The Best of Belgium
I fully intended, last night, to resume my weekly visits to Scarlet. Once I arrived home from work, though, I decided I did not want to leave. To be honest, I haven’t seen much of my apartment in the last 3 weeks. Last night seemed like a perfect night to enjoy time with myself. And what better way to celebrate some much needed me-time than with beer and chocolate?
I made a stop over at the Village Beer Merchant, one of the newest beer and fine food stores here in Buffalo, and just a few blocks from my home. The selection of brews - and chocolate, for that matter - is fantastic. A stockpile of smooth, Belgian chocolate caught my eye immediately. I knew right then and there that that was exactly what I wanted. The next question was, which beer to pair it with?
Normally, when indulging in chocolate and beer - especially if enjoying dark chocolate - I tend toward the stout side of things. Imperial and oatmeal stouts always pair great with dark chocolate. But this was Belgian chocolate, and I wanted to imbibe in something other than a stout (for once). So, I made a beeline for the Belgian Abbey Ales. I’ve tried a number of these in the past, and although it’s not actually in Belgium, the Ommegang Brewery of NY makes a most fantastic Abbey Ale. You may have read Pete’s review of Ommegang Abbey Ale a few months ago.
The deep, rich, dark, malty roasted brew was a perfect match to my Belgian chocolate - so much so that I most definitely over-indulged. That took care of my chocolate craving, at least for a little while.
TAGS [ BEER AND CHOCOLATE | BELGIAN BEER | BELGIAN CHOCOLATE | OMMEGANG | ABBEY ALE | ABBEY ALES ]
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June 12th, 2008 at 11:10 am
Hannah, nice post on this. Have you read Garrett Oliver’s book ‘The Brewmaster’s Table’? It is a must read for anyone.
June 12th, 2008 at 12:20 pm
Deron - thanks! I have not yet read that book. I’ll have to pick it up, perhaps this weekend. Thanks for the suggestion, and thanks for stopping by the blog!