So yeah, I ended yesterday's post with this picture, no details, just the photo.
Yes, that's Your Humble Scribe's computer desk and yes, that's the beverage I was about to quaff while writing yesterday's post, I did take a photo (for posterity dontcha know) and at the last minute threw it on at the end of the post.
The beverage itself, an American Porter from the Tree House Brewing Company up in the Bay State, was exquisite. It's called "Catharsis" and it is aptly named. Their website has this to say about this wondrous elixir -
CATHARSIS (American Porter - 7.4% ABV) - We are pleased to offer Catharsis, a rich and hearty porter ideally suited for enjoyment by the campfire as we transition to cooler months! Catharsis is brewed with an array of pale, chocolate, and roasted malts and hopped ever so gently with Warrior and Simcoe resulting in a beer with progressive attributes and a characteristic Tree House edge. We experience flavors and aromas of cocoa powder, fudge, and caramel balanced by a dark chocolate-like bitterness and a robust body. It is rich with flavor yet maintains an easy drinking complexion. It is our focused interpretation of what we believe a modern American Porter can be - it begs to be poured in a tall glass and enjoyed in hearty gulps. We could not be more excited to share it with you. Enjoy! $4.05 / can | Limit 12 cans PPPricey yes, worth it? You betcha!
"Catharsis" was not my first taste of Tree House Brewery's offerings, that picture above, the one on the left is called "That's What She Said." Now this one is a milk stout (you may have gathered by now that I'm a stout/porter kind of fellow) and was very, very good. Again, I'll let them explain it to you -
THAT’S WHAT SHE SAID (Milk Stout - 5.6%) - A sneakily complex beer, "TWSS" exhibits flavors of milk chocolate, fresh roasted coffee, caramel, and even a hint of smoke. It is absolutely loaded with flavor for a 5.6% beer, and the inclusion of Lactose takes the edge off of the dry, roasty notes found in a typical stout. The adult chocolate milk shake. . . soft, creamy, and luscious while maintaining supreme drinkability - just the way we like it! A beer that is notorious for converting ‘pale’ beer lovers to the dark side!I particularly liked the description of an "adult chocolate milk shake," oh yes, yes it was. I recommend both of these brews for a good night's sleep, just one and you'll sleep the sleep of the just. I know I did.
Now I'm not a beer snob, if a fellow likes his PBR, who am I to criticize him (or her for that matter) to each his/her own and the devil take the hindmost. Or something. While Guinness is often my beverage of choice, I like to try other beers as well.
I was introduced to these by my boss, Clayton, one of those awesome folks I've mentioned that make work such a pleasure. He's a young guy (about my kids age) but he's smart as a whip, possesses great common sense, and is a damned fine leader. Plus, he's given me two free beers over the past cuppla weeks. You gotta like that.
Anyhoo, he makes beer trips to various and exotic locations to purchase stuff that just can't be found in stores. Next time he heads up to the Bay State, I'm hoping to provide him some currency to bring me back more of the above. I've also got my eye on this beauty...
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Now I'm thirsty, talk quietly amongst yourselves, share your favorite adult beverage in the comments and I'll be back tomorrow (The Good Lord willing and the creek don't rise) with another post to entertain. (Hopefully.)
Now this tune seems damned appropriate... (The drumming is real good!)
Don't mind admitting, at work I'm one of the horses...
Liquid bread. Never got a taste for it. I may have been around too much livestock as a youth. You can put my share back in the horse....
ReplyDeleteBut what do you drink?
DeleteStrong black coffee, strong unsweet ice tea, and ice water (it comes with a tint in it since we live in an IQ free zone, ergo, I filter it).
DeleteI have some emergency beer in the fridge. A couple 7 oz bottles of Miller High Life, the Champagne of Beers.... I love the look on their faces when they are offered one.... hehehe..... I usually go through a six pack every 8 months or so... unless I decide to bake bread. Then I'll grab some better stuff.
Good choices there. Miller is a good thirst quenching beer, many look down their noses at it, I don't. Like I said, I'm not a beer snob, people like what they like.
DeleteHeh, emergency beer, I like that.
Beer, blech. More for you, I guess.
ReplyDeleteWent to the local airshow this weekend, saw the A-10 demo, which is always cool. (And the F-35 demo...) Thought about the time one scored a gun kill of a helicopter, which seems kinda like overkill...
But then I found this story.
Of course, I forgot blogger likes to eat links:
Deletehttps://theaviationist.com/2016/02/14/f-15e-shot-down-iraqi-mi-24/
Killing a helo with a bomb, through the rotor disk, then through the cockpit, then BOOM. Atomized Iraqi helo and crew, poor bastards probably died with "WTF" on their lips.
DeleteBlogger doesn't allow links in the comments unless it's from an author. I'm special. 😜
DeleteOh so special...
DeleteOh dear, I'm sensing a tropical disturbance near Gainesville.
DeleteAll sorts of beer getting brewed these days but I'ma gonna rain on the parade since NO beer is worth $4.05 a can, nope....nope. As to $12.00 a bottle........hahahaha..........(breath)...hahahaha. Myself I like root beer and a nearby restaurant has some variety of a locally brewed root beer they offer....... it doesn't taste good enough for 4 bits let alone the $3.50 a can they charge. Lots of people like beer and it's good to see so many local products made and if you like them , hey... great, life is short and enjoy.
ReplyDelete"No beer is worth $4.05 a can..." Well, there are many meals in restaurants which aren't worth $30 either, but we buy them. This beer is not for thirst quenching, it isn't for a guzzle after a long day in the field, nope, it's an indulgence, a treat if you will.
DeleteI get where you're going, but I like my beverages.
Suppose you can call it sad that I've never paid $30 for a meal, being a simple meat & potatoes kind of guy but I get treating yourself. Should we ever meet face-to-face I'll buy a round of whatever libation you want Sarge. Now I might be persuaded to spend a little $ on chocolates......Dark chocolates........mmmmm
DeleteYou won me over when you said "dark chocolates," that's some gooood stuff!!
DeleteAs to never having paid $30 for a meal, you might be smarter than me, not sad, just practical.
I'm still looking locally for the Chocolate Hazelnut Porter that you mentioned a while ago.
ReplyDeleteYou call some beers, "adult chocolate milk shake," beers, and we would call them "dessert" beers. I wouldn't pick one of those for an after cutting the grass beer, but at the right time it sounds like it would taste great. (Would a dry beer be a "desert" beer?)
We have been brewing and drinking hard ciders of late, and our last batch was going to be flavored with raspberry and lime. We must have missed some sanitizing step in the process and it had to be heaved.
My mental voice insisted on pronouncing "beer" as "bee-uh" 'cause New England.
Some of the stuff I've run across is hard to find. Today's selections are from one brewery and one alone, you have to go there to get it. Which is kinda cool, no mass marketing, tight quality control as they're not shipping mass quantities.
DeleteLike I said above, an indulgence, but worth it.
Hey Old AFSarge;
ReplyDeleteWhen I first started drinking beer in the mid 80's I drank cheap stuff, hey I was a kid, didn't know better. I liked Stroh's beer, until I went to Germany then saw what real beer was. Stuttgarter Hofbrau was my drink of choice. although when I was there in the late 80's through early 1991, I remember reading that there were like 1400 different brew-houses in Germany, like almost every gasthaus had its own "house beer". I don't drink anymore, lost the taste for it I suppose, came back from the desert and was dried out and drinking all that beer wasn't an overriding concern when I was in Germany. Although when I go back to Stuttgart, one day I will hoist one for all my friends that have crossed over.
The stuff I drank as a lad was cheap and was simply an "alcohol delivery device." Now that I'm "all growed up" I like a bit of flavor. Germany spoiled me forever on bad beer. But if it's free, I'll still drink it.
DeleteMy current favorite is Left Hand Chocolate Milk Stout. Your description of Catharsis is quite enticing.
ReplyDeleteAh! A fellow connoisseur! That Chocolate Milk Stout looks good, apparently the only place near me that serves it is a bar in Boston. 😥
DeleteI need to check with my local to see if they could get it.
Catharsis is worth the price!
My two TDY's to Germany sure spoiled me on the beer I'd been drinking up to then. However, when we bought our Wine store, we also stocked it with virtually every beer we could get from the distributors. Which meant...I had to try them all. A good salesman knows his product doncha know?
ReplyDeleteIn any case, and this is well before you and I became acquainted, I learned that there were specific beers I liked and other's that were "not my favorite" (which quickly became a code word for undrinkable), I tended to gravitate to darker, heavier beers like Porter's and Stouts. When I needed a refreshing beer, I would move down the scale a bit to an Amber, If I really needed a dust clearer, I'd go to a Lager, maybe.
I know they're all the rage nowadays, but I'm just not a fan of IPA's (no, "not a fan" is not as damning as "Not my Favorite"). Too perfumey and bitter for my taste.
So...Specifically, Guinness, of course, the local brewery has a seasonal Porter I like. I like Rare Vos, although it falls into that expense category that make it a "treat", not a "grab and go".
Cheers
Yeah, that Rare Vos looks good. I like an IPA now and again, I have days where I need all that hoppy taste. Other days I'll stick with stouts and porter, Guinness being my go to, reminds of the pub we frequented in London near our youth hostel.
DeleteAround the holidays, and when I'm craving something very (to me) refreshing, nothing beats a Stella Artois.
But hey, it's the right time of year for Pumpkin Head Ale from Shipyard Brewery up in Portland, Maine. Yup, it's the only pumpkin flavored thing I really enjoy outside of pumpkin pie and pumpkin bread.
Damn, now I'm hungry AND thirsty.
You're a man after my own heart. I don't like wheat beers or IPA beers, they're too insipid for my taste. I love a good
ReplyDeletestout beer. There is a package store in Warrensburg that carries beer from around the US. The owner told me that if I
come across beer that is found in "remote corners of the US" he can usually order it. He always orders my Free State
Oatmeal Stout. You have really piqued my curiosity here so I'm going to have to tell him about the Tree House Brewing
Company and see if he can order these two stout beers!
Yum, love a good oatmeal stout. Good stuff outta Lawrence, Kansas.
DeleteGood to know! 😉
Once upon a time... but today it’s a ginger brew or small batch root beer.
ReplyDeleteFor a thirst quencher, tonic with a lime wedge fills the bill..
Understood.
DeleteNever acquired a real taste for beer, but... well... give me a Spaten Optimator and I might make sure I am securely fastened for the wonderful sleep that alcohol gives me and indulge. Mmmmm..... Spaaaten Oooooptimator..... mmmmmmmm....
ReplyDeleteYum, Doppelbock... 😋
DeleteOne of my favorite songs. Hadn't seen the video before. Nice!
ReplyDeleteI'd never heard the song before. Found it on a "beer" search on YouTube, it's AWESOME!!!
DeleteNot surprisingly, in Rural Texas, we get a lot of Toby Keith and Friends. Austin, not so much.
DeleteNot surprised at all.
DeleteDrive through Schulenburg (it's worth Czech-ing out), tune around on AM and you are bound to hear this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9KZi9EtZHZM ...You can bank on it.
DeleteTwo brothers made model airplanes for the flyers out of Randolph in the eeeeeaaaarly days of milspec aviation. I guess on cross country flights, the future aces would stop in S-burg and buy one. They made some neat stuff. Cool museum, too.
Day trip for you juvat. No ATIS needed!!!
Nothing like a good polka!
DeleteWith meals, a full bodied red wine; for a hot afternoon, an ice cold lager or pilsner, for evening sipping (special occasion), my first choice is Laphroaig Scotch.
ReplyDeleteAnd those my friend, are most excellent choices. A good red wine is just the thing with a good meal.
Delete