Thoughts on different ride mental states

First, let me say that many of us ride bikes for fun and to get some exercise. Many/most of us notice a better mental state post ride as well. Not just a post workout high, but a deeper and longer lasting reduction in stress and worry. Problems seems smaller/easier to deal with after a good ride. Hell, when I've been busy and in a bad mood for a couple days, my wife damn near boots me out the door.
My two rides on Wednesday made me practically a new person. I felt great for a couple days. I thought about it later though, and realized that road and mountain biking are effective in these ways for totally different reasons.
Mountain biking is about being intensely in the moment. Every second is about the thing you're doing and the immediate next thing, cornering, making it up and over a log pile, hitting a jump or drop smoothly. This type of focus blocks everything else out, and if you can completely ignore a worry for a couple hours, how bad can it really be? Mountain biking is also seriously fun, with the opportunity for lots of small challenges that as you complete each one give you a minor self esteem boost, which can only help if you're feeling a little down or stressed or whatever.
Road riding is more of a time to ride hard and let your mind wander, see other angles to problems, and just destress. The physical workout helps with the stress but the meditative quality to simply allow your mind to wander completely is what really does it for me.

You know what else helps you destress and relax?

Booze. And for me at least, specifically beers, the fancier the better.
This weekend I went to downtown Des Moines and some of my favorite bars: El Bait Shop and the Red Monk. I sampled a delicious Java Stout from Bell's:
Very strong coffee flavors, smooth if bitter finish, definitely one of the better coffee related beers I've had. I really like the deep coffee flavors, lots of beers half ass the coffee and have "hints" or "subtle touches" which for most beers is a dumb idea. More coffee flavor = better.

I also had a beer I had only recently seen in stores, usually for $20/4 pack, Delerium Noel. Fancy spiced holiday ale from the Huyghe Brewery. Plenty of spices are involved, but my average pallet could only pick out a few, nutmeg features prominently, and the whole experience is really really good. Look for the pink elephants in Santa hats:

Currently (Sunday night), I'm enjoying the hell outta a Widmer Brothers Barrel Aged Brrrbon. A fine entry into the current popular trend of whisky/whiskey/bourbon aged beers. It's smooth and surprisingly sweet, but has a solid bourbon bite, with a lingering sweet caramel finish that dries the longer you let it sit. Not as good as a Boulevard Smokestack that's been aged in something, but a solid option. Plus, it comes in a box:
Things like higher end scotch come in boxes, why not a fancy beer?
The beer is actually a deep red color. Digital photos being what they are, it came out a bit darker than it actually is, but trust me, the color is great, the smell is even better, and the taste is very good as well.