Your Guide to Pairing Girl Scout Cookies and Beer

 
By: Matt DeMarco

It’s that time of year where it is okay to eat as many cookies as you want. It’s Girl Scout cookie season. The magical time when eating an entire sleeve of Thin Mints is okay because it is for charity.  What better way to take a Girl Scout cookie binge to the next level than to pair them with a good beer.

Like I always say, there is no wrong way to pair a beer with food. Everyone’s tastes are different so my suggestions are just that. The most important thing to remember is pairing food with beer is supposed to be fun. So here are my suggestions for how to take your cookie game to the next level.

New this year is the S'mores cookie. The kind I tasted was the chocolate covered one but there is also a sandwich version depending on what baker services your area. A malty sweet beer with chocolate notes would complement the flavors and a beer with some roasty bitterness would be even better. You could also choose a beer with a tart, fruity flavor like a Lambic to contrast the cookie. I recommend Penn Brewing Chocolate Meltdown, Founders Breakfast Stout, Great Divide Chocolate Yeti, or Lindemans Framboise.

Thin Mints are those addicting chocolatey, minty discs that you cannot eat less than a sleeve. Rich dark beers are well suited for these cookies. Make it a dark beer with some coffee and you’ll never want to eat Thin Mints without a beer again. My recommendations are Flying Dog Gonzo Porter, Lagunitas Cappuccino Stout, or Terrapin Wake ‘n Bake Coffee Oatmeal Stout. If you are lucky enough to have some lying around you could also break open a nice barrel aged stout like Goose Island Bourbon County, Founders KBS, or Weyerbacher Sunday Morning.

Another favorite is the caramel and coconut Samoas (aka Caramel deLites). These are a little tough to pair with a beer but pick a beer with a nice roasted caramel flavor. This is where a nice Belgian style beer like Boulevard Sixth Glass, Caracole Nostradamus, or Troegs Jovial are well suited. When all else fails pick a beer that has coconut in it.

Peanut Butter Patties are chocolate covered deliciousness. The flavors in this cookie are ones you are going to want to compliment with something that enhances these flavors. Duclaw Sweet Baby Jesus, Evil Twin Biscotti Break, or Conshohocken La Colombe Tripel are a few beers that come to mind. Really anything with chocolate, peanut butter, and/or vanilla would work.

Good old Shortbread cookies are a simple, buttery piece of heaven. A beer with a malty backbone and a hint of smoke, chocolate, or coffee would be a good combo. The key is to not overpower the cookie. Oskar Blues Old Chub, Duck Rabbit Wee Heavy, or Smuttynose Baltic Porter would all be good choices.

For the Peanut Butter Sandwich cookies, you can either pick a nice malty smooth lager or ale. You basically want a beer that has a light, clean flavor. Some good choices would be Great Lakes Conway's Ale, Troegs Troegenator, or Sixpoint Crisp.

Lemonades are fun shortbread cookies with a lemony icing. A fruity hopped beer would play well with this cookie. You can go with a pale ale or IPA with citrusy hops and/or tropical fruit added. Try Sierra Nevada Sidecar or Tropical Torpedo, Troegs First Cut, Cigar City Jai Alai, or Ballast Point Grapefruit Sculpin.

Thanks-A-Lots are shortbread cookies with a side covered in chocolate. You can either go the roasty chocolate route or go polar opposite and select something hoppy. I would pick up a Riverhorse Oatmeal Milk Stout, Einstok Toasted Porter, or Neshaminy Creek Coffee Jawn. This cookie can go in so many different directions with a beer.

Whatever pairing you come up with remember there are no wrong answers. Have fun with it and even make it a group activity. Just make sure that you buy plenty of Girl Scout cookies to support a good cause.

Matt is the King of Prussia Beer Outlet's longest tenured employee, and a true beer fanatic. He's an expert at keeping beer simple, and is incredibly knowledgeable when it comes to food-beer pairings.