Dark and Brown Ales Moo Brew Dark & Brookes Brown Ale

Winter is here, and its now I start to eat heartier meals like stews, lamb shanks and steak and kidney pies, which need bigger beers to match. So as the evenings get darker, so do the beers.

Dark Ales, Porters, Brown Ales and Stouts are great beers to match to meaty dishes, but can also be an awesome match to chocolate desserts! The beer cuts through the sweetness and allows the chocolate flavour to become apparent.

When it comes to red meats these beers are an awesome pairing. The caramelisation which occurs in cooking, complements the caramelisation in the malted grains used in brewing these beer styles.

Typically these styles have toffee, nutty, chocolate, coffee and caramel flavours from the Crystal, Dark and Roasted Malts used, that also give them their black, dark amber, brown colour and ruby mahogany hues.

So stoke the fire, check the slow cooker, line up that 70% cocoa free trade block of chocky and try a couple of these beers, which will warm you through the upcoming winter months.

Cheers!

Moo Brew. (Hobart, Tasmania)

Moo Brew Dark Ale.

5.0%abv

$22.99 6x330ml bottles

Pouring a deep brown colour, this ale has sweet chocolate aroma. Chocolate and roasted malts are highlighted, as is the hop spice bitterness that helps this American style dark finish quite dry.

This style of beer is certainly not as heavy as a stout or a Porter, which can make it an easier drinking treat.

The Moo Brew beers are unpasteurised, so ensure you keep them cool. Treat them with care as you would any other food to ensure they are enjoyed as they were intended.

Food match: Roasted or grilled red meats or a creamy ash blue cheese .

Brookes Brewery (Bendigo, Victoria)

Brookes Brown Ale

5.2% abv

$21.99 6x 330ml bottles  

This Brown pours quite dark in colour, bringing out deep brown tones with a crème head. It has a definite aroma of burnt caramel and chocolate with a hint of coffee grinds. It has a pleasantly smooth full bodied mouthfeel, and a flavour of coffee with an earthiness that lingers and finishes quite dry.

The Brookes Brown Ale is certainly one to put on your winter list of must try beers.

Food match: Cured meats, sharp cheddar or a Porterhouse steak.