Nov 25, 2015

Flying Dog Cranberry IPA and Lemon Sugar Cookie Pairing

I’ll be honest, this pairing wasn’t one that I was particularly looking forward to when the package of Flying Dog beer and Otterbein’s cookies arrived the other day. Cranberry-anything in beer and I haven’t had the best of relationships and sugar cookies aren’t my favorite style, as pointed out in previous reviews. But, still I soldiered on — all in the name of liver destruction and tastebud confusion.

Cranberry IPA is brewed with a combination of Bon Munich and Caramel malts along with Warrior and Galaxy hop varieties, resulting in a 6.4% ABV (55 IBU) brew that certainly lives up to its name. The beer pours a medium-amber in color with a dense head of off-white foam that left behind nice lacework as it fell. Earthy cranberries, a moderate tartness and distant pine fill the nose.

Flying Dog Cranberry IPA photo

Much like the aroma, the flavors are dominated by tart cranberry. A sharp, prickly mouthfeel accentuates the bite, along with a good bit of hop bitterness. Light grapefruit and pine linger in the background as the beer wraps up softly drying.

As much as I’m not a fan of your standard sugar cookie, I could eat a pile of these lemon-infused versions. These cookies smell awesome with a comforting blend of light lemon, sugar and dough. They’re the crunchiest offering of the bunch I’ve eaten thus far, but carry wonderful lemony goodness.

While I wasn’t a big fan of the beer, the lemony sugar cookies did it a huge favor when enjoyed together. The cookie brings a much needed sweetness to help out with the cranberry and dryness. The buttery goodness of the lemon sugar cookie helps cut through all of the elements of the Cranberry IPA that I particularly did not enjoy. So far, this wasn’t my favorite combination, but everyone’s palates are different.

Rating: 3.25/5

This is a review of a promotional sample.

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