One Year Ago Today--Memorialized with a Bottle of Beer

Rogue Double Chocolate Stout

Facebook today reminded me (kind of nice for the aging retiree brain) that just a year ago I was in lower Manhattan photographing the new and gorgeous One World Trade building. Other highlights that day were the 9/11 Memorial and the Fraunces Tavern and Museum, where I enjoyed a draft of double chocolate stout before touring the rooms upstairs from the tavern (frauncestavern.com)--a building remembered as the place George Washington said goodbye to his generals following the Revolutionary War, probably drowning his emotions in a pint or two of ale.

I remember that my draft stout was exactly $9 and 9% ABV, a little too strong really for a noonday--on a stomach already growling for an anticipated lunch at Hudson Eats, a fancy food court overlooking the Hudson River.

I tried to stay focused as I toured (accompanied by the NYC son-in-law) the small museum above the tavern in this historic building, smelling authentically old and musty. I bought a black Samuel Fraunces cap for $10 as a souvenir. I remember the restroom because it strangely featured a Singer sewing machine reminiscent of the one my mother had:

Selfie with a Singer - in the restroom!

I recently happened on a bottle of that Rogue Double Chocolate Stout at Horrocks--and tonight I decided it would be a good time to break it out--and see if it was anything like I remembered.

It pours as black as ink, thick with rolled oats and chocolate. Beer drinking buddy J. visited the hops farms of the Rogue Brewery in Oregon a year or so ago and I included a photo of the rows of growing hops on the beer blog last year. They use one of their home grown varieties in this beer, along with some imported Dutch cocoa and Free Range Coastal Water ... what??

This hearty stout supposedly pairs well with beef or dessert, but all I had was a miniature Corelle bowl of Costco walnuts, swimming in a generous pour of organic pure maple syrup--which I pretend is some kind of magic elixir!

Today was dreary and rainy all day. I read some of my book club book (The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd), which is set in the era just following the Revolutionary War.

The evening dinner of "enhanced" spaghetti sauce over oven-steamed spaghetti squash (that I worked hard at!) was not that satisfying, so topping off the evening with this beautiful bottle of beer only seemed right. It was interesting--but for the price, I think I'm done with it.

It did remind me of a more exciting day in history--last year in NYC!--and of that old tavern which dated to a time a few years before the era described in my book club book--which depicts the cruel slavery practices that characterized Charleston, South Carolina around the turn of the century, featuring two brave women who became famous abolitionists--actually, historically!

Just two years ago (again, Facebook) I spent a spring break day in Charleston, and memories of that afternoon were also brought to mind. No beer was consumed in that brief visit to Charleston, but we drank coffee, took a boat tour, traversed a very cool bridge, shopped, and ate a dinner of fried chicken (yeah, one breast rotten), okra, fried green tomatoes and sweet pepper relish!