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Review of a Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Ale
Details on “A Cooler World with Craft Beer, Chocolate, and Ice Cream” at Trophy on Maywood this Saturday
Part of being a growing media empire means that I will occasionally cover stories about brands in exchange for goods or money. This is called “influencer marketing” because ad agencies need a name for what they’re doing and they can’t tell their clients “we’re throwing spaghetti at a wall and seeing what sticks”. Since my media empire is booming (over 18,000 pageviews on ITBinsider.com in November, 3,120+ Instagram followers between @wnfiv and @dogsofitb, 4,900+ Twitter followers, and 1,400+ likes on Facebook) I’m often presented with opportunities to try out products that I enjoy.
I enjoy ice cream. I also enjoy beer. Fortunately, New Belgium and Ben & Jerry’s have come together to combine the two by creating a Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Ale. Using their favorite chocolate chip cookie recipes for inspiration, New Belgium then “whipped hefty doses of chocolate, brown sugar and vanilla into a dough-hued blonde ale base”. According to their site, the result is “a full-bodied beer that seduces with a perfect balance of vanilla and chocolate, and finishes with just the right amount of sweetness”.
I don’t really know what any of that means, I just know that it sounds good. Despite my inability to articulate how beer tastes, New Belgium provided me with a sneak preview of this special release back in September. I finally got around to reviewing it just in time for their event at Trophy this Saturday, which I’ll get to after my review.
Inside the Beer
The Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Ale came in a 6-pack, which was finely constructed using high quality cardboard and visually appealing graphics. The cow wearing ski googles, a toboggan, and a scarf was a nice touch. Perhaps that subconsciously led me to get Chick-fil-A for dinner while trying this beer. Note: my Chick-fil-A was cold by the time I was done taking the perfect picture for Instagram.
Anyway, the bottles were well constructed, made of exceptional glass that fit snugly in my hand, and topped with the finest bottle caps known to man. After taking a ton of pictures of the beer, I finally opened the first bottle, expecting a heavy, thick, and sugary experience. Reaffirming my lack of beer knowledge, I realized I was wrong after the first sip. The beer tasted much lighter than I expected, and had a sweet aftertaste. That’s all I’ve got. Sorry beer fans, I don’t even know the words I’m supposed to use while reviewing beer. Hops? Mouthfeel? Head retention? Aroma? All I can say is that I liked the beer.
Verdict: Overall, this beer tasted good and deserves 4 out of 5 beltlines. Note: the only beer to receive 5 out of 5 beltlines is a Coors Light in a Crowley’s pint glass being consumed on the Nelson’s Dance Floor.
New Belgium, Ben & Jerry’s, and Trophy Walk Into A Bar
To celebrate this collaboration, New Belgium and Ben & Jerry’s are teaming up with Protect Our Winters to hold events around the country focused on fighting climate change, eating ice cream, and drinking beer. I’ve had the luxury of living under the Raleigh weather dome for years, so I don’t know that much about climate change. Apparently, it’s a serious threat outside the beltline.
The next event “A Cooler World with Craft Beer, Chocolate, and Ice Cream” will be held from 4:00 pm to 8:00 pm this Saturday, December 10th, at Trophy on Maywood. New Belgium’s Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Ale and Trophy Brewing’s “This ISH is Bananas” Banana Pudding Ale will be paired with Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream and chocolate from Videri, located in Raleigh.
Environment NC and North Face are involved as well. You can donate your old clothes and shoes to earn gear with North Face’s “clothes the loop” program at the event. Hopefully, North Face and Videri will realize the power of my media empire and sign me to some sweet endorsement deals as an influencer.
Tab-One, also known as Taylor from Kooley High, and Napoleon Wright II will be performing live along with DJ Rootboi. I’m still trying to convince event organizers to amplify my curated audio project, Finley’s Fire Christmas Playlist, in order to maximize Christmas spirit. They haven’t returned my e-mails for some reason. Check out @newbelgium_rdu on Twitter and Instagram for updates on the event.
Editor’s note: this post was not sponsored by New Belgium. They just gave me free beer. To sponsor ITB Insider™, contact wnfiv@itbinsider.com.
