Thirsty Thursday: Miskatonic Dark Rye and The Book of Cthulhu 2

by Cameron Pierce

For the past few nights, there’s been a chill in the air. Summer isn’t over just yet, but it’s getting there. You can feel it. The bones of the sun are tired, ready for a sleep that could outlast all our lifetimes. As the leaves change, so will our beers. We’ll put away the farmhouse ales, the spiced IPAs and pale beet bocks of summer. We’ll replace them with darker, heavier concoctions. Whatever keeps out the cold. That’s why tonight I’ll be breaking out a bottle of Miskatonic Dark Rye, a roasted, lighter bodied rye that is faintly spicy on the tongue, a small reminder of what’s coming.

Photo from Aleheads

But that’s not the only reason I’ve chosen Miskatonic. Something much bigger is arriving with the death of summer. It’s the many-headed hydra known as The Book of Cthulhu 2.

Last year, our beloved Thirsty Thursday writer Ross E. Lockhart compiled The Book of Cthulhu, which was quickly hailed as one of the greatest Lovecraftian anthologies ever published. Due to the popularity of the first volume, Lockhart has returned with even more new stories of tentacled terror alongside well-worn classics like Karl Edward Wagner’s “Sticks.” Writers featured in The Book of Cthulhu 2 include Caitlin R. Kiernan, Laird Barron, Michael Chabon, Cody Goodfellow, Kim Newman, Molly Tanzer, Neil Gaiman, Fritz Leiber, and many more.

Whether you’re a Lovecraft purist/fanatic or dipping your feet into eldritch waters for the first time, these anthologies are essential reading.

If you’re not in Portland, Oregon, you may have trouble hunting down Miskatonic Dark Rye. If that’s the case, choose whatever fall seasonal suits you best and dig into The Book of Cthulhu 2. It’s not just a book for this autumn, it’s a book for every autumn.

Iä! Iä! Cthulhu Fhtagn! (And cheers, Ross.)