• Arguably, Christopher Hitchens
• The Descent of Man, Charles Darwin
• Heart of Darkness, Joseph Conrad
• The Ebb-Tide, Robert Louis Stevenson
• Works of William Blake, William Blake
• Gone with the Wind, Margaret Mitchell
• Under the Banner of Heaven, John Krakauer
• In Cold Blood, Truman Capote
• Water for Elephants, Sara Gruen
• Middlesex, Jeffrey Eugenides
• The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini
• The Glass Castle, Jeanette Wells
• Bud, not Buddy, Christopher Paul Curtis
• The Master of Ballantrae, Robert Louis Stevenson (do NOT see the movie)
• In Memoriam, Lord Alfred Tennyson
• Thrawn Janet, Robert Louis Stevenson
• A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, Betty Smith
• Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen
• The Things They Carried, Tim O’Brien
• Tomcat in Love, Tim O’Brien
• Don’t Know Much about History, Kenneth Davis
• An Insider’s View of Mormon Origins, Grant R. Palmer
• Stone Butch Blues, Leslie Feinberg
• Walk Two Moons, Sharon Creech
• The Giver, Lois Lowry
• The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, Sherman Alexie
• The Book Thief, Markus Zusak

What does it taste like? Well it tastes a bit like Hacker-Pschorr, except a bit sweeter, smoother, and has a kind of “full” feel to it. Don’t worry about the sweet taste though. It is what makes Franziskaner have such a smooth aftertaste.

I’ve had the fortune of bringing a 12 pack of this to a few different places, and it’s been met by the same impressed looks every time. The only problem I seem to run into is that only the Lake Villa Liquors seems to actually sell 12 packs of it.  My work, Marianos, sells 6 packs of it, or a build your own six pack for about 9$ with a large selection of beers to pick from in case you just want to get one bottle of it to sample.

It’s a real treat on tap though. So if you’re in the Fox Lake area, God forbid, stop by the Bay Billiards and get a glass of it. You won’t be disappointed; you will be astounded.

Another plus for me personally is the manly vibe I feel after taking a swig of one of these, something that is always important for the self-esteem, especially after listening to one of my many guilty pleasures, Vanessa Carlton. I don’t always drink good imports that cost 5$ for a glass, but when I do, I prefer Franziskaner,