Beer and Chocolate
On Sunday July, 11th My good friend Stephen (from New Brew Thursday) and I were fortunate enough to attend a limited seating “Beer and Chocolate” presentation at the Stone Brewing World Gardens and Bistro.
“Dr.” Bill Sysak, Beverage Manager for the Bistro (and host of Master Pairings) and Will Gustwiller, the proprietor/creator/alchemist from Eclipse Chocolat put together an amazing array of pairings. Will’s truffles are probably the most unique and interesting truffles I have ever had. He finds ways to blend flavors you would never expect together into incredibly delicious creations.
Dr Bill spent countless hours with Will going over the specific truffles and the ways to pair beer with them. Some of the pairings were very fluid and complementary, while others were designed to bring out specific flavors in the beer or the chocolate.
I know the photo is a tad fuzzy, so the pairings were as follows:
Tarragon Goat Cheese Truffle paired w/ Stone OAKED Arrogant Bastard
Sweet Potato Spice Truffle w/ Brasserie d’Orval Orval
Roasted Banana Bourbon Smoked Salt Truffle w/ Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier Ur-bock
Vanilla Bean Sassafras Truffle w/ De Ranke Noir de Dottgnies
Balsamic Pink Peppercorn Truffle w/ Struisse Pannepot
Lemon Ginger Truffle w/ Oud Beersel Framboise
Black Sesame Anise Truffle w/ AleSmith Decadence 2010
Needless to say, the pairings were magnificent and Will’s truffles were (and are) works of culinary art!
One of my favorite pairings of the evening was the Sweet Potato Spice truffle paired with Orval, as the sweetness of the chocolate and pumpkin pie/sweet potato spice were cut by the mild tartness of the Orval. Simply divine!
I also thoroughly enjoyed the Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier Ur-bock paired with a Roasted Banana Bourbon Smoked Salt truffle. The melding of smoky beer and the bourbon smoke salted truffle was like a chocolate banana barbecue explosion on the palate! Absolutely fantastic!
I think my favorite truffle by itself was the Balsamic Pink Peppercorn truffle. On the surface, these things just don’t go together! But in reality, I can think of no other truffle that merged and integrated such diverse flavors into such a seamless taste experience!
I was so blown away by the pairings and the possibilities for pairing beer and chocolate that I look forward to putting together something like this for VCBW 2011!
Many thanks to Dr. Bill for putting this event together (and letting me participate) and to Will from Eclipse for sharing his incredible creations!
Cheers,
Andy the Beerman