Tree House Brewing Company |
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Charlton, MA. Pete - Finally made my first trip to the brewery on Saturday, 10/20/18. This place is unreal. Massive lines form for their beers, as it's arguably the most popular brewery in the world right now, but their operation is incredibly efficient. I went right at 11am on a Saturday for opening, and there were 150 or so people in line in front of me, and it took ~25 minutes. As of when I went, they only release beers during the week, and I can't comment on how crowded it gets then. It's a great place. You can get your cans and up to 2 drafts on Saturdays. The lines only really form for the cans (this changes later in the day), so if for some reason you don't want to take cans home, you can just walk right in. The drafts can be split into 2 8 oz. pours each if you prefer for most of their options, which I obviously did. They have food trucks and you can take your beers all around the property. I definitely suggest showing up at 11, getting as many cans as you can, putting them in your trunk, and enjoying 4 8 ounce pours, or even better, splitting 8 8 ounce pours with someone. Mix in some food from the trucks to sober up before you drive home. Take full advantage of this place. Their twitter is extremely informative, so if you're planning on going there, follow all their tweets for the few days beforehand.
Tree House Aaalterrr Ego!
IPA - 6.8% ABV Pete It smells like it's going to be creamy, like eating overripe fruit. The taste is exactly as expected, with mango dominating. As described, it's Alter Ego with amped up flavor. I didn't have it with food, but I bet it would stand up to it much better. Ratings: Pete - 6 Shyoh's |
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Tree House Abstraction
Imperial Porter - 8.8% ABV Pete Burnt caramel fudgy flavor. Somehow quite drinkable too. Really good. Ratings: Pete - 5 Shyoh's |
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Tree House All That Is and All That Ever Will Be
Milk Stout - 6.5% ABV Pete Super chocolatey flavor with a nice hint of coffee in the background. It's pretty sweet, but not too much to overwhelm. I'm generally partial to amped up versions of beers, but I haven't had any other versions of this (I know they exist - 1/5/19), and I can't imagine anything much better. Ratings: Pete - 6 Shyoh's |
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Tree House Alter Ego
IPA - 6.8% ABV Pete Great IPA that should be had on its own (without food). It's very dry with some citrus undertones, incredibly smooth and easy to drink. The flavor is easily overpowered by food though, so I suggest this all by itself in order to fully enjoy it. Ratings: Pete - 5 Shyoh's |
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Tree House Baby Bright
IPA - 5.4% ABV Pete Exactly as described by Tree House. Tangerine and candied grapefruit with a tiny bit of bitterness that goes away pretty quickly. Super easy to drink, and fairly low alcohol, so if you are interested in drinking a lot without passing out, have some of these. Ratings: Pete - 5 Shyoh's |
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Tree House Bbbrighttt w/Citra
Imperial New England IPA - 7.8% ABV Pete Excellent citrus (get it?) IPA with a crisp finish and a little more than a hint of sweetness. Very good, per usual. Ratings: Pete - 5 Shyoh's |
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Tree House Bbbrighttt w/Simcoe & Amarillo
Imperial New England IPA - 7.8% ABV Pete Absolutely love this one. A little less citrusy than the Citra version, with some extra piney-ness. Still not bitter but a little less sweet. I'm a big simcoe guy apparently. Ratings: Pete - 6 Shyoh's |
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Tree House Bear
Brown Ale - 6.4% ABV Pete Very delicious very toasty brown with rich caramel sweetness and a really nice head. Darker in color than most browns, and that combined with the rich flavors you get border on a porter, but it isn't rich in texture, making it still quite easy to drink. Ratings: Pete - 5 Shyoh's |
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Tree House Bear with Coffee
Brown Ale - 6.4% ABV Pete Super roasty much like the original, but the coffee gives you an extra tiny hint of bitterness to round it out. Really tasty. Ratings: Pete - 5 Shyoh's |
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Tree House Bright
Imperial IPA - 7.8% ABV Pete Smells super citrusy. The flavor is tangerine with some orange rind bitterness. I suggest separating this from food, as the flavor is delicious, but subtle, so it gets overpowered easily. Super easy to drink. Ratings: Pete - 5 Shyoh's |
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Tree House Bright w/Centennial
Imperial IPA - 7.8% ABV Pete Had this at the same time as the Citra version. It doesn't smell quite as appealing (nothing bad, just not as strong in aroma), but the flavor makes up for it. Super easy to drink with a dry resinous finish, then the citrus flavor hits you well after putting it down. Definitely worth having multiple variations at once if you can, to taste the subtle hop differences. Ratings: Pete - 5 Shyoh's |
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Tree House Bright w/Citra
Imperial IPA - 7.8% ABV Pete Smells a little better than the Centennial version (had them at the same time), but doesn't taste quite as good. Still a great beer. Starts citrusy then finishes with a good amount of pine flavor. Doesn't linger long after you put it down. Ratings: Pete - 5 Shyoh's |
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Tree House Bright w/Galaxy
Imperial IPA - 7.8% ABV Pete Another incredible IPA from Tree House. Smells super orange. The flavor is a bit of tart, dry lemon up front then creamy orange as it goes down. Aptly named, super bright flavors. Ratings: Pete - 6 Shyoh's |
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Tree House Cachet
Imperial New England IPA - 8.2% ABV Pete Very similar to Julius. Orange, mango, peach flavors, and still quite drinkable. This is maybe a touch fruitier and a little bit sweeter (makes sense given the higher alcohol). Really excellent as usual. Ratings: Pete - 6 Shyoh's |
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Tree House Catharsis
Porter - 7.4% ABV Pete Immediately became my favorite porter of all time after 1 sip (as of 10/20/18). Super roasted flavors give it a nice subtle smokiness to go along with dark chocolate and caramel flavors. A bitter dark chocolate finish really caps the experience on this fairly high alcohol porter. Ratings: Pete - 7 Shyoh's |
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Tree House Curiosity Eighty
Imperial New England IPA - 8.1% ABV Pete Very fruity and quite sweet. It's a good beer, but not at all what I've come to expect from Tree House. Ratings: Pete - 4 Shyoh's |
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Tree House Doppelgänger
Imperial IPA - 8.2% ABV Pete Smells and looks like OJ (the drink, not the football star/actor/murderer). Super citrusy with a bitter backbone. It's the imperial version of Alter Ego (above), and it's basically just an amped up version of that. Great beer. Ratings: Pete - 5 Shyoh's |
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Tree House Double Shot: Columbia La Pirámide
American Stout - 8.9% ABV Pete Super sweet chocolate and marshmallow going down with a fairly light body. Finishes with a roasty coffee bitterness to balance it perfectly. Definitely did not go well with bolognese, but that's fine. I drank it when I finished my pasta, and it was a perfect dessert. Ratings: Pete - 6 Shyoh's |
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Tree House Double Shot: Ethiopia Duramina
American Stout - 8.9% ABV Pete Dark chocolate, vanilla, a little bit of booziness, and a hint of coffee. Hard to argue with that. Actually went quite well with my lamb bolognese. Ratings: Pete - 6 Shyoh's |
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Tree House Double Shot: Vanilla Bean 2019
Imperial American Stout - 8.6% ABV Pete Absolutely unreal. Lots of vanilla, and definitely on the sweet side, but not overpowering at all. A touch of coffee mixed in with a whole mess load of chocolate flavor in the finish. Chocolate and vanilla, really hard to argue that. Worth the premium price and then some. Ratings: Pete - 7 Shyoh's |
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Tree House Doubleganger
Imperial IPA - 8.2% ABV Pete Absolutely unreal. Best IPA I've had (as of 2/22/19). Piney going down with a little bitterness, and finishes with a huge blast of citrus. That's sort of the opposite of what you'd expect, and it works really, really well. Pictured in front. Had it on draft at the brewery, but they also can it occasionally. Ratings: Pete - 7 Shyoh's |
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Tree House East Hill
Pale Ale - 5.2% ABV Pete The combination of the flavor and the creamy texture make it seem like you're eating melon, not drinking a beer. Bonus: there's alcohol in it. If you don't like melon (specifically honeydew), you probably won't love this, but I do, so I could drink this all day. Ratings: Pete - 6 Shyoh's |
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Tree House Eureka w/ Mosaic
Blonde - 4.1% ABV Pete Crisp and peppery going down. Well after putting it down, it finishes with an extremely weird, almost peanut-buttery aftertaste, kind of like Rolling Rock. Not a comparison I thought I'd make, Tree House and Rolling Rock, but here we are. Ratings: Pete - 3 Shyoh's |
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Tree House Eureka w/ Nelson
Blonde - 4.1% ABV Pete A little bit of citrus, but I get a lot of pine and peppery-ness, which dominate the flavor. Way more flavorful than most blondes. Ratings: Pete - 5 Shyoh's |
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Tree House Fleeting Moment
Imperial Milk Stout - 9.6% ABV Pete Supposed to remind me of french toast drizzled in maple syrup. It definitely smells of maple. The flavor is dominated by cinnamon, with coffee and chocolate coming through, and just a hint of maple. It's ultra-rich, took quite awhile to drink. Another great beer, but I think some other complementary spices (maybe some nutmeg or even cardamom) would've made this truly special. Ratings: Pete - 5 Shyoh's |
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Tree House Green
IPA - 7.5% ABV Pete Amazing beer. Subtle tropical fruit flavor underneath a somewhat dry piney beer. There's a touch of bitterness to it, but nowhere near what the 90 IBU's might suggest. Ratings: Pete - 6 Shyoh's |
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Tree House Haze
Imperial IPA - 8.2% ABV Pete Glorious beer. My first foray into the cult following of Tree House, and man was I not disappointed. It's described as a 'juice bomb', and it sure lives up to the hype. Definitely a ton of citrus, some tropical aromas/flavors in there too. It has a bit more carbonation than most, which leads to the flavor not lasting quite as long as your typical imperial IPA, but it's still there when you put it down. If you can get your hands on this, do it. Ratings: Pete - 7 Shyoh's |
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Tree House Hedonic Adaptation
Imperial Milk Stout - 9.1% ABV Pete Outstanding stout. Extremely dark in color but somewhat drinkable. Roasted caramel and dark chocolate flavors. I didn't get much coffee. Had to think about it, but coconut was there too. Hides the booze very well. A little expensive (was $12 for a 16.9 ounce bottle), otherwise I'd rate it higher. Ratings: Pete - 5 Shyoh's |
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Tree House Hurricane
Imperial IPA - 7.7% ABV Pete As expected at this point (my 17th Tree House offering 11/29/18), incredible beer. Smells of stone fruit, with mostly orange and melon in the flavor with a hint of lemon. That combo makes it very fresh and clean tasting, leading to a quick disappearance from the glass. Ratings: Pete - 6 Shyoh's |
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Tree House I Have Promises To Keep
Imperial IPA - 7.9% ABV Pete Another home run from TH. Medium amount of citrus with a little bit of creaminess going down. Finishes with a little piney-ness and quite dry, which makes you come back for more quite often. This one won't last long. Ratings: Pete - 6 Shyoh's |
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Tree House Impermanence
Imperial Milk Stout - 9% ABV Pete So much going on. Smell is mostly maple with a hint of chocolate. Flavor is maple and sweet up front with an obvious richness to it. As it goes down you get the coffee and some bitter chocolate also, and then the maple comes back to the party after you put it down. It's super rich, so I'd recommend splitting a bottle. Pair with prezels for a perfect balance. My only complaint, much like other TH bottles, is that this was $12 for 1. Well worth it, but this would be a 7 if price didn't factor into the ratings. Ratings: Pete - 6 Shyoh's |
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Tree House Julius
IPA - 6.8% ABV Pete Delicious. Mild orange smell, with mango and peach mostly coming through in the flavor. Very tasty, but not an extreme flavor bomb like many of their others, making it incredibly drinkable. It also has a touch of creaminess to it. Ratings: Pete - 6 Shyoh's |
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Tree House King Julius
Imperial New England IPA - 8.2% ABV Pete A slightly amped up version of Julius. Smells of orange creamsicle. The flavor leans toward overripe mango with a good amount of creaminess. A big noticeable improvement for me was an unexpected subtle dryness in the finish, maintaining the drinkability of the original despite the added flavor. Ratings: Pete - 6 Shyoh's |
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Tree House Lights Out
Pale Ale - 5.4% ABV Pete Incredible pale ale. Smells resinous. Creamy texture with a good amount of mango flavor. Finishes with a touch of resin on top of all the citrus. I should note that I had this before noon, and it was still that good. Ratings: Pete - 6 Shyoh's |
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Tree House Ma
Amber Ale - 6.8% ABV Pete Solid pale ale that has a malty amber finish. Ratings: Pete - 4 Shyoh's |
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Tree House Nervous Energy
Imperial Milk Stout - 8.1% ABV Pete Amazing. One of the darkest pours you'll see, just jet black. Smells of chocolate and vanilla, tastes like maple and vanilla and finishes with a hint of cinnamon/spice. Basically a bourbon barrel aged stout in flavor without the actual aging or the booziness that you typically get from those. Ratings: Pete - 6 Shyoh's |
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Tree House Old Man
Extra Special Bitter - 5.4% ABV Pete Super malty and a little sweet. This isn't my favorite style, but this is a pretty good option within it. I knew I wouldn't love this when I bought it. I had to buy it knowing a friend was coming over whose nickname is "Old Man" just to present him with his own beer. Might have thought better of this had I not had a bunch of their IPA's right before. Ratings: Pete - 4 Shyoh's |
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Tree House Pride & Purpose
Pale Ale - 5.1% ABV Pete Light body with mild citrus flavor and a touch of bitterness in the finish. A touch of lemon along with the bitterness sticks with you a bit after putting it down. Ratings: Pete - 5 Shyoh's |
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Tree House Sap
IPA - 7.3% ABV Pete Great IPA. Subtle citrus and a dry piney flavor, maybe a hint of spiciness to it if you really think about it. Not as good as some of their others, but it's still a well above average IPA. Ratings: Pete - 5 Shyoh's |
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Tree House Seven
Imperial New England IPA - 8.6% ABV Pete Incredible. Smells of mango and a little lemon. Taste matches well with some other tropical fruits mixed in. Perfect amount of creaminess. This is basically a fruit smoothie. Currently my favorite IPA from them (out of 25 on 6/13/19), and that's saying something, since Haze, Super Typhoon and Doubleganger are all 7's. Ratings: Pete - 7 Shyoh's |
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Tree House Simple Life
Imperial Milk Stout - 9.8% ABV Pete Smells ultra-marshmallow-y. The flavor still has marshmallow there, but dark chocolate takes center stage. I didn't get much graham, but there's a subtle spiciness to it that you could interpret as graham cracker, rounding out the s'mores intention here. Undeniably delicious. Ratings: Pete - 6 Shyoh's |
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Tree House Single Shot
Milk Stout - 6.4% ABV Pete Tastes exactly like coffee milk. Pretty sweet, definitely a dessert beer, but the coffee balances it nicely. I guess this could also be a breakfast beer. I had the version w/ vanilla first, and didn't realize how much the vanilla really made this better, but this is obviously still great: it's a stout made by Tree House. Ratings: Pete - 5 Shyoh's |
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Tree House Single Shot w/Vanilla Bean
Milk Stout - 6.4% ABV Pete Incredible stout. Tastes like coffee milk with a hint of vanilla. Sweet, but enough coffee and vanilla to prevent it from being too sweet. Ratings: Pete - 6 Shyoh's |
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Tree House Snow
Imperial IPA - 7.8% ABV Pete Crisp lemony IPA that finishes a touch creamy. Extremely approachable despite the high(ish) alcohol. Dangerous because of that, though chances are you aren't crushing 10 Tree House beers in one night. Ratings: Pete - 5 Shyoh's |
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Tree House SSSappp
IPA - 7% ABV Pete Crisp clean IPA with an earthy edge and a touch of bitterness. Delicious. Ratings: Pete - 5 Shyoh's |
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Tree House Super Sap
Imperial IPA - 7.9% ABV Pete Smells incredible with an outrageous amount of tropical fruit. Flavor is similar, but a bit more subdued. Finishes with a tiny touch of bitterness and a creamy texture leftover. Ratings: Pete - 5 Shyoh's |
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Tree House Super Typhoon
Imperial IPA - 7.7% ABV Pete Perfection. Smell and taste a good amount of passion fruit, then it finishes creamy orange almost like a creamsicle and leaves you with a tiny hint of bitterness to balance it. Ratings: Pete - 7 Shyoh's |
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Tree House Surrealism
Imperial Porter - 7.5% ABV Pete Tons of dark chocolate flavor with a little coffee underneath. The flavor and the color indicate a super rich beer, but it really isn't. Incredibly drinkable for a beer this color (and flavor). Ratings: Pete - 6 Shyoh's |
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Tree House Tart: Dragonfruit and Hibiscus
Sour - 4.3% ABV Pete Extremely refreshing. Definitely taste the hibiscus, almost making this like an herbal iced tea. It's mildly sour (I always want more of that), but the way it is just screams 'drink me at the pool'. Fortunately, I did that. Ratings: Pete - 5 Shyoh's |
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Tree House That's What She Said
Milk Stout - 5.6% ABV Pete Pretty sweet stout going down, but a touch of bitterness in the finish balances it well. Relatively easy drinking for a stout. It reminds me of a chocolate milkshake with a little bit of caramel and coffee. Also, the bottom of the can said '"It squeaks when you bang it." - Michael Scott'. It's hard to argue that. Ratings: Pete - 6 Shyoh's |
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Tree House Tornado
American Pale Ale - 5.4% ABV Pete Super drinkable, but still quite a bit of citrus and pine flavors. It's pretty average for a TH beer, so it's really good. Ratings: Pete - 5 Shyoh's |
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Tree House Trail Magic
Pilsner - 5.2% ABV Pete Pretty plain crisp lager with a tiny hint of hops. Ratings: Pete - 4 Shyoh's |
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Tree House Treat
Imperial IPA - 8.1% ABV Pete Described as a 'tropical fruit hop bag', and I couldn't agree more. Tastes like a fruity creamsicle. Unreal. Ratings: Pete - 6 Shyoh's |
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Tree House Triple Shot
Imperial Stout - 9% ABV Pete So so dark. Even the head is darker than normal. Rich but not impossible to drink. Outrageous amounts of dark chocolate and coffee with a tiny bit of sweetness at the end. It's pretty bitter, and the amount of dark chocolate and coffee might be a bit too much honestly, but it's still damn good. I'd recommend splitting the bottle with someone. Ratings: Pete - 5 Shyoh's |
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Tree House Vanilla Bean Double Shot - Oreo
Imperial Stout - 8.6% ABV Pete Incredible. Tastes like an oreo. Ultra chocolatey at first, then finishes with creamy marshmallow. Velvety texture. Simply heavenly. Ratings: Pete - 7 Shyoh's |
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Tree House Very Gggreennn
Imperial New England IPA - 8.3% ABV Pete The expectations are going to be outrageously high when TH puts out a variant with extra repeated letters. Usually they're just amped up versions of the originals. In this case, it actually has a noticeable amount of extra creaminess and a slight hint of dank to go along with the freshness of VG. Really really excellent beer. Nitpicking, but the creaminess did become a bit much by the end. Ratings: Pete - 6 Shyoh's |
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Tree House Very Green
Imperial New England IPA - 8.3% ABV Pete This beer is super hyped, and it did not disappoint. Crisp, dry, peppery IPA with some mellow citrus and finishes with a touch of sweetness. That's a lot of things, and they work together well. That's why this is popular. Ratings: Pete - 6 Shyoh's |
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