Great Divide - Oak-aged Yeti and Avery - Ellie's Brown Ale

Last night Lori prepared a dinner of BBQ Ribs and fried potatoes.  Preceding dinner was an appetizer of Texas Torte – a spicy cheese treat.  Following dinner was Chocolate pie – which is unbelievable.  Randy and Chris brought over salad with all the fixings and a raspberry-based terrine.  I had two beers selected for dinner and desert and these were Avery Ellie’s Brown Ale and Great Divide’s Espresso Oak-aged Yeti.  I have had Ellie’s a few times and it a very nice brown ale with an ABV of 5.5% and an IBU of 17.  Ellie’s pours a dark reddish-brown with a nice head and this was literally a perfect pairing with BBQ ribs.  Avery’s website suggests pairing Elile’s with roasted meats with spicy and / or smoky preparations and Ellie’s with BBQ worked very well. 

I knew I would need a different beer with the rich chocolate desert and Imperial Stout is a perfect pairing with chocolate deserts. I am a big fan of Great Divide’s Yeti and there are a few varieties – Yeti, Oak-aged Yeti and Espresso Oak-aged Yeti.  I decided to try the Espresso Oak-aged Yeti (ABV of 9.5%) and this went very well with the rich Chocolate pie.  One can pick up the flavors of coffee, espresso, and chocolate from Yeti that cut through the fat in the pie and balanced the sweetness of the chocolate pie.  I need to send a thank you to Garret Oliver – brewmaster at the Brooklyn Brewery for providing excellent data on beer and food pairings in his book – The Brewmaster’s Table.  It is my reference for pairings and he is spot on.

Avery - Ellie's Brown Ale

There were a couple of Avery – Ellie’s Brown Ales remaining from the previous evening’s beer tasting and I enjoyed one with a dinner of roasted chicken, roasted asparagus and a baked potato with the works.  I thought the pairing worked well and this is a very nice brown ale.  I enjoyed the other one after dinner.  Ellie’s Brown Ale comes in at ABV of 5.5% with a low IBU of 17.  This beer pours dark, with a nice thick head and has just a great flavor from the excellent malt selection.  The note on the package says – “This beautiful, deep russet brew has the sweet and somewhat nutty character of Adam Avery's late (1992-2002) Chocolate Lab, for which it is named. Crystal and chocolate malts give this beer a brown sugar maltiness with hints of vanilla and nuts, while subtle hopping gives it an overall drinkability that's second to none, just like Ellie!”  Avery is right on the money with this description and I highly recommend this brown ale.  I think this would be a good beer for a person who wants to try craft beers or wants to try dark beers because of how drinkable this beer is.  By no means is this beer simple, as there are some great flavors of vanilla, nuts, and brown sugar.  From the previous evening, when I poured it, all gave the “ought oh” of a big, knock-you-upside-the-head, dark beer.  Everyone then said that they were pleasantly surprised by the taste of the beer and it was a prime example of not letting your eyes deceive you.  Avery – job well done and this beer is available all year.