To start the evening, an aperitif of Gumballhead was enjoyed. After the capacity crowd arrived and was seated, Chef Regina Mehallick and crew devised an amuse bouche of beef tongue. It was spectacular and the texture was reminiscent of a tuna fish. Our Gumballhead was long gone before we got our little bite, but all was good.
Next up was the Dreadnaught paired with a beer-battered shrimp and radish slaw. I felt that the spiciness of the freshly grated horseradish mellowed the Dreadnaught out.
Second course brought a guest recipe from Chris, owner and chef at Goose the Market. His dish of porchetta with giardiniera paired nicely with Pride and Joy Mild Ale. The strong flavors in the vegetables really brought out a citrus in the beer that I didn't notice before.
The third course of Chickpea and vegetable curry paired with Alpha King was the one I was most looking forward to. I was surprised that I got a smoky cedar campfire nose from the beer, something I don't recall from drinking an Alpha King on it's own. The nose wasn't like the bacon beer campfire nose, but something much more pleasant.
Fourth course featured a lamb sausage, mustard mash & sweet onion confiture. The beer paired with this course was the amazingly light Gorch Fock Munich Helles. We were most surprised at how much flavor was packed into this remarkably light beer.
Fifth course was a certainly interesting pairing of Beermat & Uplands Pleasant Ridge cheeses with Behemoth Barleywine. Now I hope that I can get some foodies here to tell me just how a cheese that smells like cat butt can be pleasing, even desirable. I do understand that sometimes it is an acquired taste and I hope someone can shed some light on that for me.
Finally, dessert was a malt beer float (not quite the Cherry Root Blatz that Mike was hoping for, but one even better. Homemade vanilla bean ice cream floated in a glass of Robert the Bruce Scottish Ale. On the side was a very nice banana cake.
Thanks to Chef Regina and crew at R bistro for providing a great meal. Also thanks to Matt and Bob from World Class.
While the cat butt cheese was good on its own, it completely contrasted with the Behemoth and when the flavors mingled they both tasted off. The non-cat butt cheese, on the other hand, paired very well!
ReplyDeleteI thought the best pairing of the night was the Robert the Bruce float. It's amazing how similar to root beer Robert the Bruce tastes after you add some cream and sugar. This shall be repeated at home.
The float was repeated at home, using the Tres Blueberry Stout and sugar free ice cream. Oh the joys of diabetes. :)
ReplyDeleteYeah, the other cheese went very well with the beer, but I cannot believe how much the stink of that Beermat cheese lingered in the air.
ReplyDeleteI agree about the similarities of RTB and Root Beer. It seemed like the foam on top of the float really brought those characteristics out.
MMMmmm Tres Blueberry stout and ice cream. How was that? It sounds good.
Next beer pairing dinner I have to make it out for this. Sounds like it was a nice evening. A baby will hamper your beer mojo though from time to time.
ReplyDeleteGlad to hear it was a nice evening.
The beermat cheese "stink" was unpleasant, it lingered and made the last course a little pungent.
ReplyDeleteAs for the Tres float, it worked well for the most part, but the underlying smoke notes in the beer are brought out by the vanilla ice cream. While I like smoked beers, I'm not so sold on smoked dessert. A milk stout or coffee stout would probably work well too.
I wonder how a float using Young's Double Chocolate Stout would be. Methinks pretty good.
ReplyDeleteThe beer selection of this dinner sounds pretty awesome to me. Once again though, the food selection would leave me hungry at the end of the night. It sucks to be a picky eater.