As I explained to a newly legal drinker last week, 15-20 years ago, if a beer was labelled as chocolate, it never quite tasted right. It only had roasted dark malt and no actual chocolate flavor.
Food science has come a long way.
New Belgium Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Ale is the real deal!
To craft this liquid confection, New Belgium Beer, in collaboration with ice cream moguls Ben & Jerry, dove into their favorite chocolate chip cookie recipes for inspiration.
By whipping up hefty doses of real chocolate, brown sugar, and vanilla into a dough-hued blonde ale base, they created a full-bodied beer that seduces with a perfect balance of vanilla and chocolate, finishing with just the right amount of sweetness.
New Belgium Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Ale is 6% ABV, with a mild hopping of 12 IBUs so that the focus stays on the chocolate creaminess of this seasonal brew.
What is a cookie dough beer like?
Its aroma carries a light balance of vanilla in its white foamy head. About three seconds into the sip, its chocolate chip cookie dough flavors present, building with real, creamy cookie dough taste and plenty of baker’s chocolate. There is a gently fade in the finish, so as not to be cloying.
Allow your tongue to sit a moment on your upper palate between tugs and you can recapture the cookie dough memory. 
This novelty beer is a sure to be a big hit for Thanksgiving and, if it lasts, the Christmas season.
The Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Ale is the second collaboration between New Belgium and Ben & Jerry’s. Last year the two partnered on the well-received Salted Caramel Brownie Ale.
The companies have pledged $50,000 in proceeds of Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Ale to benefit Protect Our Winters, a nonprofit dedicated to raising awareness about climate change.
For some unfathomable reason, some liquor stores chose not to order this crowd pleasing holiday delight for their customers. Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Ale, along with the full New Belgium family, can be found at Wyatt’s Wet Goods, along with a myriad of festive beers for the holidays.