Doughnuts have long been one of my favorite food groups. When you come from a family with a grandpa who refers to them as a “well-rounded meal” the desire for sprinkles and icing is just sorta born into your DNA.
Matt, on the other hand, would rather start his day with an ice-cold beer. He’s a major advocate of the shower beer on weekends and holidays. I’m convinced we shouldn’t have children because we’d likely end up creating a little person akin to Homer Simpson.
Speaking of Homer, he’d totally be down with the gut-busting, caloric P-A-R-T-Y we threw yesterday. Thanks to an article we read on VinePair, we got a small group together to do a beer and doughnut tasting. Doughnuts and coffee, beer and pizza… classic pairings. But doughnuts and beer? The best of both worlds and we were excited for this unexpected combination.
Our first step was a stop by the liquor store to pick out our beer. We scoured the aisles lined with hundreds of different labels to pick out the singles we needed (plus a few more just because – kid in candy shop, man in beer store – you know how it is).
Next up, the doughnuts! We got a variety of doughnuts from a few local places. It’s hard to justify paying premium doughnut prices for classics like powdered sugar and old fashioned, so we covered our basics at good ol’ Dunkin.
We had a group of 6 which seemed like the perfect amount for sharing. 2 oz beer + 1/6 doughnut per pairing. If you can conquer the list by yourself or with just one friend, bravo! I think if Matt and I had tried that we’d have been in a sugar coma, foaming at the mouth by doughnut #6. If you REALLY want to enjoy yourself, invite friends who just aren’t that into beer. Then, watch hilarity ensue. Seasoned craft drinkers would never produce the commentary we were treated to by our Bud Light lovin’ companions.
We started off with the Old Fashioned/Cider pairing. Everyone agreed that this was a good pairing, but because an Old Fashioned is so bland, pretty much anything would have tasted great with that. Next, we moved on to the Powdered Sugar/Pilsner pairing. Suddenly Matt and I were surrounded by nauseated faces. Bitburger quickly became known as “Buttburger: Premium Ass”. No offense Bitburger, one-third of the crowd was on your side. After a few more “cat-urine-scented” IPAs, we finally landed on the crowd pleasing Chocolate Glazed/Wittekerke Framboise pairing. This came as no surprise as chocolate always wins. The Wittekerke was deemed good enough to pass as dessert and was likened to a champagne cocktail. The other crowd favorite was a chocolate stout by Samuel Smith. We paired this with a French Cruller. Even the Bud Light lovers were looking for seconds on this one.
Takeaways:
Even if half of your group isn’t a huge fan of doughnuts and the other half of your group isn’t a huge fan of beer, this is a fun activity that produced a lot of laughter. This is an especially great way to expose your friends to a lot of different beer that they might otherwise not get the opportunity to try. If you don’t think you’re a fan of stouts, you’re not likely to order a pint at the bar, but having a 2 oz pour at a group tasting just might change your mind! Everyone walked away with a new “I might order this” style to add to their arsenal. Spring for the more expensive doughnuts, DD just didn’t cut it (sorry guys!) No matter how many beers you pour, you just can’t change some guests’ minds, so accept that. Puppers enjoying his Bud Light, “to hell with craft brews”.
Cheers,
Megan & Matt
