Making a quick beer run, I stopped in at my local Speedee Mart and found a six pack of Lovelady's Paleo Porter. Beer made with peanut butter, chocolate and coffee... what could be better? Being a Porter novice, and having shied away from darker beers in favor of IPA's, Scotch Ales, Lagers, Pilsners and the like, I was curious to see what I had been missing. What a delightful surprise!
Returning home with our find, we savored our first sips of Porter. We noted a pleasing aroma reminiscent of gingerbread, cookies, coffee cake . . . yeasty, with hints of molasses and vanilla, as well as the peanut butter, coffee and chocolate, noted on the label. We enjoyed our first glass of Paleo Porter with a delicious homemade smoked salmon spread and fresh cherries from Hood River Oregon. The Porter was great with the smoky salmon spread, and provided hints of chocolate and carmel which nicely complemented the dark sweetness of the Oregon cherries.
Feeling creative, Linda marinated a pork roast in a bit of the porter, coffee, cocoa, dark brown sugar, a spoonful of chipotle mustard and thinly sliced red onion. Slow roasted over charcoal, the Paleo Porter roasted pork was beautifully browned, savory, succulent, and delicious! Carmelized grilled pineapple and spicy roasted sweet potato wedges rounded out the menu. The Paleo Porter was absolutely delicious with the meal, each dish playing off of and enhancing the various flavor notes in the Porter.
Reading that Porter was a great beer to pair with deserts, (no surprise there!) we decided to give it a go. Having years ago seen Stout floats listed on menus in Portland, we decided that the Paleo Porter would make an excellent ice cream float! Luckily, we had both french vanilla and chocolate peanut butter swirled ice cream in the freezer, and so decided to use both in making our Porter floats. I was partial to the float made with the french vanilla ice cream, while Linda preferred the chocolate peanut butter swirled ice cream, both of which brought out the caramel, coffee, peanut and toffee flavors of the Porter. In the end, we decided that both were decadent, delicious, and quite satisfying. I'd be happy to be served either (or both!) as a Sunday afternoon treat or festive finale to a meal with family or friends in the future!
If you're someone like me who's yet to try a Porter, I can say without fear of correction that Paleo Porter is the one to try!