Pork Chops & Chicken

How To Lose Friends And Alienate The Industry

This is my second ever published article. A full feature for the #35 issue of the BeerAdvocate Magazine. The topic is snobbery in the craft beer community with a closing word by Max Toste of Deep Ellum in Allston, Ma.


 



 

30 Taps, 30 IPA's

Last night for NYE I spent a low-key night in the crazy packed Cambridge Common. They were featuring 30 taps with 30 IPA's on. Even though the whole place was slammed, we ended up in a good spot and had a mellow evening with a few good friends around. It was exactly what I was hoping for.

A very solid night for hops. Though I didn't really do any venturing through the hop list. Dogfish Head 90 Minute IPA is my session beer. Sometimes you got to stick with what works and be consistent. I did try the Clown Shoes Black IPA. I wasn't feeling it. Big roasted beer with a dry finish but no bitter hop characteristics like an IPA. Then again my palate could have been shot from all the 90 Minute IPA's.

CBC Autumn Brewers Dinner Nov. 14, 2009

Cambridge Brewing Co.'s Autumn Brewers dinner from November 2009.

This was a fabulous beer dinner I went to last minute at CBC back in November. I wasn't sure if we were going to end up going or not and then two friends called saying they really wanted to go too so off we went.

Amuse Bouche:

Double Happiness Cocktail. Tangerine twist with duck crackling and apple cider caviar.

Double Happiness- strong golden ale refermented in chardonnay barrels with Brettanomyces and lychee fruit. Bright with perfumed tropical fruit and a lightly tart finish. 10.4% 

This was an awesome little opening. The caviar was solely made from apple cider. The duck crackling added an odd but oddly necessary hit of grease to the whole tasting. It seemed strange but it worked.

The brettanomyces was low and not dominating in this beer, and the fruit flavors were crisp and fresh, not cloying as it would seem with something sweet and sticky like lychees. Very refreshing and unique.

Apple cider caviar? At first I thought it was actual caviar in apple cider. But it was apple cider in small pearls like caviar. It even had that little bursting effect when you eat caviar. Very interesting and cool.

For those of you who haven't been to a CBC dinner before, the way they offer the courses is to have a few selections from each course to choose from. When the waiter comes to take your order you generally order the whole meal in one shot. I am going to post the menu and and then talk about the courses I myself had and some of the folks at our table had.

CBC Autumn Brewers Dinner
November 14, 2009

Amuse:
Double Happiness Cocktail
Tangerine Twist, Apple Cider Caviar, Duck Crackling

First:
Island Creek Oyster Bisque
Butter Poached Yukon Gold Potato, Leeks, Fried Salsify
Blackout Stout

Local Celeriac Soup
Beer Brown Bread Croutons, Crispy Carrot-Celery Salad, Raisin Jus
Cambridge Amber

Second:
Long Island Duck Rillette
Cerise Cassee Cherry, Clear Flour Sourdough, Beer Mustard, Micro Green Salad
Cerise Cassèe

General Gau's Frogs Legs
Steamed White Rice, Broccolini
Biere de Gourde

Maine Lobster Pierogies
Local Spinach, Porcini Cream, Amaretto Crumb
Om

Warm New England Vegetable Timbale
Spaghetti Squash, Glazed Root Vegetables, Aged Gouda,
Braised Greens, Hazelnut Vinaigrette
Red God

Third:
North East Family Farms Venison Loin
Sweet Potato and Chestnut Puree, Swiss Chard, Sweet Ginger Salt, Natural Jus
2008 Bannatyne's Scotch Ale

Wild Mushroom Cannelloni
Autumn Squash Bolognese, Toasted Pumpkin Seed, Parsnip Béchamel, Crispy Kale
Great Pumpkin Ale

Braised Rabbit Stew
Gnocchi, Tomato Confit, Hen of the Woods, Local Spinach, Butternut Squash,
Piave Cheese
Sgt. Pepper

Nantucket Bay Scallops
Brown Butter Fried Cauliflower, Fingerling Potato, Candied Kumquats,
Toasted Pinenuts
St. Alphonso

Dessert:
Vintage Blunderbuss Barleywine Flight
Stilton, EVOO Fried Almonds, Heirloom Apple Compote
2009 Port Finish, 2008 Bourbon finish, 2007 Dryhop finish Blunderbuss Barleywines

Benevolence Bread Pudding
Barleywined Fruits, Apricot Caramel, Pumpkin Ale Ice Cream
Benevolence

Gingersnap Napoleon
Sweet Pumpkin Custard, Cinnamon Cream, Bittersweet Ganache,
Candied Ginger
Olde Pumpkin Porter

Second Course:

Local Celeriac Soup
Beer Brown Bread Croutons, Crispy Carrot-Celery Salad, Raisin Jus
Beer: Cambridge Amber

Cambridge Amber- Well balanced, medium-bodied, deep amber-red. Malty caramel notes, hints of chocolate, slightly roasty finish, complemented by a touch of fruity, spicy hops. 4.7%

This was an excellent pairing. The soup was creamy and rich. The amber was a perfect match. The soup actually brought out a lot more of the complex characters of the Amber like the roasted finish. The only negative to this course was that I finished it all the way through and it was more filling that it sounds. We had a whole evening to get through....

Sadly my shot of the amber was blurred, but I got a somewhat decent shot of Todd's beer. He had the Island Creek oyster bisque paired with the Black out Stout. I did not however, get a shot of his soup. Todd gets annoyed when I take foodie pictures while we're trying to eat. Boo Todd.

Third course:

Long Island Duck Rillette
Cerise Cassee Cherry, Clear Flour Sourdough, Beer Mustard, Micro Green Salad
Beer: Cerise Cassèe

Cerise Cassèe- sour ale spontaneously fermented along with 300 pounds of tart red cherries and aged in a Solera system of wine barrels. Aggressively tart with flavors of sour cherries, malt, vanilla and oak tannin, and a finish that defies description in its funky-yet-balanced uniqueness.  8.5%

Another great course. The Cerise cherries were so delicious and sweet. The duck was simple, flavorful and fatty. This batch of Cerise Cassèe was more acidic and tart than normal. Usually Cerise is a sour beer with a decent level of acidity that doesn't burn the throat when drinking. so people live for that burn I do not. Having said that, the fatty duck helped tone down the acid. The acid in turn helped cut the fats and oils and allowed the flavors of the mustard, sweet cherries, and duck to add their own pop. Lots of different tastes, but very tasty. 

Sadly my pictures of the beer are not doing them any justice to get the full effects of their rich colors.

Warm New England Vegetable Timbale
Spaghetti Squash, Glazed Root Vegetables, Aged Gouda,Braised Greens, Hazelnut Vinaigrette
Beer: Red God

Red God-  Featuring Simcoe, Amarillo, and Columbus hops at a rate of over three pounds per barrel, with American pale and Belgian caramel malts providing a malty but dry pedestal upon which this hop fest rides to its long, lingering, hop-bittered finish. Beware this vengeful god.8.5%

My friend Courtney went with this course. She suffered the same fate I did with the soup. It doesn't look like it from the picture, but this course was huge. And she weighs all of 90 pounds soaking wet. But from what I gathered it was hard to stop eating this course. And it was paired with Red God which is one of my all time favorite beers from CBC. Courtney is a hop head too. So this course was hard to not gorge on.

And Todd had the lobster pierogies.

Maine Lobster Pierogies
Local Spinach, Porcini Cream, Amaretto Crumb
Beer: Om

OM- Strong golden ale aged in French oak chardonnay barrels. Brettanomyces exresses with flavors and aromas of pineapple and peach fruit, creating a harmonious balance of honeyed malt and hop, yeast and flora, and oak character. 9.4%

Fourth Course:




Wild Mushroom Cannelloni
Autumn Squash Bolognese, Toasted Pumpkin Seed, Parsnip Béchamel, Crispy Kale
Beer: Great Pumpkin Ale

Great Pumpkin Ale- 150 pounds of fresh, locally grown, organic sugar pumpkins are hand-carved and added to each batch, along with a touch of cinnamon and allspice. An appropriately orange beer with subtle pumpkin flavor, enhanced by a touch of traditional autumn spices. 4.2%

I didn't get a shot of the beer because I jumped right into this course. This thing was fabulous. And it paired really well with the Great Pumpkin. GPA from CBC is one of my all time favorites. They have really mastered making a pumpkin ale that tastes like squash and not over-spiced. It's so tasty. It went amazingly well with the cream sauce and rich mushroom cannelloni. I loved this meal. And unusual for me is getting a vegetarian course when there are meat options. This sounded terrific and it was. Very rich and filling. Noticing a pattern here?

This was our other friend at the table Mark's course. Originally it was supposed to be be scallops, but he ended up with monk fish instead. I am not sure if they had run out of scallops, or if it was requested to be different. Mark was happy with his course.



Nantucket Bay Scallops (Monk Fish)
Brown Butter Fried Cauliflower, Fingerling Potato, Candied Kumquats,
Toasted Pinenuts
Beer: St. Alphonso

St. Alphonso- Our American take on the Belgian single, or table beer, with our house Belgian yeast strain and bucketloads of American hops. Well-attenuated, super-dry, light-bodied beer with tons of fresh hop flavor. 4.5%

Dessert:



Gingersnap Napoleon
Sweet Pumpkin Custard, Cinnamon Cream, Bittersweet Ganache,
Candied Ginger
Beer: Olde Pumpkin Porter

Olde Pumpkin Porter- After one year of age in bourbon oak with Brett., this porter was blended with fresh pumpkin, crystallized ginger, whole cinnamon, and new toasted oak. Very complex yet drinkable, with smooth blending of subtle spices and roasted malts. A great dessert porter! 6.5%

This was amazing but messy! This was by far the worst thing I could have done to myself ater having this insanely rich meal before and finish it off with a decadent and super rich dessert like this. The cookies were weird though. They tasted amazing and were soft, yet you couldn't just cut into the dessert. It smashed and squished all the insides out. So while it was delicious and awesome, it was incredibly messy.

This dessert paired awesomely with the pumpkin porter. Another brett beer that didn't overwhelm me with funk. Brett beers are an interesting thing for me. My body will either respond well to them or not. This was one of those days where the funk just added some flavor and didn't make me ill. It wasn't overwhelming to the beer either. Sometimes when working with brettanomyces it has a propensity to completely overtake a beer and all other flavors there may have been in the beer.

I had a hard time noticing the ginger in the beer with ginger cookies and crystallized ginger on the plate, but the pumpkin spices, and the rich notes of the porter were enough to come through and make this a flavorful and yet again, super rich course.

Todd got the cheese plate and flight of barleywines.



Vintage Blunderbuss Barleywine Flight
Stilton, EVOO Fried Almonds, Heirloom Apple Compote
Beer: 2009 Port Finish, 2008 Bourbon finish, 2007 Dryhop finish Blunderbuss Barleywines

2009 Blunderbuss Barleywine, Port barrel finish- A delightful sneak preview of this year's unreleased expression of Blunderbuss. Aged in vintage port wine barrels, which provide a touch of fruit and oak to this massive, malty brew. 13.2% sherry glass

2008 Blunderbuss Barleywine, Bourbon barrel finish- Last year's expression spent time in barrels from the Buffalo Trace distillery, where it picked up notes of caramel, vanilla, hints of cotton candy, and toasty oak. Super smooth. 11% sherry glass

2007 Blunderbuss Barleywine, Dry Hop finish- heavily dry-hopped with Simcoe and Ahtanum hops before its annual release. This extraordinarily complex ale boasts flavors and aromas of caramel, dried fruits, toffee, lots of spicy, resiny, and floral hops, and a very warming alcohol finish. 11.5% sherry glass


This is generally how CBC rolls when they do a beer event. Their pairings are spot on and the food is always creative, good, and really filling.

*Beer course descriptions via CBC menu courtesy of Will Meyers, Brewmaster.

Dinner @ Green Street

I realize this is my second post on dinner at Green Street, but I can't help it. It's my neighborhood bar and restaurant and I love this place. This is what a typical dinner at Green Street is like.

Braised short rib with citrus on a bed of creamed cabbage.

There was no bone for the short rib which was fine with me since it only gets in the way at presentation time anyway. The meat was so soft and rich. You barely had to use your fork to cut a bit out of it. This should be an entree portion. It tastes so amazing. And the creamed cabbage was so soft and delicious. The orange added a good little pop to the dish.


House made franks and beans.

Oh man this was delicious! The beans were good and sweet. The franks were nice and soft and flavorful. The mustard added a nice tangy kick to balance the sweet from the beans. Not to mention mustard is classic with franks.

And now one of my favorites.

Chicken Schnitzel with brown butter, mashed potatoes and greens.

This is my absolute favorite. It's pan fried chicken schnitzel with brown butter perfectly fried and juicy. The potatoes are delicious and creamy underneath the chicken. And the greens with a light vinaigrette, cherry tomatoes and fennel add freshness to the dish. God I love the chicken schnitzel.


Macaroni and Cheese with bacon and tomatoes.

The mac'n'cheese is awesome. It's a bit pricey for mac'n'cheese, but its really creamy, rich and delicious. Plus it has bacon in it. Bacon makes the whole world go around, and makes something like this fantastic. It's so rich and delicious that it's hard to finish it all. But that's worth it to me. I want a meal that makes me satisfied and is filling. It's a great adult version of a kids classic.

After dinner, the owner Dylan Black surprised us with a rare beer offering.

A Russian Imperial Stout from Brouwerji De Molen in the Netherlands. 11% abv with a strong Belgian influence in nose and steel-y malty taste. Very big and rich but drinkable. Notes of toasted malts, vanilla, caramel, and chocolate. Nice little night cap from the dinner above.

Clearly you can seen why I keep writing about Green Street.

Gallia Belgica @ Eastern Standard

This has been long overdue for a write up. Thankfully I took mad notes during this dinner that even though it's a little over a month after the fact, I still feel like I just came back from this dinner.

It's taken me a little over a month to get this written for a couple of reasons. This beer dinner took place the week of our Belgian Beer Festival. So during the week I had zero time to sit down and write this out. The next week I was off to Las Vegas to celebrate my 30th Birthday. And right after that I was right back out to the west coast to San Francisco for the FoodBuzz Blogger Festival.

Now that I have settled down a bit, I can give this post it's proper dues.

Why was this beer dinner called Gallia Belgica (Gal-ee-ah Bel-gee-ka)?

I had a brave idea to ask one of our favorite restaurants Eastern Standard, to a beer dinner. Word on the street was, it would never happen. But I couldn't imagine why they wouldn't. They feature good beers for a high end restaurant. A slow moving trend for fine dinning is to serve good craft beer. Not only does Eastern Standard serve good beer, but also make mind blowing beer cocktails. Yes actual cocktails with beer as the base and high end bitters and liquors to enhance them. You have to be there to see it and try it.

I ran into a former waiter from Eastern Standard who overheard me talking about this grand plan for a dinner at Eastern Standard. I asked him if it could be done since there hadn't been beer dinner there before. He said "Yes Garrett will do it.... But only if the concept is so HOT." Oh great. The only super awesome concept I had come up with recently was for The American Psycho beer dinner. Yes, based on the movie. "It's a laugh riot." And totally would be a "laugh riot" with all the ideas we came up with for it. But I knew I couldn't bring the "laugh riot" to one of the hottest restaurants in Boston and expect this to fly. And then relaxed knowing that the Belgian Beer Fest was soon upon us and all the amazing brewers that would be in town to woo ES with.

When I approached Garrett Harker and Jackson Cannon of Eastern Standard (the owner and bar manager extraordinaire) to do a beer dinner with BeerAdvocate.com, I needed to make sure I had a good strong concept for the dinner. I almost always do a themed beer dinner or have a main concept that the dinner is following. Since we were going to have a big collection of brewers in town for the BBF, I decided a Belgian theme would be perfect. I did not however, want to do a traditional Belgian beer dinner. No Belgian waffles, or Moules et frites. I know how good they are, but it's so typical that the last thing I wanted for the first beer dinner Eastern Standard has ever had, was to be typical.

Garrett said yes and showed us a new private dining room they had acquired for the restaurant capable of seating up to 75 people. Perfect timing for us.

I came across the name Gallia Belgica while searching for traditional Belgian food. Looking for anything not mussels and waffles. I found a Wikipedia page talking about old Roman history and provinces. A quick passage from Wikipedia:

Gallia Belgica (sometimes given as Belgica Prima[1]) was a Roman province located in what is now the southern part of the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, northeastern France, and western Germany. The indigenous population of southern Gallia Belgica consisted of a mixture of Celtic and Germanic tribes, often described as the Belgae as well. According to Julius Caesar, the border between Gallia and Belgica was formed by the Marne and the Seine[2] and that with Germania by the Rhine[3] The area is the historical heart of the Low Countries, a region corresponding roughly to the current Benelux group of states, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg as well as the French Flanders and some part of the Rhineland.

I loved the name and thought it sounded cool for this kind of format. It also freed us from rigid borders. We could go an old, rustic route with the food and and add some modern twists. This concept is exactly reflected in our menu for this dinner.

As for the beers, well that was easy. I immediately called Tomme Arthur of Lost Abbey after Garrett said yes to the dinner. Then I called Patrick Rue from the Bruery, Will Meyers of Cambridge Brewing Company, Rob Tod of Allagash, Duvel, and Dann Paquette of Pretty Things.

Picking Dann Paquette was an easy choice but I had to go back in and meet with Jackson and Garrett to discuss the beers and we had everyone on board but were still down one beer. Garrett had told me to run with the beer, and I had to call people ASAP to make sure they hadn't booked other dinners for the BBF. When I told the guys that we would have two locals, with Will and Rob Tod, and two well respected Cali brewers who specialize in Belgian beers, plus Duvel we had a well shaped dinner a head of us. But then I said I wanted to talk about bringing in a good friend of mine (Dann) who just came out with a new beer project called Pretty Things. Jackson immediately said "yes!" It was exactly what he was thinking and hoping we could bring to the table. I was very happy and exited that Dann's beers would be part of the dinner. The other brewers are some heavyweights in the industry and Dann deserved some credit for his long standing history. And for how amazing in such a short period of time his new beer project has received good word and accolades all over Boston and the New England area. Now we were ready to go.

Jackson and I hand picked the beers for the dinner. We carefully made sure that each beer was different in style from one and other but was a good representation of classic Belgian styles.

Duvel, Brouwerji Duvel Moortgat (Belgian Strong Pale)
Baby Tree, Pretty Things (Belgian Style Quad)
Curieux, Allagash (Bourbon Barrel-aged Tripel)
Sgt. Pepper, Cambridge Brewing Co. (Saison/ Farmhouse Ale)
Red Poppy, Lost Abbey (Flanders Oud Bruin)
Barrel-Aged Autumn Maple, The Bruery (Belgian Strong Dark Ale)

*Click on images to enlarge.



Opening Reception:

Duvel with passed appetizers of smoked trout and fried Island Creek oysters.



 

 

Perfect bite size appetizers that worked really well with the Duvel. The light sweet taste, the sweet steel-y malts of the beer work well with fish and other sea food. The crisp, cold carbonation cut through the oils of the fried oysters, and the oils in the trout to let the sweet malts and hops play with the flavors of the oyster and trout.

At our tables, Duvel presented with Duvel bottle openers.

A quick look at the menu.

First Course:

Jackson Cannon opened the dinner and welcomed out guests and brewers to the event. Then introduced Dann and Martha Paquette of Pretty Things.

Olive oil poached Arctic Char with Alyson's Apples and Curry Purée paired with Pretty Things Baby Tree.

Jackson enjoying the Baby Tree.

This was a delicate pairing. The beer is a 8.7% abv Belgian style Quad made with dried plums. It's very fresh tasting and crisp for a quad. Most Belgian Quad's are big, alcoholic, and cloying on the palate with big malts. This beer does none of those things. It's one of the most enjoyable quads out there. The plums or prunes are present in the beer to add nice flavor without overpowering and making the beer a fruit beer.

It worked well with the pairing despite being a big quad with a fish pairing. However, it was a bit borderline. The beer was almost too big. But with this pairing, the apples, trout, and the curry purée all needed to be on the fork in one bite. You needed all the flavors to pull this pairing together. The only qualm was that there wasn't enough curry purée on the plate. As someone who isn't a fan of curry, this is one variation of it that I could handle. It was very delicate and light. 

Second Course:

Berkshire Pork and Lamb Terrine paired with Allagash Curieux.

 

The terrine was served with pickled onions, whole grain mustard and sliced of a French baguette. Allagash Curieux is a 11% abv Bourbon Barrel-Aged Tripel.

This was an excellent contrast pairing. The beer is soft around the edges from being aged in Jim Beam bourbon barrels. It has big wood notes on the nose and heavy vanilla. The pickled onions on the plate added a brillaint sharp contrast to the beer. This helped keep the beer at bay from dominating the palate with all the bourbon and vanilla flavors. The salty meats and tartness from the mustard also had this same effect of contrasting with the beer allowing all individual flavors to present themselves. 

Third Course:

Hudson Valley Foie Gras Stuffed Vermont Rabbit paired with Cambridge Brewing Company's Sgt. Pepper.

Jackson introducing Will Meyers, Brewmaster of Cambridge Brewing Co.

Hudson Valley Foie Gras stuffed Vermont rabbit with wild mushroom ragout and sparrow arc potatoes paired with Sgt. Pepper. A 6% abv Saison-Style farmhouse ale with peppercorns. 

Sgt. Pepper is quite a unique beer. I have had some beers made with pepper and it can be good or it can be bad. Pepper is hard to get right in beer because it has a tendency to completely overwhelm the beer and all other flavors it may have. This was not the case with the beer. The pepper was upfront in the nose and definitely present in as the first thing you taste, but not dominating. It has four different peppercorns in it. Pink, white, green, and black. It had a little bit of a heat kick to it from the peppercorns. It was lightly sweet an delicate underneath the peppercorns.

The rabbit was fantastic. To me this was one of the best pairings of the night. The salty meat and rich fatty foie gras was amazing. The meat was nice and soft. It was as though Sgt. Pepper was made for the meal. Instead adding pepper to season your food, the beer did that for you. The rabbit helped enunciate the sweet characters the beer had. The rich mushrooms and potatoes was more like a stew adding more depth for the plate. There was a lot of flavor going on for this course but mainly it was the game flavors of the rabbit highlighting he sweet flavors of the beer and being rounded out by the big pepper taste. Wonderful pairing!

Fourth Course:

Smoked Venison Saddle paired with Lost Abbey Red Poppy.

Jackson handing the room over to Tomme Arthur, Brewmaster of Lost Abbey.

When we first approached Eastern Standard with doing this beer dinner, I immediately went outside of the restaurant to call Tomme and ask him if he would be apart of the dinner. I had one thing on my mind, Red Poppy! I am not a huge fan of sour beers, but between Supplication from Russian River and Red Poppy from Lost Abbey, they are total conversion beers.

Smoked Venison Saddle with mustard spaetzel and winter greens paired with Red Poppy, a 5.5% Flanders Oud Bruin, a sour brown ale aged in barrels. 

The venison was gorgeously smoked. The aroma dominated the table. Big smoke flavor and game taste from the venison. Nice and juicy portions of meat. The greens were earthy and vaguely tasted like beets. Their salty, buttery taste worked well with the beer. Again contrasting with the beer to bring out it's sweetness.

The beer had a big red cherry nose, and sour aroma. The metallic flavors of the meat allowed those big cherry notes to pop rather than subdue them. Soft wood flavors on the beer also help round out a sweet flavor on the beer. The sour character was very palate cleansing instead of cloying. Even for a sour brown ale, that's quite unique. 

Another winning course, but very filling. This course nearly sent me over the edge and we still had dessert on the way

Fifth Course:

Pan Perdue paired with Barrel-Aged Autumn Maple.

That's my homie Patrick Rue, Brewmaster of The Bruery. He is fairly new to the world of brewing, but he has already made such a tremendous impact by way of American-Style Belgian beers.

 

French toast with pears and cinnamon-maple cream paired with Barrel-Aged Autumn Maple. A 10% abv fall seasonal brewed with yams, maple, autumnal spices.

Barrel-Aged Autumn Maple was brought out specially for this event. The only place you can regularly have this beer is at the brewery itself in California. The regular Autumn Maple is bottled and distributed during the time of it's release. 

So we had a small emergency for this pairing. Initially it was going to be a waffle course. But 75 waffles without 75 waffle irons is a bit tricky. I am glad that it never happened that way either. Part of the reason for this dinner and it's name was for it not to be typical and what we know of today as traditional Belgian cuisine. Though no one probably would have cared if we did serve waffles, I am still glad it didn't end up being Belgian waffles.

The dessert sounds fairly delicate for this big 10% monster beer. This dessert was like Uma Thurman in Kill Bill. Look's pretty, and delicate, but wound up holding it's own next to this big beer.

The beer was aged for one year in rye barrels. The yams gave off big sweet, buttery and baked yam flavors including a burnt sugar taste. Big vanilla flavors giving a butterscotch like taste. The bread and pears acted like a cleanser for the palate leaving the cinnamon and maple to play with the maple and vanilla flavors of the beer, but wasn't overkill on those specific flavors. Warming esters from the beer were balanced by the cool whipped cream. This dessert and beer worked extremely well together.

Simple and delicious and the perfect way to end the meal. After that venison course, if we have presented a big chocolate dessert or anything like that, we would have all needed dolly's to wheel us out of the place. 

For my first beer dinner with Eastern Standard, they really did an amazing job. Anyone who has been to Eastern Standard, knew that they would nail it. Garrett and Jackson get huge praise for my demanding emails, and anxious nature in making sure we were all on the same page. Though I slightly blame Garrett for putting the fear of god into me and making sure I could sell out their new 75 seat private dining room. As if that would be hard with their reputation.

Executive Chef Jeremy Sewall.

Garrett Harker.

Tomme Arthur, Will Meyers, Dann Paquette, Patrick Rue, and Rob Tod.

Lord Hobo in Cambridge, Ma.

Lord Hobo has been open for a week now and it has been getting nothing but big praise for the most part from those who have visited the new restaurant so far. I happen to agree with the praise.

Lord Hobo is the new restaurant in Cambridge, Ma. in place of the once famed B-Side Lounge. A former bartender of the B-Side gave the best description of the new bar and restaurant. "If there was a movie made about the B-Side, Lord Hobo would be the Hollywood version of the bar." That's because it's been brightened up, walls painted a muted rustic red, the floor was completely redone, the bar widened and finished with new, beautiful wood, and finished with 30 taps in the middle, and the layout of the room has opened up with the removal of oddly placed dividers and booths from the old B-Side. It's really nice and sterile inside.

We went to Lord Hobo last Monday for the soft opening and had a wonderful time just drinking and sampling the über fresh beers. The Spezial Rauchbier Lager was pouring so good. I drank that pretty much all night on Monday and hung out with some good friends from the neighborhood.

Saturday night we went in for dinner.

A tip for those wanting to try Lord Hobo, go early. Get there early or there will be a line to contend with just to even get in. It's not a huge line or anything to be intimidated by, but getting there early gets you a table right away. The worst I heard anyone has had to wait is 20 minutes. Turn over is good and while you wait, you have 30 beers or a good cocktail list to choose from.

Another good tip is that their wine list offers all choices by the glass with the exception of their reserve list. I find that awesome.

We started with the Truffle Chips. They come with a variety of sauces which we were told change every day. These are perfectly cooked hand cut fries. I usually hate hand cut fries. They are usually too soggy, or cut too fat and big. These were right in the middle of soft, not soggy and crispy. The sauces were a garlic aioli, a vinaigrette, and a sweet and garlicky ketchup. I was more a fan of the ketchup.

The fries also tasted so good with the Spezial Rauchbier Lager. Man that beer is so good and so fresh tasting at Lord Hobo right now. And they give you big mugs of it.

We also ordered a charcuterie plate. It wasn't big or grandiose in it's offerings which happened to be a good thing. It's small but if it were any bigger, ordering dinner might have become a problem.

A simple offering of mustards, Pȃte de Compagne (country pȃte) and duck liver mousse. Simple and delicious.

Then we ordered dinner. Todd ordered the gnocchi with oxtail in parma cream sauce.

I had the Shepherd's pie with braised lamb, root veg, and colcannon.

I have to admit I had a hard time with my entree. Todd's was fantastic. It was super rich, hearty, and delicious. Mine on the other hand tasted amazing, but there were some issues with the meal. It wasn't fresh it was reheated. It's a little too expensive for a reheated meal. The lamb was the key. It wasn't hot. It was served warm, and the braised lamb was not soft because of this, it was stiff. The reason I am so torn about it though was because despite being reheated, it still tasted so good. The flavors were excellent. Next time they should make sure it's so hot and have a warning on the skillet. If it comes in a skillet like that, it should be a dead giveaway that this meal is super hot. Sadly it was luke warm. I can't complain too much though because I ate nearly all of it despite my observations about this meal.



Lord Hobo is a really great new place for Cambridge. Lot's of fresh beer, good food, and the way the room is laid out, it's a comfortable place to hang out.

Honorable mentions for the food are the deviled eggs. I tried them on Monday and they were pretty good. The Maine lobster mac'n'cheese on the appetizers has been a huge hit for a lot of patrons so far. I saw the Seared Local Cod, mahogany clams, potato "risotto", leek, trumpet mushrooms being served to a customer right next to me on Monday. It smelled terrific and looked fantastic. The woman who ordered said it was delicious. And I hear the burger is quite fantastic.

After dinner we tried two Nordic beers we have not tired before courtesy of Daniel Lanigan, the owner of Lord Hobo.

Haandbryggeriet Odin's Tipple. A big 11% abv strong dark ale from Norway. This beer is basically an Imperial Stout. It's so big and strong with rich complex flavors like coffee, molasses, tart cherries, and toasted malts. Yet this thing is so drinkable it's almost like a session beer. It drinks real easy, for something so big. Delicious beer and drank like dessert.

Nørrebro Bryghus North Bridge Extreme. An Imperial IPA from Denmark. This too was a tasty beer. Slightly soapy and reserved on it's hops, Euro-style hop characters meaning more hop flavor than bitterness, compared to giant DIPA's from America. Big sweet malts that were not steel-y that is usually the trademark of a DIPA. I don't have too much depth for this beer though. I ruined my pour of it by mistake. My glass had some weird extra bit of a glass shard hanging from the lip of the glass on the inside of the glass. It looked like a chip and naturally I touched and it broke off super fine shards of glass into my beer. Strange. Just a weird side effect from when the glass was made.

If you haven't been in, make sure you check it out. The waitstaff is super friendly and helpful, the beers are very fresh, the cocktails are good, and the food is fantastic. It's a comfortable place to hang out and will make for a great neighborhood bar and restaurant. All the people who were worried about their precious B-Side can relax. I loved the B-Side and will miss that gouda skillet forever, but this will never be the B-Side and they are not trying to be that. They are a totally different entity and in my opinion for the better. I now have a 30 tap bar around the corner from my house.

Admittedly some of the food and beer prices will shock patrons. Those who are craft beer lovers and fans of Daniel's former establishments such as The Moan and Dove and The Dirty Truth, will understand how amazing the line up of beers are and why they are priced the way they are. A couple of offerings of beers on tap are $10 bucks. But what you are not being told by a tiny handful of hater reviews I have read on Yelp, is that you get a 20 oz. mug of rare beer for $10 bucks. For example Spezial Rauchbier on draft in 20 oz mugs that you will never see on tap anywhere else and the bar doesn't even make money on it at that price. Any other bar would charge the maximum mark up to make the money back and still brag that they have an amazing rare beer. Daniel has it because he loves it. It would be one thing if you were being gouged like Bukowskis, where they charge whatever they want on their beers because they can. And they have admitted to doing so from people who have worked there and still work there now. But no one says you HAVE to go to Lord Hobo and order a $10 dollar beer. It's not like every beer in there costs that. Also none of these complainers made mention of a huge line up of Cantillon on tap which is a pretty amazing feat. Some of these beers are not cheap. But the line up is impressive. And the average cost for beers is more like $6 to $7 bucks a pop. More than the price of Highlife, but it's craft beer people. Not all the beers are priced at $10. A lot of people who were expecting this to be the B-Side revamped will be the top complainers about prices. The folks who love Miller Highlife and a shot of bourbon. Nothing is wrong with that, but you can tell they were expecting the same thing when they walked in to Lord Hobo. Get used to it being a craft beer bar. And they also carry a decent line up of Bourbons too! Boston and Cambridge need more of these kinds of places and bar owners who actually give a fuck about their beers and the quality of beer you are getting.

Something else I noticed in a few reviews on Yelp is that people were saying "Lord Hobo is no Publick House." This is an unfair remark in that Lord Hobo isn't trying to be the Publick House. Just a bar with a solid offering of craft beers, cocktails, wine, and food. Also what is unfair is that most people do not realize that David Ciccolo of TPH also went through the exact same amount of scrutiny in the beginning. When he changed Anam Cara, an Irish bar to a Belgian beer bar. The gripes and complaints about the prices on the beer were the exact same. Now it's revered as one of Boston's best beer bars. It just takes a little bit of interest and knowledge in craft beer to understand what it takes to be a great beer bar in Boston.

Thankfully for once, the majority of Yelp users give Lord Hobo high praise. I happen to agree that it deserves good praise. And seeing as how it just opened, like any new establishment, it will take time to work out any kinks they may have even if there are only few. I have to remind myself to avoid shit like Yelp and Chowhound on a regular basis. It's less and less about being helpful sites for tips and reviews on places and more and more about being a place for people to bitch and complain about the tiniest of details when going out. When one person reviews the Maine Lobster Mac'n'cheese as a disappointing amount of food and not make mention that it's an appetizer course, I have to close the book on that. Toss yourself off a bridge, because you are just looking to complain and take it out on these restaurants and businesses the bitter miserable life you lead thanks to Yelp giving you a place to cry and complain. No one says you can't have an opinion but shouldn't it at least be honest?

Edit: I made a mistake with the number of draft lines Lord Hobo actually has. There are 40 draft lines not just 30 as I made mention twice in this review. Plus a few cask engines and a gravity served cask.

I also went back for the burger, and it was pretty damn good as others have expressed.

Life & Limb

I was in San Francisco for the 1st Annual FoodBuzz Bloggers Festival. I have decided to begin my San Francisco recaps with the end of the trip at the Life & Limb beer dinner at Ana Mandara which I was lucky enough to have attended.

My good friend Sam Calagione, owner of Dogfish Head Craft Brewery in Delaware collaborated with Ken Grossman of Sierra Nevada in California to create two new craft beers. Life & Limb and Limb & Life.

A brief description of the beers from press release for the dinner at Ana Mandara.

Life & Limb is a collaborative effort, the brainchild of Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. and Dogfish Head Craft Brewery. Life & Limb is a 10% ABV strong, dark beer that defies style characteristics— brewed with pure maple syrup from the Calagione family farm in Massachusetts and estate barley grown on the Grossman “farm” at the brewery in Chico, CA. The beer is alive with yeast—a blend of both breweries’ house strains—bottle conditioned for added complexity and shelf life, and naturally carbonated with birch syrup fresh from Alaska.

Life & Limb is dedicated to the family of beer drinkers and enthusiasts worldwide who continue to support the little guys, iconoclasts, entrepreneurs, and pioneers who risk life and limb to shape the vibrant craft-brewing community.

Limb & Life is a companion to the big beer It is a 5% ABV small beer--a low-gravity beer made using the residual sugar as "second runnings" from the first larger brew, fortified with American hops. This is a session beer. Its big brother is a sipper. Limb & Life will be a limited draft-only product, a prelude to the bigger beer, available draft only in select bars and restaurants.

After a long weekend of nonstop imbibing on good food and good beers from around the city, this was a great way to end my trip. I left from this dinner to the airport for a red eye back to Boston. It ended up working out perfectly though. After the food and beers I was so tired and exhausted but I caught my flight with an emergency row, isle seat and no one in the middle. Lots of room, full belly, and a slight buzz. Content and ready for a nap.

Let's get to the food!

I arrived at Ana Mandara just in time to drop my 60 pound luggage off with the hostess stand. I made my way up stairs and talked to Ken Grossman and Bill Manley of Sierra Nevada for a few minutes before it was time to ceremoniously tap the firkens.

Ken Grossman tapping Limb & Life.

 
Sam Calagione tapping Life & Limb.

For the record, it only took Ken one or two good whacks at it to tap it. Sam took 3 or 4 girly taps. I am just saying....

Sam and Ken gathered everyone to talk about the collaboration and welcome everyone to the event and dinner.

We were treated to passed appetizers and Limb & Life. Crispy Lobster Ravioli with Mango-Coconut Sauce. Apparently there was supposed to be or there was and I never saw it, Seared Rare Beef with Tamarind. Didn't matter anyway as the Lobster Raviolis were pretty excellent on their own. They paired really well with the Limb & Life.

*I didn't geek out and write down notes for the new beers. It was a social engagement with many people I have never met before. I would much rather sit back and relax and enjoy them with new company rather than be anti-social with my head in a note pad. So you will have to excuse my lack of character description on these beers.

Then it was time for the sit down dinner. I has happy to be seated next to Jay Brooks of Brookston Beer Bulletin and another cool guy named Jay (whose last name escapes me) who used to work for the Rogues Gallery which created the beer Squall IPA with Dogfish Head. The first collaboration of beer and fashion.

Jay now works for Levis which couldn't have been more perfect as my nick name for pretty boy Sam is Levis. He used to be a model for Levis and now I tell everyone to say what's up to Levis over at DFH! I thought Sam was kidding with me when put me next to Jay. Or maybe Sam just forgot I am evil. Either there was great joy and laughter at the dinner. And Jay is a fantastic guy.

As we were seated, we were greeted with Seared Rare Ahi Tuna with Hearts of Palm, Jicama Salsa, and Orange Vinaigrette.

This was paired in tandem with DFH Festina Pêche. A 4.5% sour, peach "Neo-Berliner Weissbier." And the Kellerweis by Sierra Nevada. A 4.8% abv Hefeweizen.

The beer in the wine glass in this picture was the Life & Limb. Sam got me a pour of it before the dinner started.

 

This was a tough call as to which beer worked better. At first I thought the festina Pêche was the clear winner with flavor profiles and complexities but as the course went on the Kellerweis really stood out too. The Kellerweis needed to open up a bit and warm up to reveal all of her secrets. The Festina Pêche was crisp, tart, and refreshing whereas the Kellerweis was soft and subdued. Both good pairings. Both stood up to the tuna while allowing the hearts of palm and jicama salsa to be present as well and not be trumped by the sour notes of the Festina Pêche or the cloudy wheat characters of the Kellerweis.

Up next was the Five-Spiced Crispy Skin Poussin, Sugar Snap Peas, White Corn Pilaf, and Sweet and Sour Sauce.

 

This was paired with Sierra Nevada Pale Ale and Midas Touch from DFH.

The SNPA being the countries most recognizable and most classic Americanized hoppy pale ales. Cascade hops with a 5.6% abv. 

The Midas Touch is a big 9.0%. From the DFh website:

This recipe is the actual oldest-known fermented beverage in the world! It is an ancient Turkish recipe using the original ingredients from the 2700 year old drinking vessels discovered in the tomb of King Midas. Somewhere between wine & mead; this smooth, sweet, yet dry ale will please the Chardonnay of beer drinker alike.

 

I have to say that the Midas Touch was too big for the pairing. Too strong. When you taste nothing but alcohol with your pairing, it's obviously the wrong match. Sadly this happened with the Midas Touch. Although Midas Touch is recommended for Asian and Pan-Asian dishes, I think the big, giant, sweet alcoholic characters and malts in this beer needed to be paired with something spicy and hot.

The Sierra Nevada Pale Ale on the other hand was excellent for this course. The hops and sugar snap peas gave for an interesting lingering taste on the palate. Bitter and sweet yet fresh all rolled into one.

The second main course was Wokked Tournedos of Beef Tenderloin, Sweet Onions, and Peppery Cress served with steamed white rice.

This course was paired with SN Celebration Ale and Palo Santo Marron from DFH.

Palo Santo is a big old 12% abv brown ale aged in wooden brewing vessels. Big caramel and vanilla notes.

SN Celebration is an American IPA about 6.8% abv but has the notes of Christmas on this beer. Citrus, piney resins, and spices.

This is a reverse case of the first main course. Where the SN worked better than the DFH. The Palo Santo from DFH worked much better in this case than the SN. Celebration Ale is a big holiday ham kind of beer. Think of all the rich foods at Christmas time and then you will understand where to go with pairing Celebration.

The Palo Santo almost didn't work either. It's giant 12% abv was borderline. But the rich brown ale notes pulled this together with the meat. Despite being 12%, it is the kind of 12% that you don't really notice. You end surprised when you find out just how big it really it. But with the white rice served with meal cleaning the palate constantly, you are reminded a bit more than you probably would be. The earthy greens also helped keep this pairing in line. 

Lastly, dessert. A choice of desserts was presented. Valhrona Dark Chocolate Semifredo, or Flourless Coconut Rum Cake.

 


This was paired with the Life & Limb. I do not have a fantastic shot of the beer that ended the night. But you can see it with the beers in the first pairing, the Seared Ahi Tuna course.

I clearly chose wrong for this course. I went with the Flourless coconut cake. It was delicious and delicate on the coconut, but the beer was a tad too big. I only chose it because everyone went for the chocolate dessert. It was very rich and cocoa-y. It held up a lot better with the Life & Limb.

And lastly Sam and Ken wrapped up our evening with some final thoughts and a toast.

Thank you to Bill Manley for setting this dinner up and working really hard on these pairings. And working to get me in on this dinner. Thanks to Ana Mandara for a really great meal. The restaurant is gorgeous and the hospitality was fantastic.

This was exactly the right way to end my long weekend in San Francisco. A long weekend of food pairings and beer. More on the weekend to come. I was able to get home nice and comfortable and not have to buy shitty airline food. 

Over all I liked the Limb & Life better. I am not sure if that was because I needed a session beer after the hard weekend of 21st Amendment's Back In Black IPA and Pliny The Elder from Russian River. Both Life & Limb and Limb & Life were pretty amazing. The Life & Limb will no doubt be the hit of the party when they make their rounds. Especially when it gets to the Extreme Beer Festival in Boston Barrel Aged!!

Hash House A Go Go, Las Vegas

[Image via A Place For My Taste]

I have been told over and over by friends that I must check out Hash House A Go Go while in Las Vegas. Well, I went last week and it was the best thing ever. Apparently it is a California chain that has made it's way to Vegas.

This is my kind of place. The portions are insanely massive, and the food is completely amazing.

I started with one of their famous coffee drinks, The Smore's Mocha.

Just look at that sticky mass of coffee and burnt marshmallow mess. It was so delicious.

Then I asked about the Chicken and Waffles. I was told to order this monstrosity from friends who know I am soul food addict. I wasn't scuured until it came out. 

As described from their website: Sage Fried Chicken with a hardwood smoked bacon waffle tower, hot maple caramel and fried leeks. It's 4 waffles with bacon cooked inside the waffle. And I am talking about a big crispy strip in each waffle. Two large pieces of fried chicken on top as well. It's unbelievable.

And just in case you are not sure how big this plate is, It's bigger than both of my hands fanned out. I found this image of some guy who looks horrified by the size of the plate while searching for a picture of the building and thought this was a good image to show you just how massive it is. I am in the second picture, a Twitpic my husband took with me in the background. Notice my hands in the second pic.

 

[Image via ZoomStreet and twitpic] 

My husband looked and around and saw pancakes as round as basketballs. He decided to play it a little safer and get the smoked salmon skillet.

 

He wasn't let off the hook size wise. This thing was massive too and completely loaded with salmon. So many times with salmon you get the shaft on how much they give you. Not at Hash House A Go Go. They also had homemade jam on the table made with pears and strawberries for the biscuit. Nice touch. 

And then I finished up with a double shot Bloody Mary. With pickled beans in it as well. I am starting to think that if there are no pickled beans for the Mary's, then they are probably not worth it. I love pickled beans so much and especially in Bloody Mary's. 

Hash House also carried Stone. Todd drank a few Pale Ales and I was torn between the Bloody Mary and an Arrogant Bastard. With Las Vegas being a beer wasteland for the most part, any chance to get good craft beer should be taken advantage of. So not only can you get awesome food, but you can have an Arrogant Bastard with it too.

This place is off the beaten path from the strip. It will cost you just over 20 bucks in cab fare if you don't have a car. But there is a cool little brew pub with video poker down the street called Big Dog's. You can eat and then walk 2 blocks down, trust me you will need to walk after this meal, and play some video poker and wash it all down with some fairly decent beers. Big Dog's had a good Pumpkin Ale and a West Coast Style IPA on hand while we were there. 

Whatever you do in Las Vegas, take the time out to visit Hash House A Go Go. Trust me.

BeerAdvocate on Green Street Feat. Ithaca Beer Co.

For a while now I have been hanging out at Green Street with the owner and good personal friend, Dylan Black. It's become our local go to place with amazing food and drinks.

Dylan opened Green Street around three and half years ago and has transformed it from the Caribbean themed menu and sometimes salsa dancing, to a slow food movement restaurant. They have a short and sweet seasonal menu, a tight bottled beer list and good rotating draft list with a possible addition of 3 more taps, an amazing wine list with the price range between $32 and $58 dollars (no wallet busting offerings), and last but not least cocktails galore. The cocktail list is on a multi-page menu listed from A-Z. With cocktails being all the rage these days, Green Street has a strong footing in the Boston market for mixed drinks.

But this isn't about the cocktails, this is about the beer. Dylan would ask us from time to time, "What's hot right now for beer, and what would be a good fit for my restaurant?" After taking a few of our suggestions and having them work out well with Green Flash and Sixpoint, we decided the next step was to host a beer dinner at Green Street. Dylan Black has an amazing excitement and enthusiasm for learning about craft beers and working them in his restaurant.

After the American Craft Beer Festival we threw in June, I got to catch up with Eric VanZile the rep. for Ithaca Beer Co., I was reflecting on a great beer dinner they had at Cambridge Common which I was present for a few years ago. Eric had mentioned to me that that was the last time they had a beer dinner in the Boston area.

Perfect timing to welcome Ithaca back to the area and get Green Street's legs wet a bit with beer dinners. After playing around with a few concepts, this is what we came up with.

Chef Greg Reeves created the menu, while Dylan and myself hand selected the beers. A few special offerings thrown in by Jeff O'Neil "The Chief" and Brewmaster of Ithaca Beer Co.

Welcome to BeerAdvocate on Green Street Featuring Ithaca Beer Co. Some beer descriptions are via BeerAdvocate.com.

We welcomed everyone with a nice house made charcuterie set up with cornichons and pickled onions, fresh breads and butter and paired the welcoming course with Outdoor Harvest Ale. A pale ale that is about 5.9 to 6% abv.

 

The Outdoor Harvest ale was a bit cloudy and hazy, but had a nice fruity nose. It was lightly sweet, with big honey notes. The beer was also made with locally grown hops around Ithaca, New York. It complimented the charcuterie plate with the steel-y tastes from the meats. Salty notes mingling with sweet, honey notes from the beer. The pickled veg added a nice little pop of tart vinegar that the sweet malts immediately reacted to it and gave a nice little contrast at the right amount.



 
Definitely a great way to kick things off. Meat and beer.

[Eric VanZile tapping the cask of Flower Power IPA.]

Our second course was a passed course Tartare of Beef with capers and cornichons paired with Ithaca's Flower Power IPA on cask. An American IPA with a fairly robust hop character and 8% abv. This was one of the special offerings brought up by Jeff O'Neil. More amazing was that this cask got to us about 15 minutes before the doors opened up all the way from Ithaca, and had zero cloudiness or sediments floating around.

To me this was the most underrated pairing of the evening. Pairing food with hops can be a tricky business. Usually hoppy beers get paired with hot, spicy foods. It was definitely nice to see this paired with beef tartare. There were a little bit of pickled onions on these as well which added that same effect of a pop of tartness. The tartare was set in a gougère, a light and airy cheese puff. Together the beef and tangy capers allowed the malts of the beer to come through. The cheese gougère gave way for some of the spiciness from the hops to come out. As well as the steel-y, iron taste from the rare tartare played around with the hops like sweet malts do with hops. Good balance all around. This was what I called in my notes a "More and more" pairing because I wanted more and more. This was a near perfect pairing and again totally underrated as it was a small, amuse bouche and the cask was getting all the attention.

A slight snob moment for me is that I generally do not prefer hoppy beers on cask. I feel that the bitterness gets completely toned down and in some cases flattened or watered down. That didn't happen with this cask, but the hops were toned down a slight bit. The carbonation held up but was not as effervescent as it normally is on bottle or draft. Usually with casks they are meant to be served at around 50 degrees. At that temperature hops and malts are already opened up for you. This is an effect I do not like with hops on cask. I prefer my hoppy beers to be super cold to watch them open and blossom in my own hands. This cask was certainly cold enough, and hoppy enough, but in my perfect world no hoppy beers would ever be put on cask. Let me rephrase that, no Americanized version of hoppy or super hoppy beers would ever be put on cask. Ice cold draft and bottles only.

For the beer geeks who live and die for cask however, this was a real treat. And despite my thoughts on hoppy beers on cask, I actually did find the beer quite enjoyable. Flower Power has changed over the years. It wasn't always as hoppy or refreshing. Recently they upped the ante with this beer and kicked up the hops. It's a borderline IPA. Borderline by almost being a double IPA and having an 8% abv. My kind of IPA.

 

And we continue on with a second passed course.

Island Creek Oysters Rockefeller with creamed spinach and caraway bread crumbs paired with Gorges Smoked Porter.  An American porter, 6.30% abv.

  

Porters and oysters are a no-brainer pairing for a lot of people into beer and food pairings. It's the salty, sea taste oysters have coupled with the robust flavors of toasted or smoked malts. It's also typically light enough to be paired with sea food offerings. But the rich flavors of the oysters and beer tend to work marvelously together. 

In this case, the wonderful smoked flavors worked well the the caraway rye seeds from the bread crumbs giving off a slight anise flavor. Gorges is also light enough to be a session beer despite its huge smoked flavors. It's a misconception beer by its aroma and color. Looks heavy and smells heavy, but drinks fairly easily. Which is why it works well with something like oysters. Oysers with their big sea flavor, but light and meaty texture. Both the beer and oysters are a bit of a paradox, but in a good way. These particular oysters were extremely fresh and meaty. Island Creek happens to be one of the best names in the Boston area for amazing oysters.

Also the folks of Island Creek were in attendance and were very happy with the pairing. Nothing better than making the producers happy.

 
This was arguably the best course of the night. A wild mushroom and bone marrow bread pudding with a sherry, foie gras emulsification paired with the Excelsior Brute. An American wild/ sour ale made with vintage (aged) local hops, barley, wheat, corn, aged in oak with Brett and finished with three types of champagne yeast. 6.5% abv.

The bread pudding was a little more cake-y than pudding like but that didn't matter based on it's taste. It was super rich and had a good texture. Kind of like a cake-y corn bread but rich, buttery, and good herb flavor to it. The bone marrow added a unique depth to it with big flavor but wasn't the overall flavor of the bread pudding. The wild mushrooms were set on top. The sherry, foie gras emulsification was the most rich and decadent sauce I have ever had. It was delicious, fatty, and rich. Just perfect. The Brute was a sour with champagne yeast that gave it a good carbonation that helped cut right through the rich fats. This was a perfect pairing. The wheat and corn flavors could actually be tasted without the sour dominating the palate as the sour and carbonation worked on the fats. This allowed the sweet sherry flavors to come out and allowed the rich grains in the beer to come out. The hops were a vintage or aged hop varietal locally grown in Ithaca but we're lightly present in the beer. The frisee added a nice tough of freshness and a touch of a crunchy texture. Added a little bitterness and earthiness to over all rich pairing. Helped add some balance to the dish. 

For me this was a brett beer I could deal with. Brettanomyces beers usually do not sit well with me. Brett also has the propensity to be the dominate flavor in most beers it's in. With this beer, the brett was present, but was delicate enough to allow the other flavors to come out. Normally that is not the case. this is a sign of a good brewer. One who can balance the right amount.

And our last course served family style. Suckling pig porchetta with honey crisp apples, horseradish, and alyssa craig onions paired with Excelsior Eleven. A sweet, milk/lacto stout brewed with British, German, and French malts, American hops, and milk sugar, then aged for weeks on locally roasted Sumatra coffee beans. 7.5% abv.

Pay attention to that last bit. This is a beer aged on coffee beans not brewed coffee in it. Interesting twist.

Porchetta is a traditional Italian style way of serving pork. Here is a quick description from Wikipedia that pretty much says it all.

Porchetta /por'ket:a/ is a savory, fatty, and moist boneless pork roast Italian culinary tradition. The body of the pig is gutted, deboned, arranged carefully with layers of stuffing, meat, fat, and skin, then rolled, spitted, and roasted, traditionally over wood. Porchetta is usually heavily salted in addition to being stuffed with garlic, rosemary, fennel, or other herbs, often wild. Porchetta has been selected by the Italian Ministero delle Politiche Agricole, Alimentari e Forestali as a "prodotto agroalimentare tradizinale" ("traditional agricultural-alimentary product", one of a list of traditional Italian foods held to have cultural relevance).

This was stuffed with a sausage made from the pig, stuffed, rolled with the tenderloin, covered in the pork fat, and roasted. Then smothered with the apple, onion, and horseradish sauce.

 
[The only shot of the beer I got for this course. I didn't realize that until I began to blog. The beer was served in a small snifter glass, and had a deep chocolate color.]

The meat was perfectly cooked. Nice and moist and the flavors of the onions, horseradish, and apples were perfect for the pork. The horseradish was a great addition as it gave a good pop to the already sweet apples and onions. This was a contrasting course with the coffee milk stout. The coffee flavors were bold and robust, and worked well with the apples and onions. The lactobacillus in the beer added a nice tangy touch to the beer which helped out with the fat on the pork. The beer itself was sweet and malty, with fruits and a dry finish. Dylan said it was like a burgundy wine with all the notes and flavors coming off of it. The dry finish seems to be a signature on a lot of Ithaca's beers. Nothing they make is cloying or lingers on the palate in an unpleasant way. 

This was the course I thought the Brute would work best with. I had enough of the Brute left to try both the Eleven and the Brute together and the Brute was way off. The pork made the Brute soapy and gave it a weird creamy texture. I thought the Brute would work based on the apples, but it was the fat, that ruined them from being perfect. So despite the strange elements of coffee notes, Eleven ended up the much better pairing. Again a contrasting pairing with a lot of flavor coming at you. But with such large portions you had enough time to figure it out and let it sink in.

 

And last but not least a small bite of the tres leche cake for Jason Alström as he was in the house and celebrated his birthday a few days early with us.

And later that night The Chief brought one of my favorites that I was really torn about using, Excelsior White Gold and Old Habit. You don't need me to describe the beers, as you can see the description clearly on the bottles.

For Green Street's first beer dinner, they really nailed it. The flavors of the food really complimented the beers. There were no wrong pairings or "close we'll let this one slide" pairings. At least according to me. And despite being the one who set this event up, I tend to be more critical of my own events. And not being the chef for the event, I can be more objective about it. All of the courses worked, and the food was incredible. 

I was extremely grateful to Eric VanZile and Jeff O'Neil for making the huge trek out and then back to NY again. Eric was off to Philly after this event. Jeff brought some nice treats for us including the Cask Flower Power, White Gold, and Old Habit.

I will look forward to working with Dylan Black and Greg Reeves again for another beer dinner.

Founders Breakfast Stout Beef Stew

It's fall again and it's beginning to get cold. New England certainly brings the cold. It seems like everyone is ready and has been waiting all summer for fall. The foods, the colors of the leaves changing, the smell of fall and fire places. It's my favorite time of year. I am ready for fall and all it has to offer.

I had a real bad hankering for a rich beef stew. I have never made one before, and like all my cooking adventures, I have to go big. So I made a rich beer stew made with a stout. Founders Breakfast Stout. A chocolate, coffee, oatmeal stout with 60 IBU's, and 8.3% abv. Word to your mothers!

I am roughly following a recipe I found online for my stew. I am going to show you the original recipe but what you see on my post here is the modified version. Anything with an asterisk next to it on the recipe I post has been modified from the original.

The biggest modification to this recipe is the beer. I substituted out the red wine for the beer. The beer I chose is a robust, American/Imperial (double) stout with high IBU's (international bittering units). The complex flavors make for a unique twist on this recipe. The deep cocoa flavors and roasted malts are really amazing for a rich stew. The meat ended up holding on to all of the hoppy bitterness. The vegetables were the sweet contrast to the dish. Also the huge flavor profile on this beer with the vegetables added almost a hint of ginger coming out despite not using any ginger at all. A very good and unique reaction I didn't quite expect.

If you don't want to use something as robust or as bitter as this beer, and believe me it might be too much for some, there are plenty of lighter variations to choose from as well as using porters, brown ales, and Belgian dubbels.

Get a good read of the reviews first to understand why I chose this beer and if this will be the right one for you to use.

Founders Breakfast Stout

Be advised that this is an overnight recipe. You have to marinate your meat overnight.

The Original Recipe

Parker's Beef Stew via Food Network

Founders Breakfast Stout Beef Stew

*2 1/2 pounds of sirloin tips cut into 1 1/2 inch cubes
*2 12oz bottles of Founders Breakfast Stout
*3 to 4 whole cloves of garlic, smashed
*3 to 5 bay leaves
*1/2 tbls onion powder
*1/2 tbls garlic powder
*1 tbls Worcestershire sauce

2 cups all-purpose flour
kosher salt
freshly ground black pepper
olive oil
2 yellow onions, cut in 1 inch cubes
1 pound carrots, peeled and cut diagonally in 1 1/2 inch chunks
1 pound small potatoes halved or quartered
1 tbls minced garlic
2 cups or 1 (14 1/2 oz can) chicken broth or stock
1 large (or two small) branch of fresh rosemary
1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes
2 tbls Worcestershire sauce
1 10oz package of frozen peas

*The original recipe called for chuck stew, but my meat man had very little offerings by way of chuck stew. I told him I was making a stew and he said sirloin steak tips would work well for stews. Do what the original recipe says and use chuck stew, but for this particular recipe it's sirloin tips. It worked just as well.

Place the beef in a bowl with beer, garlic, and bay leaves, garlic and onion powder and worcestershire sauce. Lightly toss the meat around with the marinade. Place in the refrigerator and marinate overnight.

The next day, preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.

Combine the flour, 1 tablespoon salt, and 1 tablespoon pepper.

Lift the beef out of the marinade with a slotted spoon and discard the bay leaves and garlic, saving the marinade.

*Chop carrots, potatoes, and onions before your begin to brown your meat.

 

In batches, dredge the cubes of beef in the flour mixture and then shake off the excess. Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large pot and brown half the beef over medium heat for 5 to 7 minutes, turning to brown evenly. 

Place the beef in a large oven-proof Dutch oven and continue to brown the remaining beef, adding oil as necessary. (If the beef is very lean, you'll need more oil.) Place all the beef in the Dutch oven.

Heat another 2 tablespoons of oil to the large pot and add the onions, carrots, mushrooms, and potatoes. Cook for 10 minutes over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Add the garlic and cook for 2 more minutes. Place all the vegetables in the Dutch oven over the beef.

 

Add 2 1/2 cups of the reserved marinade to the empty pot and cook over high heat to deglaze the bottom of the pan, scraping up all the brown bits with a wooden spoon.

Add the chicken stock, rosemary, sun-dried tomatoes, Worcestershire sauce, 1 tablespoon salt, and 2 teaspoons pepper.

 

Pour the sauce over the meat and vegetables in the Dutch oven and bring to a simmer over medium heat on top of the stove. Cover the pot and place it in the oven to bake it for about 2 hours, until the meat and vegetables are all tender, stirring once during cooking.

If the stew is boiling rather than simmering, lower the heat to 250 or 275 degrees F.

 

Before serving, stir in the frozen peas, season to taste, and serve hot.

  

Serve with warm brown bread and butter.

A couple of things to take notice of. I did not use a proper dutch over for this recipe as you can see in the pictures. I have one, a gorgeous La Creuset. But sadly I only have one and it simply wasn't big enough for this recipe. I used a 9x13 pan because I did not have anything else big enough. And I merely covered it in foil. Still cooked it at 2 1/2 hours. I had a little bit of marinade left over before baking it off. Instead of stiring it up because the pan was so full, I cooked it for an hour and let some of the marinade reduce a bit and then added the remaining marinade to coat the top of the stew. I then transferred the stew to big serving dish where I added the peas.

The flavors from this stew are very big, bold and complex. The beer has oats, chocolate, and coffee in it. The meat retains a lot of the beer's bitterness which I found to be wonderful. Also the bloody iron taste and chocolate flavors from the meat are to die for. 

The sun-dried tomatoes were a nice touch to this dish. The carrots, peas, onions, and sun-dried tomatoes added the perfect balance of sweetness to this dish. The original recipe does call for mushroom, but I went ahead and skipped that step. You can easily add celery to this dish as well to make it a bit more classic.

The marinade had a bit of a boozy smell, but with the fresh garlic permeating the entire fridge, that boozy smell comes and goes. You will get big wafts of garlic, chocolate, coffee, and sometimes alcohol. Same aromas once cooked, but much deeper and richer.

And as always, the longer the stew sits, the better it gets. Leftovers will be divine and some of the initial bitterness will tone down a bit. But not too much.

Make sure you serve yourself a pint of the Breakfast Stout to go along with it. 

One small disclaimer, a few of my pictures came out blurred. Sometimes I can't tell with my digital camera until I have uploaded them. Forgive my shoddy photography.