Of Beer And Chocolate
November 20, 2007 9:07 PM   Subscribe

Chocolate and the Beer of the Ancients. New archaeological evidence suggests that primitive beer brewers were the first to discover the goodness of chocolate.
posted by amyms (21 comments total) 8 users marked this as a favorite
 
Beer, is there anything you can't do?
posted by Artw at 9:25 PM on November 20, 2007


Beer is terrible at removing rust.
posted by pmbuko at 9:35 PM on November 20, 2007


But it takes care of the initial motivation to do so, which is all that really matters.
posted by Urban Hermit at 9:54 PM on November 20, 2007


...primitive beer brewers were the first to discover the goodness of chocolate.

Thus laying the two key foundations for the creation of the nation of Belgium!
posted by flapjax at midnite at 10:27 PM on November 20, 2007 [1 favorite]


chocolatey flavors are still highly prized by beer brewers in such recipes as stout and porter....mmm chocolate
posted by telstar at 10:31 PM on November 20, 2007


Thus laying the two key foundations for the creation of the nation of Belgium!

Ah! I had always wondered why the Flemish-French duality didn't tear them apart, but little did I know there were far more primal forces of unity at work...
posted by Urban Hermit at 10:45 PM on November 20, 2007


And a nice chunk of dark chocolate will go well with a dark beer without that flavouring already.
posted by dreamsign at 10:46 PM on November 20, 2007


...a nice chunk of dark chocolate will go well with a dark beer...

Actually, I'm a fan of dark chocolate consumed right alongside beer of the not-so-dark persuasion as well. Enjoying a nice chunk of Cote d'Or Noir de noir alongside a typical pils is something I learned to do while living in dreary old Brussels back in 1983, and I like beer and chocolate together to this day.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 10:53 PM on November 20, 2007


someone alert tay zonday!
posted by Hat Maui at 12:30 AM on November 21, 2007


Um. I read that as "Chocolate and the Bear of the Ancients. New archaeological evidence suggests that primitive bear brewers were the first to discover the goodness of chocolate." That's why I came in here.

I need more sleep.
posted by Ira.metafilter at 5:14 AM on November 21, 2007


... and here comes some American brewer to make "Imperial Chicha."

This makes great sense, though, since you've always got to wonder, who realized that the seeds of this thing taste great once the pod (a little smaller than a modern American football) has been fermented? Well, if you're making beer with it, you might just find out coincidentally. Mmm, beer.
posted by uncleozzy at 5:49 AM on November 21, 2007


flapjax, alongside a pils? It seems to me that the hop bitterness in a pils and the chocolate bitterness would clash too much. Now, a chocolate torte with a kriek or framboise -- that's marvelous.

Thanks for the links, amyms. Good reading.
posted by cog_nate at 6:17 AM on November 21, 2007


I'm off to the homebrew store for ingredients for a nice porter. I'm sure there's a chocolate that will go well with it.
posted by tommasz at 9:03 AM on November 21, 2007


Hey tommasz, if you like vanilla, get a real vanilla bean or two to put in that porter. One of the guys in my homebrew club made a vanilla porter last year that was phenomenally good.
posted by cog_nate at 9:42 AM on November 21, 2007


Yeah, I thought it said bears discovered chocolate too. Whoever, I'm glad they did.
posted by ClaudiaCenter at 11:59 AM on November 21, 2007


Maybe I've misread this thread, but I'm of the opinion that feeding beer and chocolate to bears is a recipe for disaster.
posted by Astro Zombie at 12:35 PM on November 21, 2007


Maybe I've misread this thread, but I'm of the opinion that feeding beer and chocolate to bears is a recipe for disaster.

No. No. It's a recipe for chocolate beer fed bear. And it is delicious. It's all in the timing of when you harvest them.
posted by tkchrist at 1:26 PM on November 21, 2007


Vegemite - a more recent invention - was also originally a byproduct of beer, suggesting that Vegemite is evolutionarily superior to chocolate.
posted by UbuRoivas at 4:39 PM on November 21, 2007


Beer, is there anything you can't do?

Well, the pyramids were built on beer (figuratively speaking), and there are theories that the very first impulse towards agriculture was for the purposes of growing grains for brewing.

Brewing is older than sedentary agriculturalism, though. The ancients used to gather wild honey, put it in a pot with water & go on with their hunter-gather ramblings. Wild yeasts in the air would land in the pot, ferment the honey, whereupon the people would return & drink the resultant alcoholic goodness. Presumably, fermentation was discovered when some honeywater energy drink had been left behind & consumed at a later date. Not having a clue as to how this happened, the ancients probably put it down to some sort of magic.

Fermentation from grains was a newer process though, because the complex starches in grains need to be broken down with enzymes before the yeasties will eat them. Honey & other forms of sugars are already in a yeast-friendly form, and thus were the basis of the oldest kind of fermentation.
posted by UbuRoivas at 4:48 PM on November 21, 2007 [1 favorite]


This thread is not complete without a link to a chocolate beer.

There's also a very good vanilla porter brewed somewhere near Hull, but I can't think of the name of it.
posted by Zinger at 7:52 PM on November 21, 2007


flapjax, alongside a pils?

It's true, I like it! I guess I'm kinda weird...
posted by flapjax at midnite at 10:02 PM on November 21, 2007


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