Thursday 10 June 2010

Brasserie Ellezelloise Hercule Stout with Cave aged Gruyere

Now I have never tried pairing Gruyere with beer before but I thought this 9% Belgian Imperial Stout from the cellar/reserved beer cupboard would be a good place to start. The cheese; nutty, salty, grainy and dry with a kind of muscular sweetness. The beer; full of malt substance with big typical imperial stout roast grain notes.  Rich fruit and chocolate are in abundance. Then you have that touch of Belgian funk from the yeast moving things to a new level. A great pairing picking off good harmonies. Think dry bitter, grainy, earthy, salty and malt sweetness combined into one. If you have you ever seen the film Freddy vs Jason? Well imagine Freddy and Jason on the same team. Dark hardcore imperial stout with a touch of eccentricity meets dry robust cheese. That's what this is all about. Totally brutal.


Alright Jason mate? Fancy some cheese an beer?

2 comments:

Mark Dredge said...

This sounds GOOD! I had Hercule Stout on draught in Belgium a couple of weeks ago which was, incidentally, enjoyed while sitting in what was essentially a cave. It's a great beer and I can imagine it working very well with the cheese.

I haven't done anything with cheese and beer for ages... I must rectify that soon!

Rob said...

Indeed so Mark. If you like you could attend my beer & cheese night next month, take a holiday up north perhaps? Bit far tho.