Dessert beer? What? Ok, dessert wine, maybe… but dessert beer?

Do it.

You won’t regret it, this beer is unbelievable. I remember the first time I tried it. It was my first visit to Kickbacks Gastropub, in the Riverside district of Jacksonville, FL. My mind was obliterated by the ridiculously extensive selection of obscurities from across the beer globe. I had never heard of a beer like this. I was hooked on malty British brown ales at the time and this was like a UFO on the beer menu, so… obscure. The server didn’t know what it was, but she assured me that she would commit random acts of violence to obtain it. Sold.

A few minutes later, she brought me the daintiest little snifter full of what looked like coffee. Seriously, this was the smallest serving of beer I had ever seen, I was kind of upset at the serving size… until I smelled it. It was as if some one had cracked me in the face with a vanilla 2×4! The smell of dark caramel malt under that vanilla was incredibly pungent too. I decided right then and there that I wasn’t going to drink this beer. Instead I was heading home to soak my A/C filter in the stuff, so that my entire apartment would smell like it forever! But, curiosity got the best of me… I took a sip.

Now… my least favorite thing in the world is false advertising. I absolutely hate it when a beer or food tastes nothing like it smells. Like when you walk up to the concession stand at the movie theater… the popcorn smells so damn amazing… and then it tastes like cardboard.

I was not disappointed in my Creme Brulee. The flavors are every bit the juggernaut that they advertise themselves to be. Rich, thick, decadent malt syrup dances slowly across the taste buds with vanilla and cream in tow. It’s like a mouthfull of flavor ballet! Put it on Broadway already!

The server had stepped back to watch as I tasted it for the first time. She was quite entertained to see the script of The Notebook play out across my facial expressions within the space of a few seconds. Beer nerd! LULZ :facepalm:

Southern Tier Creme Brulee is brewed with Lactose, which is the sugar found primarily in milk and dairy products. The lactose is undigestible to yeast, so whatever they add to the kettle comes out in the bottle. The milk sugar gives a creaminess to the beer and a different kind of sweetness. They also use whole vanilla beans to complete the flavor profile. This beer is around 10% acohol (hence, my tiny portion), so please consume responsibly. It’s really good to pair with dessert, or as a substitute for it. I would pair this with a less sweet dessert, since the beer brings it’s own party in that regard.

Find it on draft in many beer nerd hangouts around Orlando, and at higher end grocery stores too.

 

Enjoy.