Chocolate Raspberry Stout with the NewAir Beer Fridge (2024)

Have you ever tried layering beers? This Chocolate Raspberry Stout is a fun combination of flavors! It starts with raspberry at first, but finishes with chocolate. Cheers!

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Proost! Several years ago, Laura and I had the chance to visit Brussels. I admit that Brussels wasn’t a city that was on my short list of places to visit, but we couldn’t turn down the opportunity – after all, we love to travel. That’s when I remembered beer…and chocolate. Belgian beer and Belgian chocolates are both renowned worldwide, and we certainly enjoyed plenty of both on our trip!

If you ever find yourself in Brussels, just remember Proost! Proost is the Dutch word for Cheers! Raise a glass of Belgian beer, make eye contact with your friends and offer a toast to good health. When it comes to the actual beer in Belgium, one of the most important things to know is the Trappist monasteries.

Many of the iconic Belgian beers are actually brewed by monks in Trappist monasteries. The term ‘Trappist beer’ is a controlled term (like ‘Parmesan’ cheese). In order to qualify as a Trappist beer, the brewery must be located in a monastery, the monks must play an active role in brewing the beer and sales from the beer must go to support the monastery and its’ programs. There are only 12 Trappist breweries in the world, and 6 of them are in Belgium.

In case you’re curious, the 6 Belgian Trappist breweries are Achel, Chimay, Orval, Rochefort, Westmalle and Westvleteren. We’re fortunate that at least 3 of these are relatively easy to find here in the States. We’ll occasionally pick up a couple of these beers, and sip on them while watching Netflix or just hanging out on the back deck.

Lambics are another popular style of beer in Belgian. Lambics are wheat beers, and often feature strong fruity flavors – the fruit gets added before the final fermentation stage of the beer. Kriek is made from fermenting Lambic with Morello cherries. Similarly, Framboise is made using raspberries. While a bit less common, other fruity lambics are Pomme (apple), Peche (peach) and Cassis (black currant). I used Framboise to create this Chocolate Raspberry Stout, and we’ll circle back to the recipe in a moment.

NewAir 46-Can Freestanding Mini Beer Fridge

First, though, I want to chat about beer fridges. I recently featured the NewAir Freestanding 43-Bottle Dual Zone Wine Fridge, and NewAir reached out to see if I would be interested in writing about their 46-Can Freestanding Mini Beer Fridge. We’ve been very pleased with the NewAir wine fridge, so of course I jumped at the chance to test out this mini beer fridge.

NewAir makes a variety of compact appliances, both freestanding and built-in. Calling this 46-Can Freestanding Mini Beer Fridge a beer fridge is a bit of a misnomer. A ‘beer froster’ is a more accurate term as this fridge can go all the way down to 23°F. That’s colder than most beer fridges, and it’s perfect for quickly chilling down a couple bottles of beer.

Have you ever stuck a beer in the freezer in order to cool it off quickly? I have. Have you ever forgotten about said beer in the freezer? I have. I spent the next day cleaning out my freezer – it wasn’t fun. Thankfully, that chore is one that I won’t ever have to do again thanks to NewAir’s beer froster. Set this fridge to 23°F, and that beer will be ready to drink in no time!

Speaking of beer temperatures, did you know that different styles of beer have different recommend temperatures? The NewAir website has a great guide about beer temps. The temperature of the NewAir 46-Can Freestanding Mini Beer Fridge can be set anywhere between 23°F-72°F. That way, you are set no matter what kind of beer you like to drink!

Before switching back to our fun Chocolate Raspberry Stout recipe, I do want to mention the size of this NewAir Mini Beer Fridge. At first, I was a bit concerned about size as I wasn’t sure where I’d put it. However, the fridge is quite compact (just 20″ tall), and the stainless steel finish is rather sleek. And speaking of sleek, I really like how the temperature control for this fridge is located right on the front. And like the NewAir Wine Fridge, this Beer Fridge is super quiet. If you are thinking about getting a beer fridge (talk about a fun Christmas gift!), just ask. I’m happy to help.

Chocolate Raspberry Stout

Now that we’ve talked all about storing our beers, let’s switch gears and talk about a fun beer recipe. That’s right – a beer recipe. No, we’re not brewing our own beer here today. (Although that is on my foodie bucket list for one day. Laura hopes that one day is a long, long, long way away, though.) Today we’re talking a fun and easy layered beer.

Have you ever layered one beer on top of another? It’s actually not difficult to do at all. You start by filling a glass halfway with the first beer. Next, you simply hold a large spoon upside-down over the glass while you slowly pour the second beer on top. The Snakebite (½ stout and ½ hard cider) is one of the more common layered beers. In fact, the Snakebite was one of the first beers I ever ordered once I turned 21. If you think stout beers (like Guinness) are too heavy, then try layering them with hard cider. It’s a surprisingly tasty drink!

Inspired by the Snakebite, this Chocolate Raspberry Stout is another fun layered beer. Instead of Guinness, I used a chocolate stout for an extra deep flavor. And then I used Framboise lambic instead of hard cider. Depending on where you live, you might need to go to a specialty beer store but both of these styles of beer are fairly common. We served this Chocolate Raspberry Stout for happy hour the other day, and we fondly chatted about our memories from that trip to Belgium.

If you’re looking for a fun layered beer, then this Chocolate Raspberry Stout deserves a spot on your list! Cheers…or should I say Proost!

Did you make this Chocolate Raspberry Stout at home? Leave a comment below or snap a photo and tag me on Instagram (@Spicedblog). I’d love to see your version!

Looking for more fun recipes with beer? Check out these other favorites, too:

No Knead Cheddar Dill Beer Bread

Sourdough Pretzel Twists with Beer Mustard

Chocolate Stout Ice Cream