For the grand finale of a stouts and porters dinner I recently hosted in Philadelphia, Monk's Café owner Tom Peters dug up some Courage Imperial Russian Stout from 1993 — the last year that beer was brewed — and we paired it with a few slices of exquisite stilton from Colston Bassett.
Prior to the arrival of the final plate, I had already judged the penultimate course to be the pairing of the night, that having been the Chocolate Stout from Philadelphia's Nodding Head brewpub and a raspberry tart. After one taste of the Imperial and stilton combo, I knew that my judgment required a hasty revision.
I have sampled that same stilton with several excellent beers, and more than one or two vintage ports, but I can honestly say that no companion liquid ever came close to matching the Courage. The round, almost oily and wine-like character of the beer cut the sharpness of the cheese flavourful blue veins and brought forth its inherent fruitiness, while the strong flavours of the stilton softened the roastiness and strong finish of the ale. The result was a complementary pairing so good that it even appealed to one taster at my table who admitted that he normally eschewed blue-veined cheeses in general.
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