Stone Arch Stout
by BradHave you ever bought a beer while travelling only to come home and put it away and then completely forget you had it/meant to make beer pancakes out of it? I know, that last part happens to everyone I'm sure. Stone Arch (Cellar? Their branding/website is confusing) is a brewpub in Appleton, WI. I got this beer last September when I was playing Sectionals in Appleton. When in Rome, right? But then it sat around in the cellar (no pun intended) for 9 months. A mere mortal may've given up on it, but not I.
The first thing I noticed when opening/pouring this beer is how crazy carbed it was. Now, to be fair, a lot of breweries (especially small/local establishments) don't plan their beers to sit in the bottle for months on end, so I'm not going to fault them for it. Aside from that, the beer has a wonderfully dark, smooth flavor to it with mellow vanilla notes. If my memory serves me right, the vanilla is more pronounced before the beer ages, so be on the lookout for that.
Prep/Cooking
The interesting thing about this batter is that it actually came out way flatter than I expected. I still have no idea what accounts for flatness of batter, considering some beers have almost no head in beer form but are really bubbly as batter. There were mild vanilla notes in batter form as well but overall there was a sweet, almost cake-like flavor. Surprisingly good, and set up pretty high expectations for the pancakes.
Results
Obviously this isn't my first time making oddly colored pancakes, but for how dark and roasty the beer is, I was kind of surprised at how light the pancakes turned out. In terms of flavor, they were a huge letdown. They basically just tasted like pancakes. No vanilla, no malt. There was a subtle dryness/bitterness to them, almost like baker's chocolate, but otherwise there wasn't much to be had here.
The Decision
- Pancakes: No. The beer is actually pretty enjoyable, especially if you don't let it age for 9 months, but in pancake form there's no point.
- Syrup: No. Adding sugar to the mix can sometimes bring out flavors that were missing without. Here it just added a sugary sweetness.
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