Why Beer Dinners?

Why not?

I've been addicted to hosting beer dinners since my personal first was a complete success, when it was anticipated to flop.

Beer dinners aren't anything new. And they weren't new when I started doing them 2.5 years ago.
But, I have always held respectable positions at luxurious resorts and the name of the game, to my typical clientele, was wine. Always wine. Wine Academy, Wine Cellars, Wine Tastings, Wine Pairings, Wine Dinners, Private Wine Labels, Wine Reps, Wine Snobs, Wine, Wine, Wine.
I got sick of it. I was doing it out of assumed necessity. I didn't really care about it, it wasn't my passion, it was my job.

I like beer. I like good, well crafted, story telling beer. I wore/wear a suit EVERYDAY and rubbed elbows with some of the areas finest, most elite, most wealthy and powerful. I was involved in events costing 10's of thousands of dollars, served and planned and created. But I liked beer.
I figured, I'll bet there are plenty other suit wearing, part looking, beer lovers just roaming these halls wishing they had something better to do than pretend to love the wine event they were roped into attending.

So while working for a upper-echelon, old school,
posh resort in Massachusetts, I attempted to introduce the idea of embracing the local breweries of the East Coast and making them front runners in the restaurants. In addition to that, I introduced the idea of doing a casual style beer dinner with a brewery out of Brooklyn.

The huge success that I felt the dinner was, launched beer dinners into my new favorite thing to offer.
I always make it my duty, after securing a brewery interested in doing the event, to never pick the beer. I want to help the brewer tell his or her story. I ask that the brewer and/or their team select which beers they would like to feature. From there, I put the intricacies of the beer in the spotlight and showcase those notes to the respective Chef I am working with. The menu is designed to highlight the beer and show it off. Never the otherway around. Not for me. And that is why I always "pray" (sometimes referred to as "beg") that the brewer be in attendance. It's their story, I'm just providing some more paper to write it on.
These events have also put me in friendships with some incredible beer folks. Brewers, owners, reps, ambassadors, and fans. That is one of my favorite parts. I look up to those people. They, besides {some} musicians, are the only artists that move me, spark curiousity and cause wonder in what they create.

But like all things, repetition gets boring. Now, at a restaurant that most would think is the last place you would find a good beer, let alone a beer dinner, I am born again with the event, Evoluzione della Birra!

An Italian craft beer dinner! How lucky am I? A respected, world renown celebrity chef and a dear friend and excellent executive chef, a city booming in craft beer, and my hands on Italy's top craft beer producers!
It doesn't have to be American to be craft. And when you are working with the likes of del Borgo, del Ducato, Montegioco and Baladin, it is craft at some of its finest.

I'm not going to use this as a shameless plug for the event, so if you want to seek those details, send me a comment. I really just wanted you know that I really enjoy them.

Cheers!

As always drink good America, even when its not from America!

Craft Beer Review: Roundabout Brewing, Lawrenceville, PA

Had the chance to get to the opening weekend for Roundabout Brewing.

Yesterday was opening day for the newest Pittsburgh, PA brewer and apparently there was a line 1.5hrs long.  I had no chance to make it to the brewery for the event, and almost didn't today either.

I got to the brewery in Lawrenceville, about 4 mins before "closing time" and without hesitation, they were eager to aid me in trying, selecting and understanding their beer.

I had a small sample of the Hy-PA, an American IPA with high IBU's, strong AbV and the increasingly popular Motueka hops from New Zealand.

I also sampled their "California Common" (The Commoner) that used a yeast strand from Anchor Steam.

I enjoyed the commoner and the Hy-PA was right what I was looking for, but I ultimately purchased the Hy-PA and the Ginga Wheat in their logo'd growlers. Ginga is pronounced (ghing-GAH) by the way.

After the dash to the brewery, I returned to a nearby alley way to share PGH's newest craft brew offering with my Chef's (Jeremy and Nicole). I snuck into the office, marked a plastic cup and waited patiently for their arrival.

We were all  in agreement that the quality is there, the craftsmanship is there and a great future appears certain.

Now I'm sitting on my porch attempting to polish of this growler of Hy-PA, and despite how warm I have let it get, I still feel the tasting notes are as follows:

Bright, citrusy, kaffir dominates the nose from the Montueka hops, backed by a floral note from the Centennial hops.  Transfer all aromas to the tongue with a touch of solid bitterness. Full mouthfeel, with a grapefruit sense that coats. I wish the carbonation was greater as it falls a hair flat. Well rounded and holds great potential to be an outstanding IPA/Pale Ale.

I'm glad I made it. I will enjoy both growlers this weekend. Alone.

As always, drink good America.

It's not easy

But please don't walk away. I am trying to be more consistent in my posts.

I promise. ATLEAST 1 blog a week from now on. I promise.

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AGtheDir

Beer Dinner - Lavery Brewing Company

 
If you know me or anything about me, you know I love craft beer, and equally love hosting beer dinners.

Yesterdays craft beer dinner was a four course meal with beer pairings from Lavery Brewing Co. out of Erie, PA.
First Course we enjoyed an excellent Salmon Gravlox with small rye croutons, shaved pickled egg, dehydrated lemon wheels and a citrus honey mustard. Created to pair with the Imperial Red Ale. 

Chef and I are humble enough to admit when we didn't have it perfect. The beer excellent. The dish amazing. The pairing? Not bad, but a small miss in our opinion. We had hoped for a touch more heat from the curing process that could have been elevated by the hop forwardness of this American Red Ale. From a tactile perspective it was dead on, and again it was nice, not perfect. Sorry.

Course number 2 however, incredible!

A bowl of warm caramelized scallops and cauliflower were served in a bowl with our house bacon and leeks. Table side the potato soup was poured over the garnishes  to create a waft of smokey, sweet aromas from around the edges of the soup. The Imperial French Style Ale that the dish was created to pair with is an 11.5% monster that can't really be categorized due to its complex ingredients and massive hopping that is both sweet and hoppy. The pairing was absolutely incredible. The richness of the soup, the smokey notes of bacon, the bite of the leeks were just the right combination to hold hands with this "Triple IPA?" "Hoppy Saison?" 

The entree course, I thought was equally successful. As you can see from the menu, as an Irish-esque Brewery, we designed an Irish inspired menu, and what better month for it, than March? Their Dulachan is an excellent 5.6% IPA chock full of big hop aromas and flavors and named after the Irish Grim Reaper.The dish was a variation on corned beef, where Chef Critchfield sent brisket through a schedule of brining, drying, rubbing and slow roasting. It was then thinly sliced and served with traditional colcannon, fried leeks and an sauce made using the breweries 1847 Rye Stout. The bitter and creamy sauce was lightened by the citrus notes in the beer and the leeks paired perfect. The brisket, while less "corned" than traditional, was just enough meat to let the colcannon shine as the perfect partner to this beer/food match up.

Lastly we reach dessert! I absolutely love this smoked porter and I was so happy with the pairing tonight. Chef used our signature bread pudding to create a sticky toffee pudding with a toffee sauce, caramel brittle and vanilla ice cream. There is a very dry, smokey and actually some toffee note in the beer and the two complimented each other tremendously.

If ever there were brewers/owners/people you wanted to hang out with or host a beer dinner with, its Jason and Niki. Is it too soon to say "I love you guys?" Probably, but you get the gist.


Then the wheels came off!! Niki noticed that I didn't list the AbV of each beer on my chalkboard list of 20 taps, mayhem ensued! - AGtheDir

I'll be sure to share some findings more often and as always, Drink Good America! And for additional fun with beer, food and service, be sure to check out the other blog with Hunt Chef and I

Craft Beer Review: Tallgrass Brewing, IPA

I'll Start by saying that I had absolutely no intention of writing a beer review tonight. However, after just a single sip of this one, I put my clothes back on, grabbed my coat and went straight back to work, where my laptop was. Now, that really isn't that heroic of an effort, considering my office and my bedroom share the same parking lot. BUT BY GOLLY, I did it!

 For today's craft beer review I'm SLOWLY savoring an incredible IPA from Tallgrass Brewing Co. out of Manhattan, KS.

A gorgeous 16oz big boy can of 6.3% AbV, 60 IBU well crafted IPA. I poured it into a 12oz glass. I wanted a small portion to enjoy straight from the can too.

It poured a very pale, golden color with a tight soapy lacing.  It had a mild 1.5 finger head that dissipated at a normal pace.

The nose isn't quite what I expected, and it was excellent, as the hops have a charming citrus note that is backed by a scone-like bready note and sweet caramels.

On the tongue this baby was an absolute rock star! Smooth and velvety. Earthy and citrusy hops. Big, tongue coating, hop oils that linger forever. Also an oily caramel layer that just leaves an incredible feeling on the lips and tip of the tongue. I know that may sound like its too heavy, but it is such an incredible balance of flavors between the malt and hops, that this richness holds it in place for a very enjoyable, lengthy finish.

The portion I enjoyed straight from the can, did not sway from anything I've written, so we'll just leave it at that.

The mouthfeel was medium bodied.  And I beat that to death in the last paragraph

I'll be sure to share some findings more often and as always, Drink Good America! And for additional fun with beer, food and service, be sure to check out the other blog with Hunt Chef and I

BrrrrrrrrrrrooooooooaaaaaaaaaaOOOOOO! (That's the sound an elephant makes)

- AGtheDir

A Collaboration is Brewing: PA Beer Announcement

Two incredible Pennsylvania breweries are hooking up on a collaborative brewing effort to produce a East Coast style IPA worthy of respect!


In talking with Jason Lavery, President/Brewer for Lavery Brewing Company, he gave me a little insight to the brew day with Full Pint Brewing scheduled for this coming Tuesday. The idea of doing a beer together sparked over a just by chance pint between Jason Lavery and Sean Hallisey when both of the breweries were in infancy stages, followed by another run in a few years later when Jake Kristophel of Full Pint called Jason to borrow some saison yeast.

Now the two breweries hang out on a regular basis at any number of Pennsylvania brew fests and as a solid community of beer heads would anticipate, a collaboration was born.

The well thought out IPA, will be brewed using Lavery's brewery in Erie, PA, now equipped with the resources to brew a big, hoppy, east coast style brew. After speaking with Jason about his general hop recipe, he said  "There are new hops on the market every year and I want to play with them all. This is a chance to experiment with some of them. So we chose Apollo, Bravo and Delta hops and then decided on Columbus to make out A.B.C.D. Its a light orange in color with a good amount of Vienna malt, Finnish pale malt, a touch of biscuit a bit of light Crystal malt for sweetness."

"Not exactly sure what the hop profile will be, but it will have nearly 4 pounds of hops/barrel, half of which are in the dry hop, so it will be very fragrant and aromatic"

As your humble supplier of info, I must personally say I love both of these incredible breweries, and after last years beer dinner I did with Full Pint and the upcoming dinner I'm doing with Lavery on March 28th, as well as my love for East Coast IPA, I couldn't be more excited to see the results!

STOP! Collaborate and Listen!
-AGtheDir

Craft CIDER Review: Arsenal Cider, Fighting Elleck

I always loved the the idea of the Cider House named Dickens!  For today's craft beer CIDER review I'm sipping on a local cider, made with local apples, that was hand delivered by the brewer in 1/6 barrels right to my door!

That's right! Bill Larkin of Arsenal Cider House in Lawrenceville, PA personally drove up 2 sixtels of fresh hard cider, straight to my door following a visit I made to their house just 2 weeks prior! My Brew-nette lover, Emily Kate, is a die hard for good cider and while we were on a date night to see one of our favorite musicians perform a solo acoustic show, I made sure to treat her to a buffet of glassware filled with excellent local cider.  


Im enjoying an 8oz pour on tap of a 8% ABV hard cider known as Fighting Elleck. And it will be waiting for you at The Stone House

It poured a very pale, straw color with bubbles dancing up and down the center of the liquid.  It had a very spritzy, soda like head that puffs and falls rapidly.

The nose provides that of tart Braeburn apples with hints of golden raisin and honeysuckle. There are also touches of fresh cut grass, like that of a New Zealand Sauv Blanc and yeasty essences.

The flavor was very similar and resembled that of a champagne, but with fresh local, hand pressed apples.  Bright, refreshing, grassy, and biscuit are the prominent features. It is hard to decide if this falls into the semi-sweet or the off-dry category, but Im going with semi-sweet. The combination was fresh and quenching. 

The mouthfeel was light bodied.  Fresh, crisp, tart.  The carbonation was mild and right for the style.  The finish on the cider can be lengthy and left the mouth watering and puckered.


I'll be sure to share some findings more often and as always, Drink Good America! And for additional fun with beer, food and service, be sure to check out the other blog with Hunt Chef and I

Click, BOOM!
- AGtheDir