Here's to Beer! Deschutes Black Butte XXIII
Many of you remember the difficulty with Black Butte XXII. Remember how Deschutes (wisely) chose not to bottle it due to problems with the mouth feel and body of the finished beer? They felt it wouldn’t bottle well, and chose to only serve it on draft in their brewpubs. For those of us that ventured in to their brewpub, and got to taste it, surely we wouldn’t say it was bad. It was good, albeit a bit flawed. Well, meet the new and improved version, Black Butte XXIII. This beer is an absolute beast, so let the gushing of praise begin…
Just opening the black paraffin coated cap and smelling the aroma for the first time, you know you are in for something special. The beer pours a pitch black color with a dense and creamy brown head. The XXIII uses cocoa nibs from Seattle’s own Theo chocolate, as well as Pasilla Negra Peppers, and Spanish Seville Oranges. Add to that partial aging in Bourbon barrels, and you have a heady mix of components in this brew.
If you crave big malt flavors, this is what you need. Let this one warm to at least 50 degrees when serving, it will allow all the wonderful flavors to blossom in the glass. There is an obvious chocolate malt character, with the cocoa nibs providing a dusting of bitter cocoa powder flavor. Besides chocolate flavors, I got licorice, vanilla, caramel, black molasses, and a note of tea, perhaps Earl Grey. Oak character is evident in the vanillin and caramel flavor notes, as well as a bit of smoky sawdust on the finish. However, Deschutes does a masterful job of balancing oak flavor to avoid the trap of being over oaked or overtly boozy. Hops bitterness settles in at a comfortable 55 IBU’s, which feels like just enough.
With its 10.8 % ABV, and huge flavor profile, this is a grand finale of a beer to position towards the end of a meal. I may be stating the patently obvious by suggesting it as a dessert beer. Anything chocolate will pair well with this, use your imagination. Profiteroles with chocolate sauce and Dulce de Leche ice cream anyone? How about warm chocolate torte with candied orange peel and Earl Grey sauce Anglaise? Or, if you are really feeling crazy, just drop a scoop of ice cream straight into a glass of XXIII and have yourself the best beer float EVER. Or you could just cook with it too. Hmmmm…
In terms of a cheese pairing, try Carr Valley Cocoa Cardona, an aged goat cheese dusted with cocoa powder. I also think a firm nutty sheep’s milk cheese would be great, such as aged Manchego, Petite Basque, or Idiazabal. A sweeter bleu, like Gorgonzola Dolce, would also be nice.
As the bottle says, “Welcome to crazy. Get it while you can.” Cheers!
Rich Coffey is a chef and Certified Cicerone. Find out more about him here.
