Peanut Butter & Jelly Thumbprints and Still Hill Sluggy Buggy Oatmeal Stout
The Beer: Still Hill is a brewery in Rocky Hill that has been open for a couple years and is situated in a nice, hand painted space that makes the usual industrial warehouse vibe much more comfortable. The brewer there pulled off many a homebrewer’s ideal in which he made beer in his basement, garage, and driveway for many years and did everything he could to learn about the craft. I know many people throw around the phrase “this is good, you should open a brewery!”, but in his case they were right. Eventually he gave into demands and made the plunge, the result is one of my favorite places because they do seemingly straightforward beers exceptionally well.
The Sluggy Buggy is the first beer I had once the place opened and I immediately fell in love. Oatmeal stouts hold a cherished place in the heart of many beer lovers because the oats add a nice body to a dry stout, without blowing the lid off and going into imperial territory. The beer is very dark with a tan head. The aroma is of coffee, roasted malt and some chocolate and the flavor mirrors that quite well. Primarily dark fruit and chocolate roastiness, coffee is noticeable on the finish with a hint of bitterness and low booze.
The Cookie: Having recently acquired a new cookbook, these caught my eye immediately when flipping the pages. The premise is a soft, very peanut-buttery cookie rolled in crushed peanuts and indented with a central well, filled to the brim with your favorite jam. These cookies delivered in every way. The peanut butter was very prominent and the cookies were slightly crisp, both elements enhanced by the crushed peanut coating. For the first batch I went with a jam composed of grapes, currants and raspberries, with the grape and raspberry making up the dominant flavors. I love this cookie and the possibilities it represents. The jam is the perfect counterpoint to the not-too-sweet peanut butter dough.
The Pairing: Given the uncertainty of the jelly on top I was very reluctant to dunk, but after accidentally dropping my cookie into the glass I had the break through I needed. The cookie has so much going for it that forcing the two components of the pairing together creates a better result. The cookie, though having a couple of powerful flavors, went well with the mildness of the beer. I found the peanut butter playing off of chocolate and roast with high notes from the jelly a very satisfying combination/ Low bitterness was important to the pairing so it did not cover up the subtle pb&j dynamic.
You can also see there was an attempted pairing with the potato chip cookie, but alas the best mate for the current front runner in favorite cookies eludes us still.
