Accepting the gauntlet of extensive testing – because, you know, we are willing to “take one for the team”, and Valentine’s Day made it appropriate – we tried various pairings with a Canadian Stout.
The stout is warm and rich, with a dark coffee bitterness. How does it stand up to chocolate?
First up: Moser Roth 70% Cocoa Dark Chocolate. Really not a good combo. It washes out the flavour of the beer, making it taste watery, and bringing out the bitterness in the chocolate.
Second: Moser Roth Orange Almond. Much better. Brings out a really rich creaminess in the beer.
Third: Terry’s Dark Chocolate Orange. Not sure about this one. There is a smooth richness there, and a subtle sweetness, but the orange flavour almost disappears.
Fourth: Cadbury’s Dairy Milk. Oh my. I think I heard an angelic chorus. Perfection. The beer takes some of the sweetness away from the chocolate; the chocolate-beer combination tastes like hot chocolate, with a rich velvet texture. Words fail me in describing how wonderful this combination is – but it wouldn’t surprise me if it brought about world peace.
One final note – please make sure you allow the beer to come to a “lightly chilled”, rather than “ice cold” temperature, or you may be disappointed
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Beerlicious articles by Stuart Carter, stuart@beerlicious.net is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.
Tags: -1, 70% cocoa, Cadbury's, Canada, chocolate orange, Dairy Milk, Moser Roth, orange almond, St-Ambroise, stout, Terry's
February 15th, 2009 at 2:52 pm
I believe i predicted Cadbury’s would be a good pairing with this one…
February 15th, 2009 at 3:13 pm
you did indeed, and your instincts were completely correct.