I didn't think I would participate in the #BeerSaturday challenge this week, because during the previous week, at a birthday party, I drank my weekly dose of alcohol.
However, when my partner asked me: "How long do you think you will keep this box of Laffe beers on the terrace", I decided to eliminate it (the box, of course 🙂).
"Two beers left. Laffe Brune, I'll drink today, if you promise me we'll have something for lunch that goes well with black beer."
"What is that?" she asked.
As I knew that we didn't have time to prepare some red meat, and that only an appetizer (in the form of full-fat Brie cheeses) could not replace lunch, I recommended pasta, Bolognese, with enhanced spices and plenty of parmesan.
"With lunch, you will provide something sweet".
"With a beer? Well, you never eat sweets when you drink beer".
"That's right, but this is a dark, sweet, caramel-coffee-flavored beer that goes well with the sweet, don't worry."
"Agreed. You prepare the pasta, and I'll get the sweets," she told me and went to get them.
I bought ground meat and made Bolognese sauce.
When frying the meat, I used a little tomato juice, and towards the end I added a packet of pureed Pelato.
I deliberately did not wipe the pan, so that you understand how much frying meat in tomato sauce splatters everywhere, even though the pan is deeper, some stains are also found on the stove top, as well as on the pan itself.
I almost always use the thinner Barilla pasta, which I cook in salted water.
Since well-seasoned meat is suggested as the perfect match for Leffe Brune, I don't skimp on pepper and oregano, and for sprinkling over the meat, I finely grate a large amount of Parmesan cheese, which will perfectly combine the taste of pasta and beer.
I brought in a box from the terrace, where the temperature is 10°C, ideal for serving this beer, so that you can feel the maltiness, not just bitterness.
That's how I did the task, I freed up space on the terrace 🙂
Like the Leffe Blonde beer tasted last week, this Brune is also prepared according to the recipe of the monks from the Notre-Dame de Leffe Abbey, since 1240.
It is a dark beer with 6.5% alcohol and a very low IBU (no more than 20), so the bitterness is almost not felt.
The aroma is pleasant, the note of caramel dominates, as well as the smell of fruit, plum or fig, and as for the taste, at the first sip in the mouth you can feel the sweetness that comes from the roasted malt, while later the taste of dried fruit develops (it seemed to me like prunes).
There is just enough hops to balance the maltiness, so the bitterness is almost not felt.
The color in the glass, this original one that resembles a goblet, is a beautiful, dark amber, and the foam that is created as I pour the beer into the glass, whichever way it is i did it myself is thick, creamy and long-lasting, beige in color.
With spicy bolognese pasta with lots of parmesan, the first bottle went fantastically.
Leffe Brune has a flavor of roasted malt and caramel, so it went fantastically well with the fried minced meat. The "smoky" taste of beer enhances the taste of meat.
The tomato sauce in Bolognese is slightly acidic, so the sweetness of Leffe Brune (from dark sugar and malt) was the perfect balance to that acidity.
Bolognese with a lot of spices and parmesan on top is a rich dish that fills you up nicely. Leffe Brune with its 6.5% alcohol successfully matched the strength of the sauce.
And then it was the turn of the sweets.
I know that with the taste of toasted malt and caramel, a chocolate cake would go best, but I also accepted a sweet baklava, with a piece of cake with three fillings (biscuits and steamed walnuts, with custard).
I really, this time, the sweets that I ate with the second bottle of Leffe Brune went perfectly with the coffee and caramel flavors that are felt in the beer.
So I had the perfect combination. Finished the task given to me by my partner, and enjoyed tasting a great beer, combined with a savory dish and a dessert.
Cheers!