Half Full Brewing Liquid Hoptimism and Red Rooster Vanilla Frosted Butter Cookie

First, I want to say that I love everything about the artwork around this brewery as well as their subtle, if not overt cliche, of being positive thinking. The world is too dark and full of negativity to take yourself too seriously and I think that puts CT Beer and Cookies on the same wavelength as Half Full Brewing. The beer and cookies life style is about spreading joy and Half Full’s optimist marketing is a breath of fresh air. 

Some might say that glass is half empty, but we know better. 

The Beer:  Liquid Hoptism is a double IPA, and a fairly good one. It has a piney aroma with fruit up front and malt and caramel in the finish with a mild sweetness. DIPA isn’t my go to brew, but it is of significant quality and full of interest. 

The Cookie: The vanilla frosted butter cookie from Red Rooster was one of the best cookies from my trip there. The frosting is very sweet, but the amount is restrained so it is not overwhelming. The dough is buttery, a little tangy, and so soft it’s almost under cooked. For some, soft cookies are the only way - for others, crisp and crunch are central tenets of a good bake. Either way the flavors are really on point - a high quality cookie

The Pairing: The beer is not too big but moderate on the bitter scale, so the sweetness of the frosting cuts right through the piney resin of the middle flavors, mellowing it out. This was a nice pairing and fun to share. I cut the cookie in quarters and shared with some friends and everyone thought this was the best combination of the night. While each part in the pairing was ok separately, all were improved by being together.