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Book & Brew Review: Lazarus & Ophelia

This is the sixth in a new series by shop regular, Chris Haas, The Book & Brew Review.

>>> Book:  Lazarus #7

nw_beer book lazarusWhen I picked this cover, I totally thought to myself, “Well…this is a real downer of an issue…it’d be perfect to review!”  And here we are; staring at what many would call one of the most depressing covers you can come up with.

The silhouettes show a complete lack of hope in a terrible situation.  Their heads are bowed, displaying resignation and grief for the loss of life.  Maybe the reader is spared by not seeing detailed faces, but I think this cover is just as powerful by only portraying dark images.

The world also mourns.  The trees are devoid of life, cold in their lack of greenery.  The sky has opened up and a flood comes down upon the travelers.  The clouds blot out any sun and dark hues dominate the entire landscape.  And the people are forced to see their sad reflections in the growing puddles beneath them.

The only vibrant color on this cover is red.  The blood draws the viewer’s eye.  As the person is held in a family member’s arms, the life drains from them as the world washes any trace away.  As if they hadn’t existed in the first place.  And most interestingly, the title of the book appears in that same bold red.  Maybe that is the book’s intent.  The name and the blood.  I would consider that quite ominous for the future of many characters.

Or maybe I just read into things…

>>> Brew: Breckenridge Brewery’s Ophelia

nw_beer book ophelia wheatSo this is a bit of a shock, but this beer is only 5% ABV.  I would imagine that it’s the weakest beer I’ve reviewed thus far.  It’s definitely been quite a while since I’ve ventured into the world of lower alcohol percentages.  And don’t get me wrong, I have nothing against beers of the weaker variety.  I just tend to lean towards the stronger stuff.  Get more bang for my buck, so to speak.

Ophelia is a hoppy wheat pale ale.  I enjoyed the fruity flavor that came with it.  I was glad to get back into a pale ale because as of late, I have focused primarily on stouts and IPAs.  This was a perfect choice for reentry, so if you haven’t had any real experience with this style of beer, make this a hopping on point (I truly did not mean to connect the hoppy flavor with the hopping on point, I swear, it just happened that way.)

And lastly, I’ve got to say that the bottle itself caught my eye.  I love the clean lines.  Makes me think of Michael Allred’s comic art, oddly enough.  And who doesn’t love a great Shakespeare reference every now and then.  To Ophelia!  May she finally know peace and get away from that crazy Hamlet in the afterlife.