Beer for Steak Night

I know I've neglected the blog for a couple of weeks now- school has been crazy and completely monopolized my time (notable beers that I've drank recently and not blogged about include: Delirium Nocturnum, Sweetwater IPA, Terrapin Rye Pale Ale, and Hoegaarden).

So to make up for the gap in posts, I've got a special post featuring two different beers and how they pair with Steak au Poivre. The beers I've picked are the Belgian classic Chimay Grande Reserve (Blue) Trappist and Anchor Old Foghorn Barleywine. I'm very excited about this dinner and beers as I just got a cast iron pan for the steak (and its a new recipe) and I've never had Chimay before!

Chimay Grande Réserve (Blue)
9% ABV, Trappist ale, 2008 vintage

This Trappist ale poured brown with a moderate head dissipating into a ring. The aroma is estery, fruity, and malty. The flavor was as suggested by the aroma. Fruity (apple?), rich, slightly malty, bite from carbonation, and just overall delicious. The fruitiness made it slightly sweet, but not overpowering. The high alcohol content was very well masked. This is a fantastic beer, very drinkable, delicious, and with gives you a nice buzz at 9% ABV. I expect this to be a standby Trappist.

Anchor Old Foghorn
8.2%, Barleywine ale

There seem to be (at least) two different strains of Barleywine: hoppy and malty. This falls in the latter. It is rich and strong, with heavy malt flavor, caramel notes, and a hint of hop. This is another big beer, which is exactly what I had in mind. This is not my favorite barleywine, but it stands up well to the rich steak au poivre.

The steak au poivre was delicious- it was rich, buttery, peppery, fatty, and simply amazing. I used ribeyes in a cast iron skillet. We also had some amazing mashed potatoes and asparagus made by my fiance. The Chimay was fantastic with the steak- the rich fruit and malt flavors complemented and offered a delicious counterpoint to the rich steak. The rich malt flavors of the barleywine stood up well to the steak as well, but I preferred the fruitiness of the Chimay to the caramel flavor of the barleywine, which was a tad too rich in malty flavor for me.

So as far as a great, rich ribeye steak goes, Chimay or malty barleywine are both great choices. My favorite between these two was the Chimay.

In fact, the Chimay even paired well with the dessert my fiance's sister made. This delicate custard eclair cake moderates the carbonated bite and the two flavors just melt together and complement each other perfectly. This beer would also go very well with Creme Brulee, one of my favorite desserts. This was the perfect end to a perfect dinner. Chimay is truly an amazing beer and incredibly flexible with food pairings! Trust me, pick up a bottle and see what I mean.