Confessions of a Chocoholic

Move over Great Lost Bear, I have a new favorite bar in Portland, ME (home of the Portland Head Light). Novare Res (http://www.novareresbiercafe.com/) is a beer bar that specializes in Belgian ales, and serves meats and cheeses to pair up with the beer. Tonight was Dogfish Head night with 24 different beers on tap. They also offered special pairings of beer with food, and I chose the chocoholic (jealous Jenn?). I chose the chocoholic not because I was thrilled about the idea of chocolate and beer, but because it offered the best selection of beer (no substitutions were allowed). The pairings were as follows:

- Chocolate: Café au Lait, Beer: Red & White – The chocolate, courtesy of Sweet Marguerites, was espresso and cream, which went well with a Belgian white ale that had been aged in Pinot Noir oak barrels.
- Chocolate: Chile Star, Beer: Theobrama – This combination brought the heat (a favorite of mine). The chocolate was cinnamon with ancho chiles, and the beer was a Mexican lager brewed with chocolate and chiles. This combination was my favorite, and the combination went well together.
- Chocolate: Force Noire, Beer: World Wide Stout – This combination was a dark chocolate lover’s dream. The chocolate was a strong, black, rich, deep, dark bitter chocolate that was outstanding. The World Wide Stout is one of the most potent stouts in the world, which was over-powering in terms of alcohol (not normally a problem for me). I needed to keep my senses for trying the other beers.
- Chocolate: Fleur de Sel Caramel, Beer: Palo Santo Marron –The chocolate was a macadamia nut caramel topped with sea salt. The Palo Santo Marron is a strong brown ale aged in wood casks. The saltiness of the caramel was perfect (salty goes much better with beer instead of sweet).

Mahar’s used to do these kind of events. If I had to move away from Albany, Portland would be a great alternative. I could be REALLY happy here. - 5175

"Beer that is not drunk had missed its vocation." – Meyer Breslau, 1880