Thursday, February 09, 2006

Brewing: Stoutenporter ruminations...

After brewing the Stoutenporter I was a little hesitant. Sometimes I’m preoccupied with the process and not objective enough to determine what it really tastes like. I didn't like it when it was warm out of the fermenter. I decided to reserve judgment until it was cooler and carbonated in the keg. In the back of my mind I was a little concerned that I wasted all that malt.

I'm sure many of you have experienced these feelings before. I usually feel that way when I cook something new for my family. I usually say stuff like, “Too much garlic?” or “Was it cooked too long.” Sometimes they say, “This isn't too bad." or "It’s not my thing." When I brew beer I’m patiently waiting for that honest opinion. That little shred of proof that it doesn’t suck. When you make a high gravity beer like the Stoutenporter you might not find too many people willing to drink it. So how do you get that if you can't share it? Picture a tar black beverage that you could float a quarter on.

Yesterday, after work I pulled some from the keg into a wine glass, sat down at the kitchen table and had another taste. I thought, "It is better now that it is chilled." Then I saw the piece de resistance, left over cake from the superbowl party. That's right a yellow cake with the Steeler logo on it :-) Eureka, it might just work! I had a bite of cake and a sip of the beer. And to borrow a phrase from a familiar beer commercial, "Brilliant!" It was the second best beer and food pairing I've ever enjoyed. The first was desert at Monks a few weeks ago. WOW! Who knew I was going to make a dessert beer?

Tune in tomorrow when I talk more about my new beer and cake diet ;-)

1 comment:

Bryan Kolesar said...

How about with chocolate pancakes?!