Comments on: Of Beer And Chocolate

Of Beer And Chocolate

amyms — Tue, 20 Nov 2007 21:07:09 -0800

Chocolate and the Beer of the Ancients. New archaeological evidence suggests that primitive beer brewers were the first to discover the goodness of chocolate.

By: Artw

Artw — Tue, 20 Nov 2007 21:25:59 -0800

Beer, is there anything you can't do?

By: pmbuko

pmbuko — Tue, 20 Nov 2007 21:35:43 -0800

Beer is terrible at removing rust.

By: Urban Hermit

Urban Hermit — Tue, 20 Nov 2007 21:54:38 -0800

But it takes care of the initial motivation to do so, which is all that really matters.

By: flapjax at midnite

flapjax at midnite — Tue, 20 Nov 2007 22:27:15 -0800

...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!

By: telstar

telstar — Tue, 20 Nov 2007 22:31:24 -0800

chocolatey flavors are still highly prized by beer brewers in such recipes as stout and porter....mmm chocolate

By: Urban Hermit

Urban Hermit — Tue, 20 Nov 2007 22:45:07 -0800

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...

By: dreamsign

dreamsign — Tue, 20 Nov 2007 22:46:11 -0800

And a nice chunk of dark chocolate will go well with a dark beer without that flavouring already.

By: flapjax at midnite

flapjax at midnite — Tue, 20 Nov 2007 22:53:07 -0800

...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.

By: Hat Maui

Hat Maui — Wed, 21 Nov 2007 00:30:50 -0800

someone alert tay zonday!

By: Ira.metafilter

Ira.metafilter — Wed, 21 Nov 2007 05:14:05 -0800

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.

By: uncleozzy

uncleozzy — Wed, 21 Nov 2007 05:49:35 -0800

... 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.

By: cog_nate

cog_nate — Wed, 21 Nov 2007 06:17:30 -0800

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.

By: tommasz

tommasz — Wed, 21 Nov 2007 09:03:48 -0800

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.

By: cog_nate

cog_nate — Wed, 21 Nov 2007 09:42:21 -0800

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.

By: ClaudiaCenter

ClaudiaCenter — Wed, 21 Nov 2007 11:59:54 -0800

Yeah, I thought it said bears discovered chocolate too. Whoever, I'm glad they did.

By: Astro Zombie

Astro Zombie — Wed, 21 Nov 2007 12:35:27 -0800

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

By: tkchrist

tkchrist — Wed, 21 Nov 2007 13:26:32 -0800

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.

By: UbuRoivas

UbuRoivas — Wed, 21 Nov 2007 16:39:02 -0800

Vegemite - a more recent invention - was also originally a byproduct of beer, suggesting that Vegemite is evolutionarily superior to chocolate.

By: UbuRoivas

UbuRoivas — Wed, 21 Nov 2007 16:48:39 -0800

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.

By: Zinger

Zinger — Wed, 21 Nov 2007 19:52:28 -0800

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.

By: flapjax at midnite

flapjax at midnite — Wed, 21 Nov 2007 22:02:53 -0800

flapjax, alongside a pils? It's true, I like it! I guess I'm kinda weird...