February 11, 2015

Treat Yourself to DuClaw's Naked Fish Chocolate Raspberry Stout this Valentine's Day

Disclaimer: This post is sponsored by DuClaw Brewing Company and a 6-pack of Naked Fish was provided to me for review. As always, all thoughts and opinions are my own. 

While red wine paired with chocolate is the obvious romantic choice to go along with your Valentine's Day plans, you might want to reconsider. 

I was lucky enough to be approached to try Baltimore's own DuClaw Brewing Company's seasonal release of the Naked Fish Chocolate Raspberry Stout.  I love trying new craft brews and seasonal beers so I was really excited. I'm especially a fan of DuClaw's Mysterium and Dirty Little Freak beers. While I am all about red wine and dark chocolates, I also love the pairing of stouts and chocolate. 

I'm not just saying that because I love pretty much anything with chocolate either!  

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This Naked Fish Stout was first brewed in 2002 and inspired by a hot cup of raspberry coffee DuClaw Brewmaster Jim Wagner was drinking while fishing. He homebrewed the first batch later with the same coffee and a new beer was born.

It is a pretty standard medium-bodied stout with a tan head and 4.6% abv, but then gets fun with gourmet chocolate raspberry coffee added to the grain bill to produce the distinct flavors of roast coffee, raspberry and dark chocolate at the finish.  

Despite the sweet flavors, this Naked Fish Stout is surprisingly very drinkable. I know some flavored,sweeter beers are sometimes trying to do too much or aren't everyone's cup of tea. I was worried this stout would be too sweet or that the raspberry flavor would get lost.  At first sip you taste the chocolate and coffee flavors and then get a subtle hint of the fruity raspberry.  It's not overwhelming and also has a nice, slightly carbonated mouth feel that isn't too heavy either. 


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This beer isn't only great for sipping on-I knew its flavors would be fabulous for baking as well. 

Since Valentine's Day is approaching, I decided to to go ahead and make my day even sweeter by whipping up some simple Chocolate Raspberry Brownies featuring Naked Fish. These brownies are light and more cakey than fudgey, and also have a great chocolate raspberry flavor from the Naked Fish. 

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Ingredients
  • 1 cup Naked Fish Chocolate Raspberry Stout 
  • 1/3 cup coconut oil (or oil of choice)
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 tbsp pure vanilla extract 
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup sugar (I used coconut sugar, but whatever you prefer is fine) 
  • 1 cup cacao powder (unsweetened cocoa works as well)
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/3 cup chocolate chips
Directions
Preheat oven to 330F. Grease a 7x11 pan, and then set it aside.  In a large mixing bowl, mix together all the dry ingredients.  In a separate bowl, combine all the remaining dry ingredients. Next pour the wet mixture into the dry, stirring to combine. Once mixed, pour into greased pan and bake 15 minutes. Let cool and enjoy!
Let's see if these brownies even make it to Valentine's Day in my house. These would be perfect with a scoop of ice cream, fresh raspberries and a Naked Fish Stout! 

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This may or may not have been my snack last night. 
So do you want to get your hands on this delicious beer? Naked Fish is sold in 12 and 22 ounce bottles in stores across Maryland, DC, Delaware, Virginia, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and North Carolina as well as select bars and eateries. It's only available for a limited time so find out where you can grab some here

DuClaw Brewing Company is a Baltimore-based craft brewery that was founded in 1996 and has released over 65 unique beers, producing over 25,000 barrels per year to keep pace with it's always-expanding beer lineup and demand. Be sure to check them out on Facebook and Twitter

This post was linked up to Tasty Tuesday #53.


What's your favorite Valentine's Day treat? 

8 comments:

  1. Oh cool! I have never heard of DuClaws, but it sounds good, especially with brownies....what isn't good with brownies? hehe My favorite valentines day treat is probably a giant cake with frosting...which I plan to make :)

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    1. It's a local brewery so I'm not sure how widespread their reach is yet. Frosting is my FAVORITE. Jealous!

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  2. Oh my goodness this sounds delicious. I have never heard of this kind. I love the sweet baby Jesus and dirty little freak. I will have to try this kind before it is no longer available. -L

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  3. Oh my goodness I NEED to find that beer. I am such a stout girl as it is, chocolate stout even better....add raspberry! WINNING!

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    1. Ah, I love stouts too, especially in the winter!

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  4. Oh my those brownies look amazing! I'm not a big dark beer fan but I bet those brownies would go well with red wine. Shoot ANYTHING goes well with red wine in my opinion!

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