Show 46: The Wort of Darkness 2, Stout-tastic Boogaloo
Prebeer Preamble: Dark beers stir their own special passion in the beer enthusiast, and it’s been a while since this show has simply reveled in the blackness. Well the wait is over, because today is all about the special magic that roasted, toasted, and even charred grains bring to the beer-drinking experience. The black style known as stout has many sub categories, promising many similar shows to come, but for now we’re going to look at the two ends of the stout spectrum.
Beer #1: I’m joined by a slimmed-down Draco Vista Review Krew (just Mike, Tim, and Brian this time) as we start off in left field with Hitachino Nest Sweet Stout (Lacto) from Japan’s Kiuchi Brewery. Brewed in a storied sake brewery yet made in the traditional milk stout style, this one starts out as a bit of a head-scratcher. Then we actually try it, and everything changes…
Interbeer Interlude: MicroBrewed. “The Royal Mile.” In his quixotic attempt to prove that Portland needs to abdicate its “beervana” status in favor of Des Moines, Iowa, Tee Morris (along with Paul and Andrew) lands at a thoroughly British pub in the heart of the Grain Belt. The night is getting long, and the slightly sloppy happiness that comes with a pub crawl is getting difficult to ignore. And that’s why we love this stuff…
Beer #2: Speaking of sloppy, the next beer really cranks up the warm-and-fuzzies, as we pole vault over the other stout categories and end up in the Imperial realm, with Great Divide’s Yeti. It’s a great big gush-fest as all the stout fans in the room find themselves with the embodiment of the style amplified on every possible axis.
Liquid Literature: “Guinness: The 250 Year Quest for the Perfect Pint by Bill Yenne” Another book review for you by our Eclectic Librarian, Anna from Washington. This time Anna examines a tome detailing the history of Ireland’s Guinness Brewery. So from the historical perspective, is Guinness truly the “perfect pint”, or simply another example of mass-produced and heavily compromised “product”?
Postbeer Postscript: After the Yeti, you know the numbers are going to be big. Just how big? Well you’ll have to tune in and find out. And what’s with Tim foisting a patented SoB quasi-scientific glassware test on the proceedings at the last minute? I mean, didn’t he listen to Show 35?
March 4th, 2008 at 10:25 am
OK, I’m going to go ahead and share this recipe.
Double Chocolate stout Zabaglione
8 egg yolks
1/2 cup heavy cream
4 ounces semisweet chocolate chips
2/3 cup sugar
3/4 cup your favorite non-hoppy stout (milk stout, Young’s double chocolate stout)
Heat cream until warm. Turn off heat, stir in chocolate chips. Set aside.
In double-boiler, beat eggs, sugar, and stout. Cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens. Takes between 5-15 minutes depending on stove and setup.
Remove from heat. Pour chocolate cream mixture into the egg mixture, in a fine stream, stirring constantly. Taste. If you’re not getting the malt character coming through, add a little bit more stout and put it back on the heat to thicken up a bit. Serving suggestions are varied. Warm: in small glasses, or over fruit or biscotti. Cold: by itself like a mousse. Can serve the beer with the zabaglione if you want. You *could* serve this over ice cream, but then you lose the flavor of the zabaglione.
March 4th, 2008 at 10:25 am
Yes, that’s an original recipe. Releasing it under Creative Commons license.
March 4th, 2008 at 1:47 pm
…making out grocery list now….
*slobber*
March 4th, 2008 at 4:56 pm
I appreciate the compliment. Gonna try to enter this into a Food Network contest–Ultimate Recipe Showdown. Wish me luck.