Onion Soup & Smokey Amber
I found myself with an abundance of shallots and decided to make soup and was debating what beer in my fridge would make a nice complement. The shallots are cooked in butter, which makes the soup both rich and a bit sweet, so I thought it could be interesting to try the “Smoking Amber Ale” that arrived with my Spring 2017 Noble Brewer shipment. The smokiness was just a bit too much for the soup, but I enjoyed the beer on it’s own. What was really surprising though, was that it was downright excellent with the bit of dark chocolate with almonds and salt I had for dessert. The smokiness and salt went great together (think bbq pork ribs) and the bittersweet chocolate & almonds popped with the malt.
I also have to give a shout out to the brewer, Omar Al-Nidwai, who was born in Iraq and now lives in DC. I haven’t come across too many Iraqi brewers despite the fact that beer really got its origins in the Middle East.
PS Thanks to Simply Recipes for the soup photo (which I forgot to take myself).