Beerlicious » Fruit

Spaten Oktoberfest + Peach Cobbler

Danner — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 15:32:09 +0000

This is my favorite way to do food & beer pairings — stumble across something totally unexpected that’s amazingly good.

I already had a glass of Oktoberfest poured up when I decided to serve up a helping of homemade peach cobbler. I never dreamed the two would compliment each other.

Lo and behold, the gentle sweetness and light bready maltiness of the beer blended perfectly with the sweetness and peach flavors of the cobbler. It was stunning.

If you had asked me before hand what beer I would ideally pair with the cobbler, I would have said witbier or fruit lambic. I’ll give those a try someday. In the meantime, I had this pairing again after the first experiment and it held up perfectly. Serendipity.

Various + Pear & Gorgonzola Pizza

Danner — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 01:31:48 +0000

Not sure if this officially qualifies as pizza. It has no sauce. You cover the crust with provolone, then add slices of pear, then sprinkle some crumbled gorgonzola, and finally add some nuts. Supposed to be walnuts, but all we had was pecans, and that worked well, too.

If you’ve ever had gorgonzola, you know it is intense. It dominates this dish, so when picking a beer, you’re primarily picking something to complement the gorgonzola.

Been eating on the pizza for a couple days, so I’ve sampled three different beers with it. Dick’s Double Diamond Winter Ale, Sierra Nevada ESB, and Tommyknocker Butthead Doppelbock. They were all pretty much shots in the dark. I really wasn’t sure what would go well with something as crazy as gorgonzola.

Happily, they all worked. I’d say the Butthead was best, the ESB placed second, and the Double Diamond clocked in at number three.

Double Diamond is a Winter Warmer along the lines of an old ale. Not especially hoppy, but rich and malty with some fruity esters and a nice alcohol warmth. It was just ok with this.

Sierra Nevada is an Americanized ESB — a bit more citrus than English versions. I was very pleased that the hops didn’t clash with this. Something even hoppier might even work.

I was really unsure about going doppelbock, but Butthead was excellent with it. It has a more roasted character than most of the really classic examples of the style. And it’s just a bit thinner on the robust malt character that a Salvator has. But still a well done doppelbock and it was a great compliment to the gorgonzola.

Cantillon Gueuze + Double Cream Brie and Tart Apples

Doug — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 01:53:48 +0000

Inspired by Danner’s Gueuze post, I thought I’d pull out a review I did of my first Gueuze. Cantillon’s 100% Organic Gueuze was my first Gueuze, although I have had lambics and Flanders Reds before, so I knew somewhat what to expect. Upon cracking it open, I immediately caught a whiff of that “horse blanket” or “sweaty” smell, but that quickly passed. As I held the beer up to my nose, my eyes started to water and my mouth started to pucker simply on aroma alone. Tart-smelling would be an understatement. It also smelled of moldy citrus rinds. It poured yellowy-gold. The cork was dated 2004. The flavor, like the aroma, was tart and dry. The high level of carbonation and palate-cleansing nature of the drink reminded me of champagne. Indeed, the process of blending gueuze is similar to that of champagne and the bottle declares that it is the “Champagne of Belgium.”

My wife described drinking it like eating a Granny Smith apple, but without the apple flavor. Spot on.

The beer is not very drinkable by itself, but per the Beer Advocate cheese pairings recommendation, I consumed this with slices of tart Granny Smith Apples smothered in Double Cream Brie. When paired with the creamy brie, I could not get enough of the gueuze . . . or enough of the brie! The beer caused the brie to be even creamier and richer and the crisp sharp bite of the tart apple balanced everything out. I’d highly recommend a similar beer and cheese pairing for an appetizer or indulgent snack. This was hands-down my top beer and food experience.