Mom's Night Out with Beer & Ice Cream

We experienced a culinary revelation that involved two of my favorite things: beer and ice cream.

Like a lot of moms, a night out without my child usually consists of going to a movie or dinner with my husband, or leaving him at home too to grab a meal with the girls. Recently, I did something a little different and spent three hours with my best friend at Jimmy’s No. 43, a cozy East Village bar that specializes in handcrafted beers and high-end local and organic grub. Rather than dinner, we experienced a culinary revelation that involved two of my favorite things: beer and ice cream.

Before I continue, I must point out that years ago—when I was brimming with culinary enthusiasm—I said to this same friend that it would be cool to use beer foam to top ice cream or make an ice cream float with a beer like Guinness. She looked at me like I had ten heads and made fun of me for years.  Little did she know she’d be sitting with me one day at an Ice Cream, Sorbet and Craft Beer Pairing, a menu degustation she’d be praising and savoring for weeks.  

Hosted by NYC D.A.T. (New York City Degustation Advisory Team, an organization founded by Mary Izett and Chris Cuzme that is dedicated to the promotion and appreciation of craft beers through creative food pairings), the event featured six craft beers—from New York to Italy—paired with six locally made ice creams.

Here are my five favorites:

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Ommegang Witte and Mango Sorbet: When sipped after a taste of sorbet, this Belgian white or witbier, brewed in Cooperstown, N.Y., became hoppy and fruity. The tropical flavors of the sorbet intensified the beer’s hoppy notes.

Kostritzer Schwarzbier and Coconut Ice Cream: Kostritzer has been brewing this beer in Germany since the mid 1500s. The coconut ice cream from New York’s Hudson Valley brought out the roasted, chocolaty flavors of this non-yeasty black lager and made it very smooth to drink. I was quick to dump my ice cream right in my cup of beer!

Rodenbach Classic, Flanders Red and Sweetart Strawberry Ice Cream: This Belgium Flanders Red is a blend of 75 percent young beer that is aged in stainless steel and 25 percent beer aged for 18-24 months in oak barrels. The reddish-brown light bodied brew had distinct fruity and sour notes. The strawberry ice cream, mellowed out the beer’s oakiness and intensified the sweet sour finish.

Lagunitas IPA and Gentle Ginger Ice Cream: This India Pale Ale brewed in California uses American hops. The ginger ice cream brought out its bitterness and super spicy citrus notes.

Grado Plato Chocarrubica Oatmeal Stout and Vanilla Ice Cream: This last tasting, which may have been the best, was served in one glass—one could call it an adult ice cream float. Created in 2003 in a small brewpub in the region of Piedmont in Chieri, Italy, a town close to Torino, this 7 percent oatmeal stout from Birrificio Grado Plato had rich, roasty flavors of cacao and carob. Chocarrubica is a top-fermenting oatmeal stout with deep black color, and foam reminiscent of chocolate milk, It is made with Venezuelan cocoa beans, Sicilian carob and large amount of oats (more than 30 percent), which gives it its silky, chocolaty character. The vanilla ice cream was smooth and velvety, intensifying the chocolate flavors of the beer.

The sixth pairing was Achel Bruin, a Trappist Dubbel. It is a dark amber beer brewed my Trappist monks that contains 8 percent alcohol and has hints of molasses and prunes. It was paired with Ronnybrook Farms chocolate ice cream which was topped with candied bacon. Tasty, but not one of my favorites. I'd rather have my bacon on a cheeseburger, thank you.—Nicole Potenza Denis

1 comment

trixie It was truly delicious