Notes of a Beer Nerd: Simple Pleasures – Beer Desert
Happy Birthday to me!
**Notes of a Beer Nerd is written by Timperial Stout, our resident cellar dwelling mammal. Reach out to him at timperialstout@beerblotter.com or write a comment below.***
Tuesday I celebrated my 30th birthday. Well, actually, I use the word “celebrate” loosely. The real celebration was about 2 weeks ago when the greatest friends and family a man could ever ask for threw me a “Dirty 30″ surprise party (thank you all so very much!).
I also just completed a long weekend away at Treehouse Point, yet another surprise provided by my wonderful girlfriend. Point is, I’ve already done a lot of celebrating, so Tuesday, the actual anniversary of my birth, was more or less comprised of a bit of self-pampering.
After a long day at the brewery helping out Rhett Burris of Burris Brewing cook up another batch of his delightful Jackrabbit Pale Ale, I stopped at Ballard Market on my way home and grabbed some ingredients for an epic Skooby-Doo style sandwich (you know, the kind that is so tall that you need to crush it down with both hands in order for it to fit in your mouth) and, of course, some tasty adult beverages.
A Dogfish Head 90 Minute Imperial IPA paired very nicely with my turkey (and a ridiculously lengthy list of accompanying ingredients) sandwich. The scent of palisade hops that filled the air of the brewery earlier in the day made me crave this member of the Seven Wonders of the Hoppy World (doesn’t exist, but it should).
Honestly, the herbal and malty sweet balance of 90 Minute is so perfect that I believe it would pair nicely with just about anything. I mean, if you told me I had to eat a shoe but I could wash it down with a 90m, I’d eat the hell out of that shoe.
The most exciting and noteworthy element of this pampering came at the very end of the night. A simple pleasure, but a pleasure without a doubt – an ice cream float! I took the simplicity to the extreme, using Rogue‘s Chocolate Stout and vanilla bean ice cream, both of which are very easily obtained at almost anywhere selling foodstuffs. I decided to give it a little pizzazz and added a few fresh raspberries.
This made me think…surely, in the vast reaches of culinary creation, there must be countless ways to pair beer with ice cream and make it delicious. With all the styles of both out there, what possibilities await us? I did a bit of brainstorming and some research, and I thought I’d share a few thoughts. Maybe the next time your sweet tooth comes a knockin’ you’ll whip up a beer float and tell us your thoughts.
Sticking with the stout motif, The imperial stouts of Southern Tier would be killer combos with vanilla, chocolate, or even fruit flavored ice creams. Try Choklat, Jah*va, Mokah, Creme Brulee, or Oat.
How about fruit lambics and ice cream? Just about any offering from Lindeman’s would be killer with vanilla. A Cantillon Kriek or any of the New Belgium Lips of Faith beers would work wonderfully as well.
What about a nut brown ale like Troegs Rugged Trail? A coffee flavored ice cream might go well with this one, or paired with a milk stout like Left Hand‘s.
A sweet barleywine like an aged Speakeasy Old Godfather or even an eisbock like Kulmbacher‘s could go exceptionally well with a mildly flavored ice cream.
Playing mad scientist with beer and ice cream seems like a darn productive use of time to me. Beer Blotter suggests that you give it a whack and let us know what pairings work best.
I was told by the Homebrew Chef (@homebrewchef) that a nice bottle of Hoppin Frog BORIS Imperial Stout mixed with a little New Glarus Belgian Red and a few scoops of ice cream makes the perfect beer shake. I can see that – chocolate and spice – sounds about right.