For those with beer tastes and champagne budgets, your brew has finally arrived.
Truffle-infused suds are coming to New York’s high-end restaurants, and the per-bottle price tag — upwards of $120 for 22 ounces — is bound to make jaws drop.
But Jared Rouben, a chef by training and the brewmaster who created Moody Tongue’s Shaved Black Truffle Pilsner, isn’t too worried — he predicts his beer will be most remembered for making mouths water.
“I had the opportunity to use one of the best ingredients in the world,” said Rouben, 32, a brewmaster at the Moody Tongue Brewing Company in Chicago. “It’s like being given the keys to a race car. I shaved each truffle by hand. I reached out to other chefs to get as much information as possible. I did as much homework as I could to get it just right.”
Truffles can sell for up to $3,600 per pound.
Cultivating them isn’t easy, but some truffle farmers have found success. One of them, the Australia-based Wine and Truffle Company, is doing so well, it decided to team with Rouben to share its delicacy with beer connoisseurs.
“I spent several all-nighters shaving truffles,” he said. “Imagine separating egg yolks from egg whites by the hundreds.”
All that work paid off, though, when the beer made its debut a month ago at Per Se — the top-ranked, Michelin-rated restaurant at Columbus Circle. It was paired with roasted bitter chocolate and truffle black pudding with brioche cream, walnut floss and green almonds.
Where it shows up next is still a mystery, though. Rouben is keeping that secret until he finalizes a deal to sell it in New York.