“While the beer is
relatively sweet to taste,
it still has a somewhat
drier finish... brilliant
with a warm slice
of apple pie.”
Schneider Aventinus & Apple Pie
“The focus here is
purely on rich, decadent
chocolate... paired with
the patent French vanilla
custard dessert, the
vanilla and chocolate are
like a symphony.”
Boulevard Chocolate Ale & Crème Brûlée
One of the Kansas City brewery’s most sought after beers is a
rich, amber colored, chocolate flavored ale that was brewed in
collaboration with the famous chocolatier, Christopher Elbow.
Many would think first of a dark roasty stout when they first
imagine a beer by this name, but the focus here is purely on rich
decadent chocolate with the malt component merely there to put
the star flavor on display. Paired with the patent French vanilla
custard dessert, the vanilla and chocolate are like a symphony. The
high alcohol cuts the cream while the hard caramelized crust makes
the sweet malt pop. It’s simply to die for.
Founders Dirty Bastard & Mexican Hot Chocolate Cake
Dirty Bastard is a strong Scotch-style ale, also known as a “Wee
Heavy”. The style is incredibly rich in malt profile due to kettle
caramelization which is the result of the brewers boiling the wort
sometimes two to three times longer than a normal beer. This
brewing technique, along with a colder than normal fermentation,
creates an almost opulent, clean caramel malt character. This
unabashed sweetness paired with the heat from the capsaicin of
the peppers is what contrasting balance is all about. And while the
sweetness of the cake calms the sweetness of the beer, the chocolate
adds further complexity to the caramel explosion.
fsmomaha.com
Aventinus is a delicious German made Weizenbock, which is
basically a Bock strength version of a Dunkelweizen. What does
that mean? It’s a brown wheat beer of around 8% alcohol by volume
with a rich toasty caramel malt character and surprisingly evident
banana and clove complexity from the yeast. While the beer is
relatively sweet to taste, it still has somewhat of a drier finish. These
characteristics play brilliantly with a warm slice of classic American
apple pie. The cinnamon and nutmeg dance with the spicy clove
yeast phenolics. The banana esters and cooked apple create depth
and complexity of fruit. The baked crust and toasty malt create a
whole new pastry of their own.
“While the sweetness
of the cake calms the
sweetness of the beer,
the chocolate adds
further complexity to the
caramel sweetness.”
“Sweet cinnamon
and frosting go headto-head with the smoky
meatiness and umamilike savory notes
of this Rauchbier.”
Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier Urbock & Cinnamon Roll
Rauchbier, literally meaning “smoke beer”, is a lager-style beer
brewed with a heavy amount of beechwood-smoked malt. The
German brewery Schlenkerla’s Urbock version is rich and sweet
with the flavor of toasted bread crust along with an undeniably
pronounced smoke character. The marriage of the malt and smoke
give off what many perceive as hearty charred meat and even bacon.
Nebraska has long enjoyed the contrasting balance of a rich meaty
bowl of chili paired with a sweet cinnamon roll (yes out-of-towners,
this is a thing here). Much in the same way, the sweet cinnamon
and frosting go head-to-head with the smoky meatiness and umamilike savory notes of this Rauchbier, while the malt enhances the
pastries buttery dough.
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