In Robert Hass's poem Meditation at Lagunitas, he writes, "I felt a violent wonder at her presence/ like a thirst for salt, for my childhood river/ with its island willows."

I always think of him when I think of Lagunitas Brewery of Petaluma. Lagunitas has a new beer label, Sonoma Farmhouse, which indicates a sort of rustic, easy-going, summery style. One of the beers under the new label is Hop Stoopid, which as its name indicates, is terrifically hoppy. Since a good portion of my younger years was spent in the Pacific Northwest, with frequent trips past the hop fields and into the flowering, meadowy mountains, the floral, citrus tang of this beer reminds me of a thirst for my own childhood river. Its gorgeous nose recalls those mountain meadows in full bloom and the sweet underpinning of malt recalls the scent of honeysuckles in bloom. A perfect beer for sunny springs and summer.