Libby’s Biscotti and Thimble Island Lager or Coffee Stout
Thimble Island Brewery is a great spot in Branford. Check out our write up about a recent visit here.
The Beer: We tried both the Coffee Stout and the Lager. The stout is a traditional American stout with beans from a local coffee shop. It is light bodied, with a pleasant malty sweetness. Very roasted in aroma and flavor, the coffee beans come through but not in an overwhelming way. This is a very pleasant beer that is easy drinking.
The Lager is light, crisp, and reminiscent of the big block american brewers. I thought it was very good. It had the lightness and crisp finish of ‘lite’ lagers that are out there, but not watered down or lacking in flavor. It had a grainy, fruity, bready taste. It is very light bodied, a great beer for after mowing the lawn or anytime, really.
The Cookie: The traditional italian biscotti cookie might be the most adaptable cookie for dunking in a drink. Biscotti is crispy, crunchy cookie. It is not too sweet and comes in a variety of flavors occasionally dipped in chocolate. Libby’s italian pastry shop (check out write about them) makes both a chocolate biscotti with slivered almonds on top and an almond flavored biscotti as well. Both are brittle and crisp cookies that are very absorbent. They are especially delicious when dipped into a quality cup of coffee. I prefer the almond biscotti, it is sweet and very flavorful. The chocolate is good, but a little less sweet.
The Pairing: Of course with this cookie the dunk is the prefered method. Before we visited the brewery I was thinking that the best combination would be the chocolate biscotti with the coffee stout. It did prove to be a great partnership, the cookie does such a good job absorbing the beer while maintaining its crisp that when you bite into the moist cookie there is almost as much liquid as is you took a sip of beer. The chocolate married well with the roasty flavors of the beer.
However, the lager went incredibly well with the almond biscotti too, maybe even a better pairing than the chocolate. This was the first magical cookie beer combination for my wife. After she ate her first bite, she said, “Ohhhhh you have to try this.” This is one of my favorite sentences to hear or say. If we ever make a t shirt maybe we will put this on the back.
When I did give it a go... I knew. The mild sweetness of the cookie was boosted by the flavors of the beer to make it seem more sweet. The beers mild finish was helped by the almond notes of the cookie. The cookie was better because of the beer and the beer was better because of the cookie.
As we left the brewery I tried to share my last 2 biscotti with a couple who was sharing our table, but they declined. I feel like accepting cookies from a stranger is something we are taught about when we are young and it kind of sticks with you. Their lose.
Almond biscotti plus thimble island lager is perfection.
