Hanging Hills Ferris IPA and Meg’s Ferrari Lemon Sugar Cookie

A friend who bakes is a friend to cherish. My friend Meagan loves baking and I cherish her friendship for reasons above and beyond her baking abilities. When I asked her to make a cookie for this beer she went right for it. She mostly bakes cupcakes and cookies for weddings and baby showers and such. She does great work so if you’re interested in something like that, reach out to her, she rocks. 

 The Beer: When I saw the Ferris IPA for the first time, I thought this beer needs a cookie. I tried it first at the Hanging Hills taproom and really enjoyed its drinkability. When I got a can home it was a bit different, and I found the bite in the middle was a little stronger, still very aromatic, still citrusy and juicy. 

A session IPA with just over 5% ABV full hoppy aromatics, a little hop to add some excitement to an otherwise smooth beer with a simple juicy finish. 

The Cookie: Meg’s cupcakes are second to none, so I had high hopes for this cookie. It is a sugar cookie that has some lemon zest added to a standard recipe and then decorated with brightly colored royal icing. The cookie itself is thin and crisp with a mild lemon pop. The icing does its job of making these cookies look awesome as well as punch up the sweetness.

The Pairing: This was an interesting partnership. The beer was actually more flavorful and had more bite from the can than the draft I had the week before. It was tasty and I enjoyed it, but the hops overwhelmed the cookie. Not until I gave the cookie a dunk did this pairing come alive. Dunking allowed the cookie to soak up the  aromatic beer and boost an already tasty cookie to a higher level. Like the car in the Ferris Bueller's Day off, this cookie needed to jump off a cliff (in this case into a glass of beer) for our adventure to get really exciting.