Sixpoint 3 Beans Part Deux

[link to podcast page]
WFMU's Beer Hear! 3 Beans Part Deux Podcast

Last week B.R. and I did a side by side comparison of the Sixpoint 3 Beans Baltic Porter, made with Romano beans, coffee and cocao, and Montréal's Dieu Du Ciel Péché Mortel, a Coffee Imperial Stout. We found that both beers, while quite different in many ways, share a lot of characteristics.

As I continued to ponder the two beers it occurred to be that many of the characteristics that separated the them could be bridged by another DDC beer, the Aphrodisiaque, or as it's known in the U.S., the Aphrodite. As it turns out, the often irrational Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) thinks that you're so dumb that you'll think that a beer named "Aphrodisiaque" is an actual aphrodisiac (which it probably is, anyway!), so a name change was required. People in Canada are apparently much more sophisticated, and can differentiate a clever name from a literal description. But that's the subject for another post.

We invited our pal Paul from our MBAS homebrew club over to help us with an experiment to blend Péché Mortel with Aphrodite, a 6.5% Cocoa Vanilla Stout, to try to create a beverage that, as closely as possible, approximated the 3 Beans, for no good reason other than it would be fun and a good excuse to share some excellent beers.

The three of us would each try our hand at making the blend. We set out four glasses each, three for the three different beers and one for the blend -- a highball glass for the Péché, a small goblet for the Aphrodite, a wine glass for the 3 Beans and a large goblet for the blend.

Without discussing our techniques prior, we each had a different approach. I started with mixing a 50/50 blend, and found that the aroma was quite muddled, and the flavor favored the coffee bitterness of the Péché. B.R. went heavy on the Péché, while Paul went for a higher ratio of Aphrodite.

You can hear how the experiment unfolded, and how the different blends turned out in this week's podcast. In the end, though, we were left with three incredible beers and one very interesting blend -- and you can't lose with that situation!

Péché Mortel And 3 Beans

[link to podcast page]
WFMU's Beer Hear! Péché Mortel And 3 Beans Podcast

Not long ago we discovered the Sixpoint 3 Beans beer -- a 10% oak-aged Baltic Porter, with some very special ingredients -- on the shelves of the local shops selling good beer. We were instantly intrigued and quickly addicted to the rich maltiness, alluring coco qualities and dense full body of this big beer in a slender can -- a can not too unlike a can of premium iced coffee.

After enjoying this rich, malty treat, I got to thinking, "I've had something like this before!" I was sure that 3 Beans was echoing another obsession. But what? Then it hit me -- Péché Mortel.

I was certain that Brooklyn's magnificent 3 Beans Baltic Porter had more than a little in common with Montréal's Dieu Du Ciel Péché Mortel. It turns out that there are significant similarities and significant differences. They're close in alcohol percentage (Péché is 9.5%, 3 Beans 10%), they both use coffee (DDC uses Fair Trade beans in copious amounts making it a noticeably stimulating intoxicant, and SP uses Stumptown roasters java). One thing that sets them apart is that 3 Beans use of cacao husks, provided by Brooklyn's Mast Brothers Chocolate, in the mash to impart a dry, dark chocolate flavor and aroma. Also unique to 3 Beans: the third bean in the mix, romano beans, adds more to the fermentables and helps provide fuller body. But it would take a side-by-side tasting to properly evaluate these two coffee brews.
 
Listen to the podcast to see what we discovered about the taste similarities and differences of these two champions of darkness and malt. And, by the way, if you see either of these beers on the shelf -- buy them! Drink them! Or hold on to them. If none of the above... sell them to me!