As I mentioned in a recent post, Brixx Wood Fired Pizza at Parkside Town Commons and Bradford Shops in Cary offered a unique Beer & Girl Scout Cookie Tasting on Feb. 22, 2017. Guests received three drink samples specifically selected from a variety of craft beers accompanied by three popular Girl Scout cookie samples, all for just $5.50.

Beer and cookies? Why not, I thought, when asked to cover this event. I love to pair chocolate candy with red wine, but this was the first time I had heard of pairing cookies with beer. I don’t know where I’ve been, because after doing some upfront research on the Internet, this is an idea that’s been around for a while. Oh well, being late to the party is better than not going at all.

I opted for the Beer and Cookie Tasting Menu B at Parkside Town Commons, as it paired my top three Girl Scout cookies with beers I thought I’d enjoy the most. And I was not disappointed! Here are a few brief notes I took on each of the pairings, which consisted of one cookie with a 4-ounce pour.

Fortnight Coffee Amber Ale paired with Thin Mints

The Fortnight is an easy drinking ale with hints of plums. I liked how the chocolate mint cookies balanced the light coffee tones in this malty beer. Great match!

Appalachian Mountain Nitro Raspberry Porter paired with Lemonades

This was definitely my preferred cookie and beer pairing. I am partial to porters to begin with, and the Lemonades are my favorite Girl Scout cookie. There’s just something about raspberries and lemon together – yum, yum, yum!

Weyerbacher Blithering Idiot Barleywine paired with Peanut Butter Sandwich Cookies

The Blithering Idiot Barleywine is a deep, full bodied and smooth copper ale with notes of dates and figs. It has a fruity finish, which I think paired great with the peanut butter cookies (think peanut butter and jelly for grownups).

This was such a fun experience, due greatly to the Brixx team, who helped with the logistics and checked on me throughout the tasting, and Tim, my funny and attentive server. It was the first time I’ve been to Brixx Pizza and I loved the 4×4 pizza I took home to eat later  (dessert before dinner is always cool!) The restaurant was cozy and full of families and couples early on a Wednesday evening. I will definitely be going back!

Disclaimer: The cookies and beer pairing and the pizza were both provided for free.

Bon appétit!

Eat, drink and be merry!

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