I'm not Top Chef

So, I admit to watch Top Chef. I hate reality television, but it's one of my guiltier pleasures. The food is beyond anything I can even begin to understand, but it's such a cool process to watch. The selection of the food, the cooking, the artistry. I like to think that if I weren't going to law school, I'd have gone to culinary school and become a chef.

In some ways, this blog is celebrating that idea. Food and beer, enjoying the flavors the experience. Of course, not on the high level of Top Chef, but on my own pleasantly plebeian level.

Sadly, watching it does not make me a better chef, and more often than not I'm enjoying it with a hearty dinner of canned fruit/frozen veggies, some sort of bratwurst, and a pre-prepared rice/pasta side dish from a pouch or a box. It's not a culinary masterpiece, but it's quick and easy, and enjoyable to eat while watching them concoct culinary experiences.

In any case, I digress, but it was all part of tonight's drinking experience. A while ago at my local liquor store I spotted a bottle of Lump of Coal stout. I'd heard of it before, but never tried it. It's an imported stout which brags about it's blackness.

I cracked it open during Top Chef after I was done eating, and poured it into a pint glass. It was a 500ml, so I poured almost the full bottle. The odd bottle head caused it to pour unevenly at first, but it evened out eventually. Strangely, it had almost no head, which was a little odd.

It certainly is dark though. It's more amber than black, but it's a very dark, rich amber. The first sip is full of dark chocolate, and is surprisingly light. Sadly, there isn't much of a follow up. I slowly drank though the whole bottle, kind of expecting more, but finding no such luck. It's thinner than a stout, almost more like an ale or a black lager than a stout. The flavor is dark chocolate, and fairly strong, but relatively uninteresting for a one note beer. There's a hint of roasted malts at points, but it never really develops.

I wouldn't advise against buying this; it's certainly a fun Christmas beer to give to your favorite beer aficionado. Just don't expect too much from this wannabe stout. It's about as boring as the dinner I cooked, and in stark contrast to the beers I've been enjoying, and the cooking I was watching. Maybe it's just the context, but I was pretty unimpressed overall.

-The Unabashed Ungourmet