We had a post festival captains meeting at our good friends house the Fishers last Thursday. Post beer festival meeting with the captains who graciously help me run the show. We just had the BeerAdvocate American Craft Beer Festival at the Seaport and World Trade center in Boston in June. We normally host them at the BCA in the South End but to a much smaller gathering. This festival at the Seaport was nearly ten thousand people.
This was a hard fest to pull off, but we made it and now my captains and I needed to unwind and talk it out. But not without beers and a little BBQ first!
We started out with some spreads and dips which sadly I didn't get a picture of. Then Matt McGrath, who had been quietly working on the grill, presented us with some homebrews. It was a 2005 Belgian style triple. He paired it with grilled stuffed apricots wrapped in prosciutto.It was stuffed with blue cheese and walnuts. This pairing was delicious although a tad messy as the apricots were super soft. The beer had aged nicely as it was well rounded on the edges. No sharp steel-y malt tastes but a light and crisp tripel with subtle notes of citrus. It was very soft and delicate but again delicious. Keeping all the sample glasses from past festivals serves it's purpose well.
While Matt was grilling the apricots her also had been roasting fresh garlic in Schlenkerla Urbock on the grill. Then he mashed/pureed it for a dip. It wound up being great on the burgers.
Other foods being served were onion burgers with cheese, teriyaki marinated chicken strips, and hot dogs made by Adam Fisher and Abby Williamson. My Baked Beans with Maple Bacon. Sauteed Kale with a spicy butternut squash puree made by Alana Rivera. And an onion, tomato, and basil tart made by Tyler Hougaboom.
Then we enjoyed homebrews from Adam along with my Dried Tart Cherry Chocolate Chip Cookies with pecans and almond extract.
Adam served us with:
10W40 Take 2 - 15% Abv. - Don't remember exactly but this one had some weird sugars in it like Molasses, Honey, etc. Brew on 11/23/03 and bottled on 4/21/04.
Really good stuff!
So that's how we roll. A mellow low-key BBQ with some awesome homebrews, good food, and great friends around.
Ever try the same thing without apricots but with not so ripe peaches?
Posted by: momoneys | 07/30/2009 at 11:56 PM
The tart looks amazing. This is a great article on BBQ http://bit.ly/LqkYD and another on ales http://bit.ly/fu5md
Thanks for the post, looks like a fun time was had by all.
Posted by: Elaine - The Gourmet Girl | 07/24/2009 at 08:17 AM
Good friends, happy time and great stuff. Interesting. Thank you for sharing. Cheers !
Posted by: sizzlechef | 07/24/2009 at 07:13 AM
Great post! we can just imagine how good this was in person. We do apricots here too with chillies & sugar finish. Best from Montecito, California. s
Posted by: s. stockwell | 07/24/2009 at 12:51 AM
I think I would really enjoy being a beer festival captain, especially if it meant that I got to enjoy a meal like this. The Belgian style triple sounds like my kind of beer. When I was in my 20s, I backpacked through Europe and one of the highlights was a Belgian beer tour (good for my liver that it was just a day trip). We visited several monasteries that made their own knock-your-socks-off beer. To this day, the distinct taste of Belgian beer holds a special place in my heart - or in my tastebuds.
Posted by: Cookin' Canuck | 07/23/2009 at 10:54 PM
I think those are the best kinds of events -- the mellow, low key, kick back with friends sorta things. The food looks fabulous -- though that tomato tart is seriously calling my name. Must be summer!
Posted by: lo | 07/23/2009 at 06:09 PM