June 7, 2013

Poetry Friday--HiCu (You Must Be 21 or Older to Read This Post)

Okay, HiCu, pronounced like haiku, isn't poetry. It's beer! Cucumber flavored beer ("with the slightest of hibiscus tangs"). I kid you not...

To learn more about this new seasonal beer, and I'll speculate that it'll be its one and only season, click here.



So why mention a cucumber beer on Poetry Friday? Because, the brewer, Magic Hat in Vermont, is holding a haiku contest, which they're calling "Potable Poetry." Sadly, the entries will bear no resemblance to "real" haiku. The contest will be yet another little witty word game. (You can call me a snob, I don't care.)

I have written a few beer haiku in my time, so, I'll share some that have appeared here before as Haiku Stickies:




And here's a new one:
local bar...
she always asks for fruit
in her beer

Haiku © Diane Mayr, all rights reserved.

I would like to try a glass of HiCu. I checked Magic Hat's locator, cutely called the "sip code" locator, but the brew doesn't seem to be offered around here. There are, however, several places selling Elder Betty, which I'm actually more interested in trying.

Oh, yeah, and one more thing. A thumbs-down on the label. I know they're trying to make a connection to Japan and haiku, but the fish don't work for me. (I know, I know, the phallic connotations make it difficult to feature a cucumber.) And, since I'm not a fan of fish--eating it or the smell--it's even a little off-putting! But, then again, Magic Hat didn't ask for my opinion! [This is not to say I'm not a fan of Magic Hat beers. Circus Boy, with a wedge of lemon, is a favorite. Lest you think I'm a lush, I want you to know I average one beer a week.]

My friend, Tabatha Yeatts, is hosting the Round-Up this week. Cheers and have a great weekend!

18 comments:

  1. That's an interesting poetic intersection! Thanks for letting us know. I like your slug haiku in particular :-)

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    1. Interesting intersections. Speaking of which, I got my daily NASA image email today and it was all about the Butterfly Nebula and how stars are often named after insects or flowers.

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  2. I love the one about sharing a pitcher of beer with a daughter - mine returns home from her study abroad in a few weeks, and that is exactly what I aim to do!

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    1. I hope your daughter isn't in Australia with my niece--from what I heard, she doesn't want to leave down-under after her semester abroad ends in a few weeks!

      I'll bet we have better beer here, and that should be incentive enough for your daughter to return! (She's not in Germany, is she, if so, I may have to revise my statement.)

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  3. Proof that you can write poetry about ANYTHING. :) I can't say I'm all that eager to try HiCu... I think your one and only season prediction may be correct. Your haiku, on the other hand... thank you for sharing!

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    1. I would try it if I could find it, but, I doubt if I'd buy a 6-pack.

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  4. I agree about the label-- actually looks like a Pepsi rip off to me with some fish (that I didn't even notice at first) thrown in for good measure.

    It's so hard to pick favorites when it comes to your haiku, I love them all! But I guess I'd have to go with the slug one since it made me shiver. Float up... drift down came in a close second.

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    1. I always thought it odd that slugs were so attracted to beer that they were willing to drown in it! But, being slugs, there's probably no "will" involved at all!

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  5. A new sushi restaurant called Haiku just opened here in Port-au-Prince. I haven't been there yet, but I'll have to post about it when I do. I'm not a beer fan, but I actually think cucumber and hibiscus would be a nice juice. They make great hibiscus juice here for colds -- it really does work!

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    1. I don't know that I've ever had hibiscus. I never imagined drinking its juice. Cuke juice, yes, hibiscus, no. Enjoy the restaurant. I think its part of a chain, either that, or there are a lot of restaurants with the same name! Maybe we should start a chain of poetry pubs--Ballads and Beer? Clerihews and Local Brews? Sonnets and Suds?

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  6. A local eatery features a watermelon beer. Only in the Deep South! I do like your haiku.

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    1. Watermelon beer? I think I'll pass on that one. I did have a nice watermelon, arugula, feta salad today at Bertucci's. Do you have Bertucci's in the Deep South?

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  7. Very interesting post, Diane! I'll have to tell my son-in-law who likes to make his own brew. The fruit in the beer haiku hit home with me. I recently discovered Blue Moon, never having liked any beer at all, and a hip niece told me I needed to try it with an orange slice.

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    1. Oh, Joyce, try a shandy--it's beer/lemonade. One you can get in a NH supermarket is Leinenkugel's. T-Bones has Curious Traveler Shandy on tap, and some stores in NH also carry it in bottles. So refreshing with a wedge of lemon!

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  8. I suppose I should try it before I say ugh, but...UGH.

    I love it when you bring on the haiku snobbery! It hasn't reformed me, but it does make me remember, when I crank out a 5-7-5 ditty, that I'm not really writing a haiku!!

    Love your slugs!!

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  9. Mary Lee, on occasion my haiku end up as 5-7-5. Sometimes a poem just has to be what it has to be.

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  10. Interesting flavor for a beer. I wonder if it's a new variety of IPA, which they're known for. As for the logo, the round swirly design is similar to many of their others, so they're probably trying to maintain some consistency. I'll have to keep an eye out!

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  11. Let me know if you come across it in your neck of the woods. And, your opinion if you get to taste it.

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