Beer Radar

I won’t tempt you with the details about last night’s dinner with Tomme Arthur at Monk’s Cafe, other than to say I may have enjoyed the greatest cheese-and-beer combo ever. It came along in the fourth course, after the duck pate, salmon tartare, stuffed quail and osso bucco.

Lost Abbey Angels Share Grand Cru with Colston Bassett Stilton.

The Grand Cru is a sipping beer. Monk’s served a very small portion of perhaps 3oz. But that was plenty. The beer is a blend of 6 vintages of Angels Share, aged in brandy, bourbon or Cabernet barrels. This is a sipping beer, reminiscent of port, but better than any port I’ve swallowed. Its oak flavor is balanced with a palate-tickling salad of dried fruits, caramel and vanilla. I kind of think it might be a little much on its own - but paired with the Stilton, it excelled.

Normally, I’ve paired Stilton with barleywine, thinking that only a beer with massive hop bitterness could stand up to the funky blue. Instead,  the ale’s boozy sweetness and fruit character brought out intense layers of chocolate flavors - yes, chocolate! - I’d never recognized in this cheese variety. While the beer cut through the cheese’s intense creaminess, the potent strength of this Stilton reigned in the ale.

A mouthful was a warm, sensuous kiss. I want to do it again.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, February 24th, 2010 at 4:21 pm and is filed under Events, Food. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.