One Offs: De Dochter van de Korenaar's Embrasse

As a gastronomically adventurous person with the ability to type with all of his fingers (take that, dad!), I enjoy walking into a bar and trying new beers...and then going home and writing about them. On a recent foray into my local watering hole, I noticed a tall bottle of beer wrapped in brown paper. My first thought was, "Brown paper? Hey! I can drink this on the walk home!" My second thought was "What the hell is so special about this beer that the brewer felt it needed to be gift wrapped?" I picked it up and read the label: De Dochter van de Korenaar. Translation: The Doctor of Corns? Is this a beer made by a podiatrist? [No no no no you simple man. The correct translation is "The Daughter of the Ear of Corn." - Dissociative ED] Ok, I'm guessing that has something to do with barley. Or maybe they're talking about those little baby corns that come in your Lo Mein. Well, whatever. Like Billy Shakespeare said, "What's in a name, other than a buncha letters?" But enough jibba-jabba, let's herein describe the beer.

Wherein I Describe The Beer
This particular bottle from The Daughter of the Ear of Corn was called Embrasse, which I have not bothered to translate. The card attached to the bottle recommended that I try Embrasse warm with a dash of whipped cream. Although I normally trust the brewers recommendations re: how to best enjoy their beer, I wasn't in the mood for an alcoholic hot chocolate. I poured Embrasse into a wide mouth glass. It developed a creamy beige head that was small and didn't lace. Embrasse is a dark, opaque beer reminiscent of a stout in appearance.

Embrasse's first standout feature is its aroma, which smells sweet and fruity, like candi sugar and plums. Its the type of aroma you would expect from a trappist ale, like Chimay Blue. The taste, however, is more like a stout. There are hints of chocolate, lots of coffee, and a slight grape flavor. This beer is sweet and has little to no hop character, despite De Dochter Etc.'s claim that this beer contains a "generous dose of hops." Embrasse clocks in at 9% ABV, which makes for a very strong stout. If I had to label the beer, I'd call it an imperial stout, likely fermented with a trappist yeast strain.

One of these days I'll buy a camera and start taking my own pictures of beer rather than
stealing them from other websites. Picture is unrelated. Very unrelated. HOW'D IT GET BURNED!?!?

The Verdict

• Embrasse is a decent imperial stout with a great aroma and might actually taste good if you drank it warm with whipped cream. For the gastronomically adventurous, why not treat yourself to a cafe-embrasse.
  
  
• Embrasse cost me $12 just for a 22 oz. bottle. That's not that bad when you consider that 22 oz. is close to two beers.
  
  
• Nic Cage is pretty awesome.