I spent a great evening last night with the fine ladies of Cambridge Common who threw a wonderful beer dinner featuring Stoudts Brewing Co. and special guest Carol Stoudt.
Carol Stoudt is an amazing lady with lot's of history that all in the beer industry are envious of. She was there before most of the craft brewers on the scene today. Not only was she brewing beer when there was hardly anyone else out there doing it, but she was woman brewing beer when there were virtually no women on the scene!
She is pretty much an icon and idol, and listening to her talk about beer and talk about the industry from where it was to where it is now, was definitely inspiring.
Kate Baker and Suzanne Schalow making the introductions.
Check out Carol, what a fox. She is just awesome!
The menu and welcoming beer. Stoudt's Gold, a Munich-style Helles, 5% abv.
I am not usually one to throw back a nice cold lager. I haven't really progressed to them yet. I know that sounds funny, but my palate started backwards. From big sweet Belgians, to super malty double IPA's. Now I want everything dry and crisp. So when I drank this beer last night it was a nice welcomed change to the normal range of beers I drink. It was fresh, clean and delicious. A great way to start this dinner.
First Course: Ploughman's Platter with Grafton aged cheddar, homemade pickles, peppadew peppers, peach chutney, and rustic bread.
Beer: American Pale Ale, 5%
This was a great pairing. The acidity on the pickles was tamed by the peach chutney, the peppers gave off a bit of heat, and the cheddar added a creamy texture and sharp taste. The beer with it's sweeter malts rounded everything out. A simple offering with a lot going on on the palate.
Second Course: Gorgonzola and chive deviled eggs.
Beer: Double IPA, 10%
Don't be fooled by this pairing. Sounds like a simple course, except this one really hit home for nearly everyone at this dinner. Double IPA's and creamy blue cheese such as gorgonzola work based on the alpha acids in the hops cutting through the creamy fatty texture. The steel-y malts interact with the taste of the blue cheese. Adding creamy whipped up yolks to the equation and now the malts of this beer made the offering more like a sweet nectar and not overly bitter.
Everyone pretty much said we should have been sat with a huge platters of these deviled eggs and started off with the DIPA. A little bit of a blurry beer pic, but then again I am not that great of a photographer.
The American Pale Ale also worked out well with these eggs. I still had some left over and tried it. The carbonation acts the same way as the acids in hops. Cuts right through and then the sweet malts do the rest.
Third Course: Choice of Half roasted chicken with white asparagus and warm German potato salad.
Beer: Heifer-in-Wheat, 5%
Or
Pork medallions with a mustard cream sauce and scalloped cauliflower and potato casserole.
Beer: Scarlet Lady ESB, 5%
I went with the Pork but I did get a picture of the chicken as well.
This was so good. The pork was juicy and rich with the mustard cream sauce. The scalloped potatoes and cauliflower were creamy and awesome. It worked out really well with the ESB. At first sip of the ESB it seemed pretty tame and mild. That's because the beer before was a big DIPA. But then with the food it really brought out the hop character and also nutty malts. This was comfort food and certainly was big, filling, and very tasty. I loved it.
Fourth Course: Chocolate bread pudding with vanilla bean sauce.
Beer: Fat Dog Stout, 9%
This was just too much!! The entree course had already sent quite a number of us over the edge, and then this thing came out. I was feeling okay after the entree, and when they sat this in front of me, without thinking I systematically ate it all. And then I hit the wall with food coma.
The sweet sauce was like a frosting you put on cinnamon rolls. It was sticky and delicious. The bread pudding was nice and soft and chocolate-y. Of course chocolate and vanilla are both made for stouts. The first sip of the stout was sweet and rich, and then with a bite of the very sweet bread pudding, the bitter qualities and rich roasted notes came through making it another amazingly delicious pairing.
Simple comfort foods and fantastic beers from Stoudt's really knocked this dinner out of the park. I live a good life where I am fortunate to be invited to events like this. Where I get to imbibe on great beer and delicious food and hang out with some amazing people in the beer industry. As Suzanne Schalow always says; "I am living the dream baby!"
I attended American Craft's very first beer dinner last night featuring rare beers from Rob Tod of Allagash Brewing Co. and American-style comfort food.
American Craft has been off to a really great start. Their focus is on local foods and ingredients, with American craft wines and beers. The food is really good and comforting, the beers are great, and this first beer dinner was spectacular.
You can see a couple of their menu items here. This was from their opening night.
I don't want to waste anytime here, so let's get right into it.
We were first welcomed with a glass of Interlude. An American-style wild ale with about 9.5% abv.
Allagash Interlude
(via Allagash's website)
The first release in our new experimental series, Allagash Interlude
pushes the limits of beer. An innovative brewing process, special
fermentations, and French oak barrel aging all contribute to a beer that
has remarkable wine-like qualities.
Two yeast strains were used to create this unique 9.5% ABV Belgian style
ale. The first, a Belgian farmhouse yeast, establishes the flavor
foundations of a classic Belgian-style ale. The second, a house strain
of Brettanomyces yeast, brings it to the next level contributing an
intriguing myriad of flavors including pear, apricot, graham cracker,
and bread crust. Finally, a portion of the Interlude is aged in French
Merlot and Sirah oak barrels, which impart a distinctive vinous plum
character and a drying, almost tannic finish. Try complementing its
audacious character with food pairings such as sausages, salami, smoked
meats, and bold cheeses.
True to traditional Belgian-style brewing, we bottle condition the
Interlude. Just prior to bottling, a fresh dose of sugar and yeast is
added to the ‘still beer’ (at this stage there is no carbonation
present). After bottling, the beer is aged in a warm room, where the
fresh dose of yeast ferments the sugar and naturally carbonates the
beer.
Available in: 750 ml bottles
Original Gravity: 1080
Recommended Serving Temp: 40-50°F
Recommended Cellaring Temp: 50-54°F
I am not a Brettanomyces fan in general, but I have been coming around to Interlude for a while now. It's a delicious beer. A little fruity and bread-y, and a hint of tartness.
First course: Confit Beef tongue with Foie Gras Mousse
Vagabond is the second offering in our limited 375 ml series. With only
500 bottles made, this beer is from one of the only barrels to move with
us into our new brewery three years ago. Aged four years in American
oak barrels, it boasts a complex aroma of maple syrup and port, with
background notes of marzipan, plum and dill. Flavors of tart, unripened
plum and caramel give way to a warming, toasted almond finish. As
always...an adventure.
Topped with micro greens and a hit of a sea salt. This course was decadently rich. The beef tongue was thin and rich. Sadly for me, I was only able to eat the beef tongue and greens and one or two small bites of the foie gras. It was so rich and fatty and I could feel my arteries clogging on the spot. This sort of indulgence shouldn't exist.
However, this pairing worked amazing with the beer. Vagabond has a deep rich dark fruit aroma and toasted almonds, a light carbonation, a bit of tartness with a nice oak flavor and a deep dried fruit taste like figs or dates.
The flavors just worked so well with the fatty foie gras. This pairing also worked with the Interlude. I still had my welcoming beer in front of me and the tartness helped cut through through the fats and allowed some of the grape-y flavors to present itself on the beer.
This is some of the last offerings of Vagabond. This super indulgent pairing was the right way to go with this beer.
Second Course: Braised pork belly with bacon vinaigrette.
Our interpretation of a traditional Belgian wheat beer, Allagash White
is unique and truly refreshing. Brewed with a generous portion of wheat
and our own special blend of spices, this beer is light and slightly
cloudy in appearance, with a spicy aroma. Overall, it is a beer that is
very drinkable and smooth any time of the year.
The menu description was a little deceptive here. It was braised pork belly, but breaded and deep fried and it had a dab of apple puree on top.
The transition of beers was a bit awkward at first. A sip of Vagabond and then a sip of a refreshingly light witbier flooded the palate with yeasty banana flavors. I wasn't sure at first how this pairing would work out.
But when the pork belly arrived, this pairing was fantastic together. Bright carbonation and spices from the beer helped cut through the fat, and add a delicious pop to the pork flavor. The apple puree added a nice balance of sweet to this course.
The pork belly was rich, meaty and fatty at the same time. Delicious and well executed. The Allagash White was a surprisingly good pairing for this course. Sometimes you are just not sure if a lighter beer will hold up to a heavier course, but the effervescent carbonation and spicy character held up well and took on the fatty pork to make a nice contrasting paring.
Third Course: Tuna with parsnip puree and black truffles.
Beer: Coolship Cerise
Cooled in a traditional Coolship and fermented in oak barrels w/ tart local cherries; 5.5%" I was at the inaugural brewday for this beer ... around 3 years ago.
The stainless steel coolship is in a shed off of the brewery w/ stainglass windows that open to allow wild bacteria and yeast to infect the beer.
Todd Alström
January 2008
Always an adventure… Allagash is taking experimentation to the next
level by brewing a 100% spontaneously fermented beer in the tradition of
the Belgian Lambics.
Last month we brewed the first two of our spontaneously fermented beers
at Allagash. In brewing these beers we are using an authentic,
traditional process honoring the classic Belgian Lambic tradition,
including the use of a cool ship, which we built specifically for these
spontaneous beers.
The process begins with a specialized decoction mash, which utilizes the
addition of both two row barley and raw, unmalted wheat. After the mash
and sparge, we add aged hops during the boil, which are
traditionally used because they impart many of the beer stabilizing
benefits of hops without contributing bitterness. The use of aged hops
(aged a minimum of three years) necessitates an unusually long boil of
over four hours.
After boiling, rather than cooling the beer in a sterile environment and
adding a brewer’s yeast culture, the hot wort is pumped to a cool ship
in a special room designed specifically to make these beers. The cool
ship is a commonly used tool in Belgium, but is rarely seen beyond
Belgium’s borders, if at all. It is a large, open tray that is 12 feet
long, 8 feet wide and 1 foot deep. Once in the cool ship the hot wort
spends the night cooling from near boiling temperatures to about 60
degrees Fahrenheit. To facilitate the cooling process, windows in the
cool ship room are left open overnight. The cool Maine air, containing
natural bacteria and wild yeast, drifts in and cools the wort. As soon
as the wort is cool enough, the natural airborne yeasts and bacteria are
able to survive in what will eventually be the spontaneously fermented
beer (it is these natural yeasts and bacteria which will ferment the
beer, rather than a yeast added by the brewer). Next, the wort is pumped
back into a brewery tank, where it will spend one further day before it
is pumped into special French oak barrels. Within one to three weeks,
spontaneous fermentation begins in the oak and will continue for over
one year. After the yearlong fermentation this traditional beer will age
in French oak for at least one more year, sometimes with the addition
of fruits, before it is finally bottled.
This was my favorite course. The tuna was cooked perfectly and the sweet parsnips added an unbelievably good balance to this dish. Everyone else was savoring this course, while I foolishly ate all of mine in about two minutes.
The beer was quite amazing. It had a very, very funky and robust nose. All the hallmarks of a dank and nasty sour beer. For sours heads, they will understand what all of this means. It doesn't sound very appetizing, but it the nature of sour beers. It smelled like a stank-ass barnyard, small hints of mint and medicinal notes, baby diapers, but underneath all of that, was a quite peculiar aroma of cinnamon.
The cherries presented themselves after it had warmed a bit. They added a lovely kick without being overpowering and did not make this a typical fruit beer. A tart beer but not overly sour. One thing I can't deal with when it comes to sour beers are the ones that are so acidic and sour they burn your throat. Some people love, that but I prefer to enjoy my beers without psychical pain. This funky beast was good for that. The nose is disarming as it is so funky on it's aroma, but almost delicate in it's taste.
This pairing was interesting. The parsnips added the sweet balance while the sour tartness on the beer mixed with the tuna giving the tuna an almost creamy texture. Sounds strange, but man oh man was it good!
This beer is not for sale any where and will be very different with each batch brewed. It's meant for special occasions at the breweries discretion.
Fourth Course: Duck breast with cider and peppercorns. Beer: Victoria, Belgian strong pale ale with 9% abv.
To create our unique, Belgian-style Victoria Ale, the brewers drew on
references to Bacchus, the Thracian god of wine, in the history and
artwork of the Victoria Mansion as inspiration for this new beer. One
hundred and fifty pounds of Chardonnay grapes were brought in, crushed
on site and added directly to the mash.
Victoria Ale's aroma is of fruity spice with a hint of the Chardonnay,
and the taste presents subtle notes of green banana, black pepper, and
fresh-crushed mint. With a focus on the subtle, wine-like character of
the grapes, the 9.0% ABV brew boasts a pale copper color, Belgian yeast
influence, and a medium body with a long candied fruit finish with hints
of honeydew melon, and, of course, Chardonnay.
Allagash Victoria Ale is a tribute to the historic Victoria Mansion here
in Portland, Maine. Also known as the Morse-Libby House, it is one of
the greatest 19th century houses in the United States. Designed by
architect Henry Austin, the mansion was built between 1858 and 1860 and
survives as a unique example of the princely palaces created for
America’s wealthiest citizens in the pre-Civil War era. With superb
architecture and well-preserved original interiors, the Victoria Mansion
is an unparalleled document of America’s highest aspirations in
architecture, interior design, and the decorative arts.
Perfectly cooked duck breast served nearly rare and incredibly juicy. This was one of those pairings where I wasn't sure how the beer would hold up to the rich gaminess of the duck. The sweet Belgian yeast profile worked well with the steel-y game taste of the duck.
The peppercorns added a nice spicy kick and flavor that played with the sweet beer. The cider added a nice sweet and tart balance while the puree gave it another added layer of depth with it's creaminess.
I wasn't a huge fan of the beer. Chardonnay's are not my style of wine and having the grapes in the beer didn't do anything for me. I also found the beer to be a little too sweet. But this is all personal preference because my palate only wants dry, bitter, and hoppy beers these days. Technically this is a very cool beer which did work wonderfully with the duck.
I was wrapped up in conversation, and managed to forget to take a picture of the beer for this course.
Fifth Course: Braised short rib with pickled ginger.
Gargamel, a Belgian Style sour ale, is the
first offering in our limited release 375 ml series. Our brewers used a
blend of American 2-row barley Malt, Raw and Malted wheat and selected
caramel malt to brew this beer. After primary fermentation the beer was
inoculated with our house Brettanomyces aged in French Oak wine barrels
with a generous amount of local raspberries for over 18 months.
Gargamel's aroma is full of un-ripened raspberry, vanilla and citrus
notes. This medium bodied beer has hints of biscuit and graham cracker
with a clean, fruity and refreshingly tart finish.
Gargamel is the first in the hand-filled, 375 ml series that Allagash
will release throughout the years. More exciting barrel-aged beer to
come!
This was one of the first entrees I had when American Craft first opened. They serve you a huge slab of short rib that is so tender it's a miracle it keeps it's shape.
This was served a bit differently with the pickled ginger on top. The pickled ginger really brought this pairing together. Again all the textures were present with a beautiful fatty and super tender short rib, creamy mashed potatoes and sweet and tart kick of the pickled ginger coupled with the tart beer. Slight fruity hints on the aroma with some fruity hint in the flavor. The slight fruit notes on the beer really worked with the rich beef flavor while the sourness on the beer helped cut right through those fats.
Once again I managed to not get a picture of the beer. But the short rib picture was enough for me. That thing was so tender and delicious.
Rob Tod discussing Gargamel. What's your buzz level Rob? On a scale of 1-10?
Allagash Confluence Ale is created with a mixed fermentation; utilizing
our house primary Belgian style yeast in combination with our
proprietary Brettanomyces strain. The two yeast strains work in tandem
creating a marriage between spice and fruit flavors that ultimately
leave a lingering silky mouth feel.
Confluence is brewed with a blend of both imported pilsner and domestic
pale malts as well as a portion of caramel malt, resulting in a complex
malty profile. Tettnang and East Kent Golding hops are added in the
brew process to balance the intricate malty profile while adding a sweet
and spicy citrus aroma.
After fermentation, Confluence undergoes a lengthy aging process in
stainless steel tanks to enhance the flavors. Prior to bottling, it is
dry hopped with a Glacier hops, providing a pleasant balance of aromas.
Confluence is then bottle conditioned and aged in our cellar prior to
release.
This seems like an odd choice to have served scallops last or after the braised short rib. But, these scallops were so fresh, soft, and flavorful. They really held their own after the deeply rich and fatty courses before it. And without a dessert course it was a nice softer way to end the meal.
The quintessential contrast pairing for the night. Sour, lightly fruity beer with big sweet scallops and a gorgeous creamy artichoke puree. The beers mild carbonation allowed for more of the sweet creamy texture of the scallops to come through. Just a fantastic and lovely way to end the dinner.
Sadly there wasn't a dessert for the dinner. The restaurant will be introducing them soon to the menu. This menu was so rich and to top it off with some more rich chocolate cake and some Allagash Odyssey could have pushed us all over the edge, but it was have been worth it. But I am not complaining about an amazing six course dinner. Those scallops were sweet and rich enough to have acted like a dessert. We had a conversation for a few hours after the fact about this dinner. Everyone was satisfied and everyone had good detailed thoughts about what they got out of the dinner.
Besides, we all took a walk down to the Publick House afterward to drink "Larry" from Wachusetts. Can't say there is anything wrong with ending the night with some DIPA's.
If you still think American Craft is like the former Roadhouse or possibly isn't any good after seeing this menu, you're a fool and the joke is on you if you avoid this place. Hears to many more wonderful beer dinners that are on the way from American Craft.
I found this amazing recipe for "Texas Gravy" from an user on FoodBuzz called Don't Burn The Garlic. It called for beer, duck fat, and bacon in this recipe. I was completely down for trying this recipe.
My interpretation of this came out more like a Cincinnati-Style chili. I tweaked this recipe a lot by the spices. It calls for some heat to this chili and I toned it down quite a bit because I am a wuss. I didn't use cocoa chili powder like the recipe called for. I added actual cocoa powder, a touch more chili powder, and I added regular paprika to make a substitution.
I used different a beer for the chili than Dos Equis. I used Dark Horse Fore Smoked Stout. I wanted a richer and more in-depth flavor for my chili. Using the recommended Mexican lager is not a bad call, but again I preferred a much richer sauce. Black lagers would work really good with this recipe as well. I toyed with the idea of using Chatoe Dirtoir from Rogue. A huge Black lager that pours and drinks like a nice big stout.
Feel free to
play around with the beer for this recipe. I ended up going with the smoked stout over the black lager, but a
smoked porter would have worked just as well. You can also use things
like coffee stouts or porters, and chocolate stouts would be great for this
recipe too. The recipe called for 10 strips of bacon, but I don't think this recipe will be altered enough if you used an entire 12oz package. I used what the recipe called for but wished I ended up using the whole thing.
The recipe calls for using Garam Masala as a secret spice ingredient. I found out that using the recommended 4 tsp was way too much. I would recommend starting with 1 to 2 tsp. of it to start. You can always add more if you think it needs it.
Finding rendered duck fat wasn't easy either. Whole Foods did not carry it nor did the local Harvest Co-op market. Star Market didn't carry anything like it either. I had to get it from a local restaurant that I knew was using it for some of their menu items. If you are lucky enough to get your hands on it, it's highly recommeded. It's rich, aromatic, and flavorful.
Look how glorious it looks in the above pic. All I needed was 1 tbls. and I got a take out size soup bowl amount of it. I will have to come up with some other way to use the rest of it before it goes bad.
***Asterisk indicates where I tweaked the original recipe.
Ingredients:
2 lbs. lean ground beef
*1 12oz. package of hickory smoked bacon cut in 1/4's
4 sweet bell peppers - mixed colors chopped
2 Vidalia onions chopped
4 cloves of fresh garlic
4 cloves of roasted garlic mashed
1 tbls. rendered duck fat
2 tbls. soy sauce
4 tbls. Worcestershire sauce
2 tbls. Liquid Smoke
1 12oz bottle of Dark Horse Brewing Co. Fore Smoked Stout
1 28oz can diced tomatoes
*1 15oz can of red kidney beans, drained
*2 15 oz cans of cannellini beans, drained
Spices:
*2 tbls.
dried Greek oregano
*2 tbls. chopped Fresh Sage
2 tsp. Kosher Salt
1 tsp. crushed
black pepper
4 tbls. Chili Powder
3 tbls. Smoked Paprika
*1 tbls. Paprika
*2 tsp. Ancho Chili Powder
*2 tsp. Garam Masala
*2 to 4 tbls. Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
*2 tbls. Garlic Powder
*2 tbls. Onion Powder
*2 tbls. Chipotle Powder
*2 to 4 tbls. Cumin
*4 to 5 small Bay Leaves
*2 tbls. Dried Basil
*2 tbls. sugar (optional)
Prepare 4 cloves of Garlic in foil with olive oil and place in preheated oven set at 350°. Takes about 20 minutes give or take to roast garlic. Check on it often and don't start to cook the onions until the garlic is done roasting.
Chop up peppers and onions ahead of time and place in two separate bowls and set aside.
Heat skillet on medium to medium high with 1 tbls. duck fat. Add ground beef and brown. Do not over cook it. Set aside and leave it in the duck fat.
In a large pot, cook the bacon until crispy . Remove the bacon and leave a few tbls. of the bacon grease. Add the chopped onions to the grease and cook for 5 minutes, until tender or soft.
Add fresh chopped garlic and roasted garlic to the onions.
Next add the bell peppers, cut up fresh sage, and bacon to the onions.
Add the beer and simmer for 5 minutes.
Add ground beef, beans, tomatoes, the spices, as well as the soy sauce, liquid smoke and Worcestershire sauce. Mix well and cover. Reduce heat to medium or medium-low and simmer for 1 hour. Add pinch of cinnamon and sugar while simmering. Remove bay leaves before serving.
*My tomatoes are clearly stewed tomatoes. I accidentally told my husband to pick those up at the store instead of diced tomatoes. Use the diced like the recipe calls for, though the stewed were just fine.
This recipe
makes for a very spicy and rich chili.
To truly serve this Cincinnati-Style, serve over cooked spaghetti noodles, top with cheddar cheese, chopped white onions, and a side of sweet buttered corn bread.
This chili was great the next day as left overs for chili dogs!
I went to Las Vegas for my 30th birthday last October. While visiting and imbibing on food, gambling, and copious amounts of booze, I had an ultimate Las Vegas experience that ended with me seeing Alice Cooper playing live for a packed bar called Aces & Ales.
I must preface this and say it was an epic day, but it certainly didn't end up like The Hangover. And it didn't up like the last time I was in Las Vegas and got married completely shit faced. Yes, that is a true story. I was married in Las Vegas 5 years ago. I am living proof that if you get married the way you want to, doing it for fun and happiness and not doing it for all the bullshit, other people, and all the planning, it will last much longer than the $20k to 100K weddings.
It went down like this. My birthday was on a Friday and I got the fuck out of dodge (Boston), to celebrate such a landmark birthday and headed to Las Vegas. I had fun, I ate filet mignon and drank wine for breakfast in bed on my actual birthday, drank a lot of booze and beer, won $400 bucks gambling, and went to Hubert Keller's restaurant for a fabulous, but bank breaking dinner at Fleur de Lys in Mandalay Bay.
The Saturday after my birthday, we decided to hold a pub crawl with the local BeerAdvocates. Before we headed out to Vegas, the bar owner of Aces & Ales Keri Kelli, sent us a beermail (email via BeerAdvocate) telling us he owned this great new craft beer bar off the Vegas strip and that we had to come visit. He said he loved BeerAdvocate and would love it if we came and saw his place. He added that he was the guitar player for Alice Cooper, and that Alice was playing in Las Vegas while we were visiting. He mentioned that Alice Cooper might come in and visit the bar. It turns out that rockers are big fans of craft beer. The hangers on and the groupies still latch on to the PBR and Bud Light, but Alice Cooper and his band drink good craft beer.
Only after I got back from Las Vegas, did local brewer Will Meyers of Cambridge Brewing Co., tell me that Alice Cooper had been into CBC and sat down and had his beers. He said they were great. The whole crew came in and sat down and asked a lot of questions and drank good local American craft beer.
I don't care if you like Alice Cooper or not, the fact that he is a craft beer drinker and that one of his band mates owns a craft beer bar is unbelievable.
So we started on the Las Vegas strip because there is really fuck all for craft beer on the Vegas strip. A few places and then we went outside of the strip. We wanted to get it over with.
We started at The Pub in the Monte Carlo where we were staying. I started knocking back cocktails because I am not a full day beer drinker. I can't or I will get too bloated to continue on. It's unpleasant to talk about but it's the truth of the matter. Mixing it up can be a bad thing, but in my case it keeps me on the same page as every one else and allows me to continue on all day.
The Pub was cool because we met a few BeerAdvocates from the area and one of our long time friends named Uncle Jimbo from Boston, whom happens to love Las Vegas, randomly flew out just to party with us.
We then made our way over to Mandalay Bay where The Burger Bar is located. That is one of the only places on the Vegas strip where craft beer can be located. Lots of the casinos have one or two imports like Duvel, but the strip is a craft beer wasteland.
Not only did The Burger Bar have Stone Ruination and DFH 90 Minute IPA, which despite being able to get almost anywhere, was truly a godsend on the Strip, but they also had a collection of the Firestone Walker series. Only true beer geeks can appreciate how rare and awesome tasting 10, 11, and 12 at the same time really is. They also offered an array of beer floats with different beers. I appreciated this because beer floats are great.
After treating ourselves right to a good base of grease and meat, we then headed off the strip over to the Freakin' Frog. This is a total craft beer oasis in the middle of the barren dessert.
And before I
forget, there was a pit stop before the Freakin' Frog at the Crown and Anchor
British pub. Interesting place. Crappy beers, football (soccer) scores, and video
poker machines. I kind of enjoyed it because I took time out to drink a
glass of red wine to settle my stomach after those burgers and play
some rounds on the video poker which it turns out I am pretty good at.
The Freakin' Frog also has a special room upstairs of the owners Adam Carmer's, private collection of tequila's, scotch whiskeys, bourbons, and other rare offerings which Adam generously offered us tastings of. I think my taste of the Rey Sol tequila, 100% pure blue agave, was like a $50 taster. Very generous indeed!
This part of the post will be a little bit tedious, but I urge you to click and enlarge each picture to see this rare collection.
The Monk.
The Tequila's. Some of the images came out a bit blurry, but you get the idea just by looking at them.
The Scotches.
The Bourbons and Rye's.
At this point it's fair to say we were all pretty well lit. Now we make our move to Aces & Ales.
We knew we were in the right place with a huge Deschutes barrel sitting outside.
So here is how this all went down. We show up and the bar is packed yet closed for a private event. We called the owners of the bar and they met us outside and ushered us into the packed bar. They took us off to the side in the VIP area for the night. They said "have whatever you want we'll be running around all night."
The next think you know, we got Stone Ruination's slammed in front of us with some Valley Brewing Co. beers, and bombers of Stone Smoked Porters. The place is completely mad and jam packed. All rocker types and they are looking at us like "who the fuck are you and why you are so special to sit in the VIP area?" So many groupie hoes around too, it was hilarious. We did meet some cool rocker guys who knew who we were and told us about how they will be opening a brew pub in L.A. soon. Good news for the L.A. area.
Bands are playing, Keri is on stage rocking out with some other groups. Next thing you know we were all kicked out of the VIP area because Alice Cooper was coming and he was going to make his entrance through that area. So we moved off to the side to the less crowded side of the bar. Sure enough, in walks Alice Cooper and he plays a few of his hit songs. It was incredible. He sounded so good live. He truly is a legend. And how awesome is it to be seeing a rock god playing live with a Stone Ruination in your hand? Life was good at that moment.
We went back to the hotel after this quick performance. We were going to hang out for a bit because Alice Copper left and the VIP room was opened to us once again. But then we heard it would be emptied out again because The Steve Miller Band was heading over. I would have liked to have seen that too, but we were all smashed and exhausted from a long day of drinking. Not that many stops, but some serious drinking.
A great time with great BeerAdvocates in Las Vegas. And the generosity from the Adam at the Freakin' Frog and Keri from Aces & Ales was unbelievable.
The next day was Sunday, which meant huge Las Vegas buffets to look forward to. Nothing better than being hungover and having booze to wake up to and a huge buffet. I love Las Vegas!
My husband Todd, loves tacos. So much in fact he has invaded Green Street with very own special taco night which features beer he loves, maybe a new beer release, or a rare beer offering paired with a special taco of the evening.
Every Wednesday, Green Street features Taco night. $4 gourmet tacos of shredded duck, carnitas, and sometimes fried oyster tacos or braised oxtail tacos.
Last night our good friends Dann and Martha Paquette of Pretty Things released their newest beer, Fluffy White Rabbits. A spring offering of a hoppy Belgian-style tripel.
That last image was taken by Jim Kowalczyk (Uncle Jimbo).
This was paired with a braised rabbit taco with a carrot slaw and toasted pine nuts by Chef Greg Reeves.
Also on hand was the über sought after Feburary 27, 1832 Mild Ale. An historical recreation of a British recipe of an English Mild relived through Dann Paquette.
And this is what happens when good times are being had and good friends are together. Dann Paquette of Pretty Things, David Ciccolo of The Publick House & Monk's Cell and American Craft, and Todd Alström of BeerAdvocate.
That would be me that Todd is giving the stink eye to in the last picture.
I celebrated my iconic 30th birthday last October in Las Vegas. I woke up to filet mignon and red wine for breakfast in bed and finished my night at Hubert Keller's restaurant Fleur De Lys in Mandalay Bay.
This was an intense chef's tasting menu all paired around a beer for a change and not paired around wine. They offered it with wine at first, but also let us know once we chose beer, that they would be offering up a regular chef's tasting menu paired around beer as well as their wine course. Finally fine dining is starting to get it.
For those of you who don't know, the Las Vegas strip is a craft beer wasteland. That is until you visit the Burger Bar in Mandalay Bay, also owned by Hubert Keller. A fabulous, low-key burger joint where you can a glorious offering of craft beers, and just about any kind of burger you want. Including their famous $60 burger, The Rossini. It's made with Kobe beef, sauteed foie gras, shaved truffles, Madeira sauce on an onion bun.
Yeah, it's like that.
After deciding I wanted something rich and fabulous to eat for my 30th birthday dinner, we decided on Fleur De Lys. Having recently seen Hubert Keller on Top Chef, I really liked him a lot. He had amazing skills, and a general nice attitude. For once I didn't see a disgusting egomaniac celebrity chef. I know that sounds rude, but most celebrity chefs are so full of themselves. I liked watching Keller, and he seemed like a decent guy. Again his skills were unbelievable. I would love to sit and watch him cook.
This was their 6 course chef's tasting menu prepared by Chef Steve Wolf.
It didn't matter what glorious food was about to be presented to me. They had Tripel Karmeliet and paired my entire meal around this beer. It was a little funny when our waiter informed me that it as a bigger bottle of beer since Todd had ordered his own beer, a Sierra Nevada Torpedo. I informed him that I am a BeerAdvocate and to please bring it on!
Amuse Bouche: Lobster avocado roll in a watermelon bath.
Light, delicious, and refreshing. Clean and finished with a slight hint of salt contrasting the sweet watermelon. This was so refreshing with the crisp, sweet Tripel Karmeliet.
First: Ahi tuna on fennel salad with ponzu sauce.
Fresh, delicate taste, salty ponzu sauce was the right balance with the sweet ginger cracker. Soft tuna, earthy greens, and crunchy cracker made for a wonder mix of textures.
Second: Maui onion cream soup with black truffle and duck ragout wrapped in a crepe and red onion puree with bordeaux.
Sadly my second image was blurred, but that doesn't change how decadent and amazing this soup was. So rich and creamy. The duck fat added a nice flavor to the soup while the black truffle was potent and added a wonderful dirty and delicious earthy tasting pop. The red onion pure was the best part in my opinion adding a nice sweet and rich backbone to the soup. Did I mention that this soup was rich?
Third: Veal and Yukon Gold Potato raviolis with sweet English peas and sunchoke foam.
A wonderful sweet and rich broth balanced by the earthy greens, sweet peas. This is the kind of thing that makes me kick myself for eating veal, but secretly coveting it at the same time.
Two negatives to this course. This was the point where the richness started to become almost too much and it only gets more rich as the courses keep coming. Also I am not a fan of foams on fancy dishes anymore. It's a neat trick albeit an overused technique. I get that it adds the right hint of a flavor you want to add to a dish, but it looks sloppy by the time it gets served. If they could do table side service of adding the foam while it's being presented, I think that could make all the difference. Delicious course, but the foam doesn't exactly make it look all that appetizing.
Fourth: Hamachi with black trumpet mushrooms, ginger foam, and tempura scallions.
More foam but at least this one looked more appetizing than the veal raviolis. The foam was very salty, but the raw Hamachi helped tame it. Another super rich broth course but the unbelivable part was that I couldn't stop myself from eating it all. I was getting a little too full at this point but I had one more main course to go.
I know an American not entirely used to super rich French foods, but this was almost too much.
Fifth: Colorado rack of lamb with harissa, caramelized red onions and potato puree.
The lamb was fatty and perfectly cooked. The harissa was not too hot thankfully. I can't handle too much hot spice. The potatoes were rich and creamy and delicious loaded with pure butter. Despite the potatoes being so rich, they were a nice contrast to the plate and a break up of the rich sauce.
I think at this point you can see why I am beginning to get too full with these fabulously decadent and rich courses. It was just about too much. I was beginning to feel sick-full instead of satisfied.
This will get better though...
Intermezzo: Coconut soup with large tapioca pearls, kiwis, strawberries, and fried plantains, and mango and coconut sorbet.
Like any chef worth their salt, they know when the situation is getting a little precarious. After all the rich and super decadent food sent out, this course came and like magic it erased the sickeningly full feeling.
This course was so light and delicious and a perfect way to cut the richness out of the picture. It was after this course, I was able to sit back and relax feeling comfortably full. If it wasn't for this course, I don't think I would have made it.
Dessert: Sauterne poached pears with fall spices over pressed walnut sable with toasted cinnamon ice cream with sesame crisp. Compressed trio of pears marinated in fino, port, and banyals.
Sauces: Vanilla Sauterne gel Port spice reduction
I had to have them write this course down. There was literally so much going on on this plate. Wonderful and light dessert course once again perfect and delicious after such an amazingly heavy meal. The pears were fantastic and simple. The walnut sable was a little bit odd and chewy, but flavor wise it was right on point and balanced.
This was a cool little culinary feat for a dessert. Simple tasting and refreshing, but a lot of techniques displayed.
But it didn't end there....
Homemade Madeleines with hot chocolate dipping sauce.
And with our check came a collection of nougat, pate de fruit, a chocolate financier, a lemon macaroon, and something I called a "Tower of awesomeness" in my notes about this dinner.
This was probably the single most expensive meal I have ever had with a check nearing $500 (I did buy two cook books on top of all of this food and it was my birthday), but without a doubt, one of the best meals I have ever had in my life. Everything was wonderful and expertly prepared. Even though I reached my limit with the rich foods, the coconut soup saved the day and reset everything leaving me completely satisfied with my meal.
Our waiter was delightful, helpful, and enthusiastic about beer and past beer dinners the restaurant has held before. I was thrilled to have heard about this place being open to and having hosted beer dinners before. It would be a dream of mine to host a BeerAdvocate sponsored beer dinner at Fleur De Lys. There would be nothing else that could even come close to something that awesome.
This was a fantastic culinary journey and well worth a visit if you happen to be in Las Vegas. And furthermore, they paired that whole amazing dinner around my beer. The beer worked with everything sat in front of me. It was incredible.
Just thought I would highlight my annual Winter Warmer Pub Crawl from last Dec. This was our third year hosting it, always held on the first Saturday of Dec. I realize it's now March, but I was scrolling through pictures and found these and decided to blog about it.
What we do is not technically a pub crawl, but more like a 3 stop journey in self destruction. Deep Ellum, Sunset Grill, and what as formerly called the Roadhouse and now called American Craft.
It's a hardcore crawl to drink big winter warming beers. Barleywine's, DIPA's, Imperial Stouts, and anything else that is not considered sessionable. We drink them in abundance and there is no crying about it. There is no wusses allowed either. Anyone who would make the day about themselves and whine that they need to take it easy if they are going to make it all day.
That's another thing, it is only 3 stops, but it goes on all day. Only the strong survive a day like this. Only the awesome show up from start to finish and don't meet us in between the crawl.
Marc Kadish of the Sunset Grill, printed the actual rules I posted on BA about the event.
I had to start my crawl off with some actual shots of liquor. Yes it's a day about big beers, but our dumb ass cab driver took us all the way to Newton, and then back all the way in to Boston and ignoring the exit for Cambridge on the way back like we told him. I nearly cut a bitches face open that's how stupid this fucking guy was. He made us a full hour late to my own pub crawl and I only live 10 minutes away from where we started.
So you see, a couple of shots of bourbon were more than necessary. Not to mention they tasted amazing with Pretty Thing Babayaga. Also a few tastes of some barleywine's I haven't had before.
After chilling for a bit and relaxing with some liquid love, we headed over to the Sunset Grill. Southern Tier's Chokolat Stout was on hand. So was some chocolate ice cream to drop into the beer!!
It was a stout kind of a day. Normally it's DIPA's for me and American-style bitter, super hoppy barleywine's. Not this day. I have to stick with what works, and that happened to be stouts.
Happy Sunset Grill staff being festive.
Mark, Todd and Marc Kadish.
These English gentlemen wanted me to snap a pic of the ginormous plate of nachos some of our crew ordered.
BA fanboys. LOL!
I don't know who these people were. They were part of the pub crawl but not really apart of the crawl. This cool guy on the left with the tattoos was adamant that he got his picture taken while sipping his beer.
Max Toste of Deep Ellum pictured on the right, joined us for one more at Sunset.
The raffle tickets for some Allagash Gear that Marc Kadish was nice enough to hand out to my pub crawl loving heroes.
I didn't end up getting pictures at the Roadhouse, but huge plates of nachos, wings, and other goodies were set up for us. Chris Sheridan had his line up of beers all sorted out for us. They have always taken good care of us.
Good times. Deep Ellum, Sunset Grill, and The Roadhouse, now American Craft, always take good care of us. They always have special beers on for our crawl. Something to think about for the Dec. 2010 crawl.
I went to the new opening for American Craft last night in Brookline, Ma. David Ciccolo who owns the Publick House and Monks Cell as well as the Publick House Provisions, decided to revamp and go in a whole different direction with his former restaurant the Roadhouse.
David suffered set back after set back when it came to the Roadhouse. There was no luck for that place at all. From the bad chef who opened the restaurant (admittedly that was David's mistake), to the typical Brookline residents who couldn't be bothered to go to the planning meetings when David planned on installing a 4600 pound smoker, only to have the same residents complain and have it shut down 6 months later because was spring time. Who cares that it had been going for 6 months and that they ignored the planning meetings. It's spring time and they wanted their windows open.
Then there was the issue of the smoker being set up with a Jewish Center for Asthmatics right behind his pork-filled, smoke monster (true story). Next it was the Boston Globe writing an unethical review of the Roadhouse highlighting the good food from the new chef but making no mention of phasing out the old chefs bad food and writing about it without any mention of the change over. A terrible review without telling the whole truth or painting an accurate picture. Kind of like the typical Yelp review. And lastly being forced to change his menu due to a lack of a smoker from Texas-Style BBQ to a Tex-Mex style menu. I think the fans were as exhausted as Mr. Ciccolo was.
Finally David has come up with a realistic change to his restaurant. A concept that I think hits all the right marks at the right time. American Craft featuring only American craft beer, wines, and spirits. The menu has been kicked up 20 notches and simplified. The restaurant itself has been tweaked to feel worlds more comfortable.
My husband Todd, wrote a good write up from his point of view for a BeerAdvocate review. You can read that here.
I mostly wanted to highlight some of the food we had last night. It was so good. The duck hash was awesome, and not pictured, was the buffalo mozzarella cheese bites in marinara sauce. Delicious! The Stout Braised short rib was massive and so soft and tender. The potatoes were soft and creamy. I usually don't like mashed potatoes at all, but these were great.
Pulled Duck Hash: duck confit, root vegetables, and Yukon potatoes.
Burger: On a Challah roll with bacon, fried egg, spinach, and cheddar with hand-cut fries.
Stout Braised Short Rib: short rib with wilted spinach and whipped potatoes.
The beer selection is good. Let's face it, whether you liked the food at the Roadhouse or not, finding good beer in one of David's places has never been an issue. Now there is good wine too.
As many bumps in the road as there have been for David in finally getting this restaurant situated, I think it's finally safe to say that he has found his niche. This is the right concept at the right time.
I don't expect to see glowing reviews on Yelp with all the back and forth changes the Roadhouse has been through. I don't expect much out of Yelp in general. Or those who are on average hard to please. But you should see it for yourselves. American Craft is a much more comfortable place to hang out at, much more laid back atmosphere, and the food has kicked up, simplified, and fantastic. I liked it and frankly I am all that matters around here. It is my blog after all.
Thanks to my friend Caitlin, for allowing me to borrow her camera for these pics.
This is the day I realized my camera was dying. The day I realized it's time to upgrade to a more professional type camera. Yellow pictures, blurry images with the setting set on still images. What a disaster, but I couldn't resist sharing this recipe.
I attended the 1st Annual FoodBuzz Blogger festival in the beginning of November last year. As part of the tons of swag we were given, I got a jar of this Mezzetta Napa Valley Homemade style pesto. Unfortunately it leaked all over my bag on the way home so I had a day or two use it.
I am not a huge pesto fan and I haven't really cooked with it before. So I searched the internet for a creamy chicken dish that I could add the pesto to. I found a very simple recipe from the FoodNetwork for Chicken in Parmesan chive cream sauce. This was the recipe I used for my base and then improvised the rest to make an awesome chicken pesto dish.
Forgive these pictures and pay attention to the recipe. You will want to make this. I cut out the chives and added a few different things to this recipe. Look for the asterisk to indicate what has been changed from the original recipe.
1 tbls olive oil 1/2 cup diced shallots 3 cloves of minced garlic 2 pounds of boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch pieces 1 tsp dried thyme 2 bay leaves 1 1/2 cups heavy cream * 1/4 cup parmesan salt pepper * 1 6.25 oz jar of basil pesto * 10 large white mushrooms sliced * 1 cup of sundried tomatoes chopped * 1 pound of cooked bowtie pasta
Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add shallots and garlic and cook for 2 minutes stiring with a spoon.
Add chicken and cook for 3 to 5 minutes until golden brown on all sides.
Add thyme and bay leaves and cook for one minute, or until fragrant.
Add heavy cream and bring to a simmer for 1 minute or until sauce has thickened. Reduce heat to medium and simmer for 5 minutes, until chicken is cooked
through. Add parmesan cheese and simmer for 1 minute or until sauce has
thickened. Remove bay leaves.
Boil bowtie pasta and cook until pasta is tender. Drain the pasta and leave in pot. Add the entire jar of pesto, sliced mushrooms, and sundried tomatoes to the pasta. Pour on the creamy chicken from the skillet into the pot and stir well. Make sure all the pesto and cream sauce has coated everything.
Serve immediately in bowls with garlic bread.
The asterisk next to the parmesan is there because the recipe called for 1/4 cup, but I found that I needed a lot more than that. Start with the 1/4 cup and gradually add more as you need it. But allow it time to thicken before adding more so as you don't over do it. Just watch that you don't over cook the chicken while you wait for the cream sauce to thicken.
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