I am going to share something with you that is very personal, because everyone tells me that talking about it helps. This is not easy to say in a public forum but my coming out and saying it may help my anxiety and those or others, so here it is. THE BEATINGS AT HOME MUST STOP!
As a Leafs fan I implore you, the beatings at home must stop.
So can the Leafs close out round one tonight? An anxiety filled game as JT would say and did. High anxiety for sure, and we aren’t talking about a Mel Brooks movie. I brought the defibrillator down from the bedroom to the den for this one. 123 …CLEAR …123….CLEAR…* Note to self, best not to try to self-administer defibrillator shocks. Alas a win was not to be. A saving grace would have been saving one or two goals against, but in this case the saving grace was a glass of Secord Stout. No, not a chocolate** stout, I guess it’s time for a Canadian history lesson.
Laura Warns the Brits and Saves the Day
The Canadian heroine of the war of 1812, Laura Secord is one of the reasons that Canada has wine and Stratford and the best view of Niagara Falls. She walked 20 miles to warn the British troops of an impending American attack, an attack which would have given the Americans control of the Niagara peninsula. As a result of her warning the British, they won the Battle of Beaver Dams. Is that why a beaver is our national animal? Well, I’ll be damned. And her walk took her through St. Davids (Niagara on the Lake), where Grist breweries today serves up Secord Stout, and other fine brews.
Not a chocolate stout. And here I thought that high-school history would serve no future purpose unless I was a history teacher*** or a Jeopardy contestant.
A pour darker than a Leonard Cohen song. It has a mild-mannered malt aroma, roasted with some sweet in there too. A delicious mild roasted malt with a subtle sweet finish. Some post defibrillator fizz, nothing shocking, and disappeared, dissipated or dispersed, whichever you prefer. No hops or zing, very much a traditional stout. A watery mouthfeel, dark lager style as opposed to a porter or creamy stout. A nice easy accessible, laid back stout, which doesn’t really align with the tense critical playoff game that it accompanied. And another beating at home, damn. It did help to ease the anxiety though. Good beer.
As for the Leafs, our round one victory celebration will have to wait, let’s hope it’s a few days, not a year.
There are no bad beers/brews only some you prefer more than others.
Slainte,
Alan