wasn't exactly chilly when my last post went up but today it feels like we tripped into some weird time vortex and wound up in mid-August. Which is fine--I don't harbor any particular ill-will toward summer--but I've already mentally shifted into my fall space.

It's good that I had today's beer stashed in my fridge. I was planning on drinking it regardless of how the day's temperatures turned out. Now that I'm breaking into it, here's hoping that Narragansett's Fest can help me regain that bit of fall that I've lost so abruptly.

It's a gorgeous mid-September day in my little corner of the world (that's east-of-Cincinnati, middle-of-nowhere to you). The sun's high overhead, there're a few clouds scattered across the sky, the summer's last insects are buzzing blissfully in the tall grass and woods of the lot nextdoor, and the oppressive heat has finally let us be. I have some work before me this afternoon still (cutting the grass and an oil change), but it's time for a well-deserved break.

The beer I'm using to supplement that break is Bell's Octoberfest Beer. This is one I've been itching to try for years, but haven't found it in time to fit it into the blog's Oktoberfest schedule. Thankfully, that's changing today.

The cool weather just keeps on a-coming! This morning when I came out to read on my porch (I'm working on Rateliff's The History of the Hobbit) I had to throw on a long sleeve shirt to stave off the bite of chill in the air. It was great. I knew from the exact moment I sat down to open up my book that I'd be tackling the next Oktoberfest post. Sometimes things just fall right into place.

Luckily I had the second beer of the season in my fridge already, just waiting for the moment I'd need it. That beer's Brink's Brinktoberfest. Let's see how it's drinking on this fine late-summer evening.