Confessions of a Chocolatier

Nothing makes me happier than beer and chocolate! This Fall we have some new truffles that were paired with selected beers for our first ever Choctoberfest celebration. I was hoping for a large selection of German beers but after tasting over a dozen, I decided on only one.  It must be my American taste buds because Germany is home to over 1,300 breweries, equal to about one third of all breweries in the world. Also home to the oldest regulation put on food in the world, the Reinheitsgebot.  This German purity law regulates ingredients to include only barley, hops and water, helping to create a long standing reputation for German beers to be of of high quality. Yeast was later added, as they were not aware of its importance in 1516 when the law was made. Ironically the brew I chose is a collaboration between Schneider brewmaster Hans-Peter Drexler and Brooklyn brewmaster Garrett Oliver. The 400 year old Schneider brewery traditionally brews only wheat beers which are minimally hoped, but the two agreed this collaboration would be a celebration of hops, highlighting the local terroir. After reading up on this info it’s no wonder I chose this beer, my american taste buds and my love for “hoppy” beers. This beer pours a hazy gold/orange color and has aromatics of lemon citrus and hops. Personally, I prefer to let the beer warm to open up even more aromas and flavors. As it opens, citrus gives way to banana and cloves which are also present in the taste, along with a slight bitterness due to the hops. For this reason I paired it with our all new Bananas Foster truffle. Bananas Foster is a famous dessert originating in the big easy,  made from caramelized bananas in a rum sauce over ice cream. Ice cream aside I created this dish as a liquified caramel based chocolate, including banana liquor and aged rum. Cinnamon adds the perfect spice to complete this piece and marry the chocolate and brew together so exquisitely. Separately these two are enjoyable but together they are divine, Cheers!