Burgers – who doesn’t like them? Brie – a cheese I have only recently discovered a liking for. And beer – the classic combo.

I went with the Indian Brown Ale from Dogfish Head, one of the best breweries in the world. Their IBA clocks in at 7.2% ABV, and is ranked as one of the best beers in the world on both major beer rating sites (95th percentile and A-, if you’re curious). The flavour is wonderfully layered, with hops, coffee, and caramel – almost like a caramel latte made with hops. It’s beautifully carbonated, with a gentle effervescence on the tongue. I wanted to know how this dangerously drinkable beer went with burgers and brie, so I kept it simple: bun, burger, a little ketchup, brie, and beer.

The malt sweetness and roastiness played off the caramelised surface of the burger. The hop bitterness contrasted nicely with the rich lushness of the brie. The combination – having the burger, brie, bun, and beer in the mouth at the same time – produced an explosive combination of flavours – coffee, chocolate, hop bitterness, beef sweetness, mushroomy creamy buttery extravagance from the brie.

Could you find a better pairing? Probably. But for me, on this nice September afternoon, this simple combination raised itself head and shoulders above the crowd into a memorable moment of beerliciousness.

Some rights reserved:

Beerlicious articles by Stuart Carter, stuart@beerlicious.net is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.