FABPOW! – Boon Geuze / Cadbury Creme Egg

The other day, whilst idly mopping up the remnants of another of Cadbury’s seasonal snacks, I began to wonder about potential beer pairings involving Creme Eggs. As pretty much any foodstuff can be complemented with a malt-forward beverage, why not the pinnacle of Easter treats? Searching around for the ideal companion to what Wikipedia calls ‘a chocolate and fondant product manufactured in the shape of an egg’ wasn’t easy – so I did what everyone else does these days, and asked Twitter. The result? @circlejack came up with the most intriguing suggestion – Boon Geuze.

After sourcing a bottle of Brouwerij Boon’s blended lambic, it was time to put the pairing to the test (clearly, I already had a ready stockpile of Creme Eggs). As I untwisted the cage of the bottle, the cork instantly blasted out – cage still attached – skimming my left ear. Thankfully the frothing eruption subsided, and I managed a control taste of the beer. Classic geuze (or gueuze) flavours – sour apples, dry tartness. Huge carbonation. Sore ear.

When alternated with dainty nibbles of Creme Egg, those bitter components are magnified tenfold. The sweet, mallowy goodness brings up all of the sharpness of the beer – highlighting the dryness as it slashes across your palate. The best way I can describe it is like non-acidic acid, if that makes sense. Even more puckering than usual. Like coating your tongue in sugar and squeezing a grapefruit over it.

However, interestingly, the opposite is true of the other flavours – as the extreme edges of the beer come out, the colossal sweetness of the egg is dulled. The caramel and marshamallowy fondant become milder and smoother – presumably as they gamely battle on against the overwhelming forces of the geuze. But eventually, they can only take a knee and submit. Like myself. Maybe beer doesn’t go with everything…?