Beer of the Week: Nitro Chocolate Dry Stout Randall

By Iron Chef Leftovers

Thanks to the Reuben’s randall project, we have a fairly steady stream of variations on beers that they have regularly on tap. It is nice to see how flavors interact with each other and in some cases enhance what is already found in the beer. Every once in a while, they completely take it over the top with a randall, like the Nitro Chocolate Dry Stout that not only included Theo Chocolate cocoa nibs but vanilla in the process. Dry Stout, chocolate and vanilla, I am all over that. It clocked in a 4.9% ABV and 36 IBU.

The beer pours jet black with a creamy tan head. Strong notes of dark chocolate, dark roast coffee and vanilla dominate why nose with hints of malt and milk – the beer smell like an adult version of Yoo-hoo. The initial sip hits you with notes of malted milk and dark chocolate with some notes of coffee before transitioning into a slightly bitter chocolate profile. The beer finishes with a velvet mouthfeel with a wandering lingering vanilla, dark chocolate, malted milk, sugar profile. The finish is somewhere in-between a really good chocolate shake (just missing a hit of whipped cream on top) and a great dark chocolate bar.

Reuben’s Nitro Chocolate Dry Stout Randall hammers home its point with 5 six packs out of 5.

Beer of the Week: Icicle Brewing Von Priebe Porter

By Iron Chef Leftovers

It is nice having a brewery back in Leavenworth, since the town is seemingly being overrun by wineries. Icicle Brewing is a pretty sizeable operation, having opened in 2010 and they have a nice selection of standard offerings as well as a few specialty beers on tap. On a recent visit, I got to experience the Von Priebe Porter – their base porter infused with vanilla.

The beer pours jet black with a tan head and offers strong notes of coffee and roasted malt dominating with hints of toffee and vanilla on the nose. The beer starts off with a strong coffee component that fades quickly into a more mild coffee and roast component with just a touch of bitterness. The beer finishes slightly sweet with notes of lactose and a slightly boozy vanilla note in a pleasantly long fade with more roasted flavors. Warm and inviting – would have liked some of the flavors to linger a touch longer and the booziness of the vanilla to be a touch more restrained, but overall it was an enjoyable and deep beer on a cold day.

Icicle Brewing Von Priebe Porter carries itself well with 3 sharp points out of 5.

AB’s Instant Chocolate Pudding

By Iron Chef Leftovers

So I am going to show you want to do with the instant pudding recipe. I have modified the original recipe and that change will be described in the notes. This is fairly quick to make and tastes so good when it is done.

The Software
1 ¾ cups of pudding mix
4 cups of whole milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

The Recipe
Combine the mix and milk in a medium sauce pan. Whisk together until combined. Heat over medium heat until mixture begins to boil (7-10 minutes) constantly whisking gently. When boil is reached, reduce heat to low and simmer for 4 minutes, whisking constantly. Remove heat and whisk in vanilla. Transfer mixture to a single bowl or individual serving bowls. Cover with plastic wrap directly on the surface of the pudding if you don’t want a skin to form. Refrigerate or just eat it warm. Using your finger or a spatula, remove any chocolate pudding still in the pot and consume.

Notes
The original recipe called for 2 cups of heavy cream and 2 cups of milk. I replaced the cream with the milk and did not really notice much difference in the texture or flavor. I need to try it with replacing some of the whole milk with skim milk to see how that affects the product. I also tried doubling the recipe. It increased the cooking time from 10 minutes to almost 30 since there was much more cold milk to bring up to temperature.