Tribus Blank Check and Scratch Oatmeal Cream Pie
Tribus has been releasing a 6 pack of pints that’s like a triple double, 2 cans of an IPA, 2 cans of a double IPA, and 2 cans of a triple IPA. What a freakin’ brilliant idea. We grabbed some from the brewery and then hit up Scratch baking (interested in details about scratch?) for some sweets and we were off to the races.
The Beer: Blank Check is a double IPA from this very new brewery that has been putting out some great beers and getting lots of well deserved positive attention. At 8.5% it earns the double name. The can declares it is juicy and resinous. I didn’t get too much resin, but it had a lot of tropical fruit notes, some orange, some grapefruit, but super smooth. It has that acidic pop you’d expect from a hop forward DIPA with a finish that isn’t overwhelmingly bitter.
The Cookie: I felt a little like one of those snakes who can unhinge their jaw to swallow an egg bigger than their body when I first dug into this monster cookie sandwich. The two cookies are thick and round, the filling is abundant and exactly what you want in an oatmeal cream pie. The cookies had a little spiced thing going on that made for an excellent flavor profile. The frosting filling, while simple, was a welcomed partner to the cookie.
The Pairing: It was kind of fun to finish a beer before a cookie, that might be a first. The cookie was just a monster. I actually threw it in the fridge and finished it solo the next day. If you know me, you know that’s ridiculous. The pairing was fun, the kind of base nature of the oatmeal and frosting is a natural partner of the much acidic tasting citrusy IPA. I liked the cookie so much that I found myself really savoring it. Scratch knows what they’re doing, and apparently so does Tribus.
How ‘bout that?
