Dunkin’ Donuts beer pairing: Chocolate Frosting Glazed: Milk/Oatmeal Stouts, Brown Porters.  The sweet chocolaty flavors and velvet textures found in these beers are perfect matches for donuts with or without chocolate frosting but why would you want to eat a donut with out chocolate frosting? 

 Examples: Sam Adams Cram Stout, Left Hand Milk Stout, Young’s Oatmeal Stout, Fullers Porter.

Dry Stout beer pairing: The intense roasty flavors (coffee, bitter chocolate) in these stouts can briefly intensify the saline, sea tastes in the oysters while the subtle chocolate flavors and perceived bitterness cleanses the palate.  

Examples: Guinness Draught, Beamish Stout, Oyster stouts are a double whammy (Rogue, Dogfish Head)

I love beer with desserts.  Beer pairings like these are starting to come out of the shadows and aren't nearly as surprising as they once were. Certainly not as shocking as pairing beer with breakfast foods but the general public is still a little weary of drinking beer and eating dessert at the same time. 

Pairing suggestion: Chocolate Brownie covered with raspberries.

This pairing is probably the most common place.  Pairing big beers with roasted coffee/dark chocolate flavors and velvety mouthfeel with brownies is a now brainer. But this recipe takes a turn with the addition of raspberries.  The divine tartness of a raspberry adds the perfect counter point to such a rich dessert and beer. 

I found this suggestion and a few others (you might have to be a chef to make any of the other dishes at home) on an Elysian Brewing Company beer dinner menu.   

I have been humbled by the response from some of these breweries to my beer pairing requests. Hinterland Brewery, went above and beyond the request and provided 12 different pairings for their beers!  Below you will find their suggestions for Luna Coffee Stout.

Option #1: Grilled oysters with smoked bacon-crab gratin (complementary pairing)

The roasted barley notes in the beer resonate with the saline minerality of the the oyster.  Add a little smoke from the grilling and it would be hard tell where the stout ends and the oyster begins, except for the texture.  If anything the oysters will tamp down the roasted (coffee/burned toast)flavors a little bit. 

Option #2: Spicy BBQ (complex pairing)
This pairing works because the roasty malt flavors resonate with grilled flavors in the BBQ.  It also takes a big beer (flavor-wise) to stand up to such a flavorful dish and stouts are up for that challenge. The malty flavors in stouts will also help tamp back the spices while the dry, roasty nature of this stout will help cleanse the palate.

Option #3: Vanilla Ice Cream (contrasting pairing) 
I love this pairing because it is out of the ordinary.  Not many people think of ice cream and beer pairings! This pairing works because the cream ice cream coats the palate and tamps back the roasty flavors in the stout.  The coffee/chocolate and vanilla flavors naturally contradict each other. This keeps either one from becoming too overpowering. You can try this pairing with a bowl of ice cream but I suggest you make a Luna Coffee Stout Float!

This is the third installment in a new pairing series/collaboration with the website They Draw and Cook (TDAC).  TDAC is a truly inspiring website with hundreds if not thousands of illustrated recipes by artists from around the world.  As you can imagine each recipe’s style and content is as unique as the artist who illustrated it. TDAC is a “veritable who’s who” of artistic styles and recipes as you will find painted, collaged, drawn, and digital renditions of scrumptious salads, mouthwatering main dishes, decadent desserts and so much more! 

For this series, I have picked five recipes from a compilation book of recipes TDAC had published last year but you can also find them on TDAC.com.  I have picked one breakfast-y recipe, one salad, one appetizer, one main dish and one dessert AND paired each recipe with one and sometimes two different beers! 

Pairing beer with desserts (before I get any hate mail...I know calling tiramisu a dessert is a disservice) are a lot fun and actually quite easy. The hop bitterness is natural counterbalances to a dessert's sweetness and vice versa. Also, many beers have a residual sweetness which helps create a binding base layer. Sweet malt flavors in beer can range from caramel to bitter chocolate, as is the case in this pairing. 

This beer is a perfect pairing with tiramisu.  First, the roasted barley used in this beer adds a wonderful bitter chocolate/coffee flavor that resonates with the coffee liqueur and cocoa powder.  The beer's bitterness and dry finish also help balance the decadent cream and sweet ladyfingers. But, what makes this pairing so special is the "soft-smoke" flavor from the chicory.  When the two combine, it is almost a perfect match for the New Orleans specialty coffee, cafe au lait. Although, I don't recommend you replace your morning coffee with this beer!-)

I found this great, one minute long beer description by Dogfish Head's brewmaster Sam Calagione. So instead of reading my longwinded interpretation of this beer, I am gonna let him explain HIS beer to you. 

1. If you liked this pairing or love this recipe let the artist know and spread the love around. The artist and I would appreciate the extra publicity!

2. You can and should order this fabulous cookbook on TDAC.com.

3. These illustrations are copyrighted.  You may not use them for any commercial reason without express written consent from the artist.  You may, however, print them for your own use.  Click the recipe which will take you to TDAC and from there you can download a high resolution copy or print a copy of this recipe. 

American Stout

Examples:  Rogue Shakespeare Stout, Deschutes Obsidian Stout, Sierra Nevada Stout
Serving Temp: 45°- 50°
Glassware: Pint Glass, Mug

Aroma: Will be full of roasted malt, which gives it a coffee-like aroma.  There may also be hints of chocolate or cocoa as well as American grown hops.
Appearance: The beer will pour jet black and opaque with garnet highlights around the edges with a thick and a long lasting tan head.
Flavor: You can expect a lot of roasted malt flavors of burnt coffee or bittersweet chocolate.  The burnt flavors shouldn’t be unpleasant and are often quickly replaced by a much smoother and sweeter chocolate flavor.  Citrus or resiny hop flavors can be present.
Mouthfeel: You can expect a well-carbonated, medium to full bodied beer with a dry and slightly astringent finish due to the roasted barley that was used in the brewing.

Food Pairings: Cuisine: Barbecue. Cheese: buttery, earthy.  Dessert: chocolate. Meat: beef, shellfish, smoked, grilled, game.

HopHeadSaid: Beers in this beer style can span a wide range of body and flavors but this almost ensures you will find that perfect American stout to suit your tastes or food pairing.  I suggest pairing your favorite stout with a chocolate dessert.  The sweetness in the deserts will help balance the roasty flavors in the stout and the stout will keep the dessert from becoming to cloying.  The coffee-like roastieness is often a pleasant layer with sweets, as well. If desserts aren’t your thang, then try breakfast foods! Consider replacing your morning coffee with a stout, it has a similar flavor profile as the coffee and its carbonation will help to scrub those savory or sweet flavors off the palate.  I won’t even get into the slight warming sensation you get with the stout.