Lentils and Dahl

Winter returned to England this week, so we took that as our cue to put together one of the most pleasantly worded food and drink combos we could think of: a tarka dal and a tonka, Dahl-inspired stout.

The acts of eating and drinking often collide at some point in the evening, but thought is not always given on to how to best match them up. At the pub I usually default to a bag of salted crisps, though I can also make do with nuts, crackling or Snyder's amazing mustard pretzel pieces. I make this choice irrespective of the beer I'm drinking, and I don't pay much attention to how well the combination of the two works. Later in the evening, though, when hot food makes an appearance (hot chips don't count) it's sometimes worthwhile to reflect on what's in the glass and how well it works with whatever is on the plate.

Of course, food doesn't need to be warm to pair it with a beer. Beer and cheese pairings are relatively well embraced - just look at Wild Beer's once regular Beer & Cheese Festival with Westcombe Dairy. Beer and dessert pairings (as delicious as they sound) haven't quite reached festival-level popularity yet but they're on their way. And I even attended a pretty neat beer and jerky event at Two Tribes a few years back, though I haven't seen another since.

There is quite a lot to take in re: food and beer pairings - it gets a sizeable section of the Cicerone exams all to itself. Very generally though, you want to ask the question: what can your beer do for your meal? Let's take my dal as an example. I might pick a malty mild to calm the chili spice. Or take a classic lager (Kingfisher or Cobra if you're on Brick Lane) to cleanse and refresh. A more adventurous saison pairing can also cleanse, but at the same time may heighten the sensation of any salt, pepper, coriander seed, or citrus flavours that are present. A not-quite-regional-but-maybe-historical pairing could be found in the right IPA, working to lift both the hop character of the beer and any complementary spices in the dish.

With all that in mind, I decided to skip the pairing. The word play between this De Moersleutel and our dinner worked but I didn't see things ending well if actually went ahead and had the two side-by-side. Instead, I decided it would be better off as a liquid dessert, enjoyed on the sofa. Augustus Gloop would be proud.

De Moersleutel | Willy Tonka: Tonka & Peanuts

^{Imperial Stout | Alc 13% | Canned on 29.12.2020}

Colour

Black with a coffee crema coloured head.

Nose

Not unlike a hot fudge sundae - lots of vanilla, some nuts, some chocolate. Pretty sweet, but with freshness.

Mouth

Thick, sure, but not distractingly so. The mid-section builds on a sweetness that comes from dark fruits and bitter chocolate rather than something overly processed or refined. The finish is dry by comparison, and leaves the mouth feeling light. Smokey burps.

9/10

This is easily one of the best Imperial Stouts of the Winter. I can't even begin to compare it to some of the too sweet pastry stouts that ended up in my fridge. This is in near perfect balance. Great nose, nice carbonation, good creaminess to the mouthfeel, not cloyingly sweet at any point, no alcohol bite, dry finish, and a pretty unique flavour profile. I particularly like the fact that my glass isn't getting coated in adjunct residue - anything with too much cacao nib will stain our dishcloth.

jay