So last night chimney and I went to a beer pairing at Buckeye Beer Engine. We went to the Dogfish Head pairing before and were very impressed so we had high hopes for this one.
This month the beer with the pairing was Bell's of Michigan.
Before we even went to the dinner room, I enjoyed a pint of Bell's Porter on cask engine. Porter done in the style of English casks is very tasty. Creamy with nice coffee aftertones.
Then we went to a newly renovated party room for the meal.
To start the menu was a Wurst salad paired with the Pale Ale. Made with locally-produced bologna tossed with pickles, spinach, in a light vinaigrette dressing the salad was surprisingly refreshing, it was a good match to a light ale.
Next on the list was a Brie and leek savory tart served with Third Coast Old Ale. The tart itself tasted like a cheesecake it was so creamy but the leeks added an interesting sweet contrast. The creamy richness of such a tart was perfectly balanced by the indulgent barley ale that is Third Coast. The delicate hops character matched with the subtle leek sweetness and the malt characteristics of the ale smoothed everything out. Brie and barley wine is my new favorite combination.
To finish off the first half of the pairing was a shrimp ceviche served with Hopslam Ale. To start off with, I am not a fan of seafood. If it comes from the sea it isn't for me. Graciously, the chef prepared a version without the shrimp. From what I have heard this was a good choice as the shrimp was "overcooked". But rather than leaving a bland "sauce" of grapefruit, lime juice, avocado, and red onion, Serrano peppers were added. The bite this dish had was beyond intense and the heat lingered for quite a long time. I had worried such a dish served in the middle of the dinner would taint the rest of the meal. Certainly something that powerful would wipe out any beer paired with it. Fortunately this was not the case. Hopslam is such an intense Imperial Double IPA style it held its own quite nicely. Actually I had a taste of the brew prior to receiving the dish and I found it quite unpleasant. After getting my palate scorched by the peppers and over-the-top citrus heat, the complex and almost offense hop profile made sense. By the end of the meal, the burn was constant but a bit more tolerable and the almost cooling effect of the alcohol burn and citrus offensive helped round out the experience.
Fortunately the chef informed us that most of the pairings were just too fast and/or rushed so to slow things down he served an intermezzo session. This was just simple lemon sorbet to cleanse the overworked palette and gave us a chance to prepare for the rest of the meal. Looking at the upcoming menu, a lot of preparation was in order, as the list was looking heavy.
After the nice and surprisingly light salad, savory tart, and light but offensive shrimp dish and a small break, tortellini primavera was served. Served with small bits of asparagus and fontina and grilled chicken, this was a fullon meal. Rich and creamy, this dish was very succulent and heavy. Paired with this was a surprising choice, the Two Hearted Ale. This is Bell's standard IPA. For something as delicate yet heavy as this dish, I thought the hops would overpower the creaminess of the dish. My worries were soon quelled upon first sniffing the beverage. The floral aroma was just magnificent. The Bell's distributor that was introducing the brews said that Bell's worked very hard for that floral profile and it shows. Nothing at all like the Hopslam, this beer was almost creamy and light; surprising for a 7.0% IPA for sure. The light citrus notes made the dairy-filled cheesy dish almost turn into a creamsicle. Imagine a cheesecake creamsicle and that was about the effect of this dish. Truly surprising and very pleasant.
The last main dish was the chef's favorite. The same night as the pairing was his birthday and traditionally his mother made rouladen with spatzle for him. In attendance with us, his mother was sampling the food and beer, so he decided to try this dish himself for everyone to enjoy. And enjoy we did. The braised beef couldn't even be called beef as a simple prod of a fork turned the succulent meat into almost a paste it was so tender. The spatzle was a nice accompaniment to the meat, which was seasoned to perfection. With such a German dish, the beer choice was clear, Consecrator Doppelbock. A nice heavy and rich and malty brew that doesn't forget its German roots paired elegantly with the beef. This was the best pairing of the evening. I found myself swapping a tasty bite of the food with a sip of beer, rinse and repeat. As if I wasn't full already from the previous dishes, I scarffed this round down in record time. Absolutely the star in the evening.
The final course was a dessert. After seeing the menu ahead of time while buying the tickets, chimney noted that this was black forest bread pudding with brandy-marinated cherries. Since I am allergic to chocolate (caffeine actually), we told the chef this. After a moment of disbelief about such an affliction, he turned around to think of a substitute dessert. Previously he was trying to work out the recipe for this and all of his attempts were disasters. Prior to the pairing, he had featured different versions of chocolate bread puddings that just didn't work. After hearing my request, he decided to try and make the bread pudding in the traditional sense (without any chocolate) then put a dark chocolate ganache plopped on top, served on the cherry marinade sauce. This turned out to be the perfect technique and the dessert was a success. To pair with such a unique dessert, Cherry Stout was used. This beer is unique, just like the dessert, in that this stout is much sourer than most other stouts. Almost bordering on a Flemish-style sour, the hardcore cherry punch perfectly matched with the cherries and cherry sauce of the dish. The stout creaminess worked well to bring out the chocolate flavors (so I was told) and the sour of the beer just rounded out a complete tasting experience. As evidenced by the lack of dessert on any of the plates but full glasses of beer left on the tables, this pairing wasn't the most successful, but I blame that on the unique and craziness that is a cherry sour stout. As a combination the pairing worked. Separately I would question the success of such a beer.
This month the beer with the pairing was Bell's of Michigan.
Before we even went to the dinner room, I enjoyed a pint of Bell's Porter on cask engine. Porter done in the style of English casks is very tasty. Creamy with nice coffee aftertones.
Then we went to a newly renovated party room for the meal.
To start the menu was a Wurst salad paired with the Pale Ale. Made with locally-produced bologna tossed with pickles, spinach, in a light vinaigrette dressing the salad was surprisingly refreshing, it was a good match to a light ale.
Next on the list was a Brie and leek savory tart served with Third Coast Old Ale. The tart itself tasted like a cheesecake it was so creamy but the leeks added an interesting sweet contrast. The creamy richness of such a tart was perfectly balanced by the indulgent barley ale that is Third Coast. The delicate hops character matched with the subtle leek sweetness and the malt characteristics of the ale smoothed everything out. Brie and barley wine is my new favorite combination.
To finish off the first half of the pairing was a shrimp ceviche served with Hopslam Ale. To start off with, I am not a fan of seafood. If it comes from the sea it isn't for me. Graciously, the chef prepared a version without the shrimp. From what I have heard this was a good choice as the shrimp was "overcooked". But rather than leaving a bland "sauce" of grapefruit, lime juice, avocado, and red onion, Serrano peppers were added. The bite this dish had was beyond intense and the heat lingered for quite a long time. I had worried such a dish served in the middle of the dinner would taint the rest of the meal. Certainly something that powerful would wipe out any beer paired with it. Fortunately this was not the case. Hopslam is such an intense Imperial Double IPA style it held its own quite nicely. Actually I had a taste of the brew prior to receiving the dish and I found it quite unpleasant. After getting my palate scorched by the peppers and over-the-top citrus heat, the complex and almost offense hop profile made sense. By the end of the meal, the burn was constant but a bit more tolerable and the almost cooling effect of the alcohol burn and citrus offensive helped round out the experience.
Fortunately the chef informed us that most of the pairings were just too fast and/or rushed so to slow things down he served an intermezzo session. This was just simple lemon sorbet to cleanse the overworked palette and gave us a chance to prepare for the rest of the meal. Looking at the upcoming menu, a lot of preparation was in order, as the list was looking heavy.
After the nice and surprisingly light salad, savory tart, and light but offensive shrimp dish and a small break, tortellini primavera was served. Served with small bits of asparagus and fontina and grilled chicken, this was a fullon meal. Rich and creamy, this dish was very succulent and heavy. Paired with this was a surprising choice, the Two Hearted Ale. This is Bell's standard IPA. For something as delicate yet heavy as this dish, I thought the hops would overpower the creaminess of the dish. My worries were soon quelled upon first sniffing the beverage. The floral aroma was just magnificent. The Bell's distributor that was introducing the brews said that Bell's worked very hard for that floral profile and it shows. Nothing at all like the Hopslam, this beer was almost creamy and light; surprising for a 7.0% IPA for sure. The light citrus notes made the dairy-filled cheesy dish almost turn into a creamsicle. Imagine a cheesecake creamsicle and that was about the effect of this dish. Truly surprising and very pleasant.
The last main dish was the chef's favorite. The same night as the pairing was his birthday and traditionally his mother made rouladen with spatzle for him. In attendance with us, his mother was sampling the food and beer, so he decided to try this dish himself for everyone to enjoy. And enjoy we did. The braised beef couldn't even be called beef as a simple prod of a fork turned the succulent meat into almost a paste it was so tender. The spatzle was a nice accompaniment to the meat, which was seasoned to perfection. With such a German dish, the beer choice was clear, Consecrator Doppelbock. A nice heavy and rich and malty brew that doesn't forget its German roots paired elegantly with the beef. This was the best pairing of the evening. I found myself swapping a tasty bite of the food with a sip of beer, rinse and repeat. As if I wasn't full already from the previous dishes, I scarffed this round down in record time. Absolutely the star in the evening.
The final course was a dessert. After seeing the menu ahead of time while buying the tickets, chimney noted that this was black forest bread pudding with brandy-marinated cherries. Since I am allergic to chocolate (caffeine actually), we told the chef this. After a moment of disbelief about such an affliction, he turned around to think of a substitute dessert. Previously he was trying to work out the recipe for this and all of his attempts were disasters. Prior to the pairing, he had featured different versions of chocolate bread puddings that just didn't work. After hearing my request, he decided to try and make the bread pudding in the traditional sense (without any chocolate) then put a dark chocolate ganache plopped on top, served on the cherry marinade sauce. This turned out to be the perfect technique and the dessert was a success. To pair with such a unique dessert, Cherry Stout was used. This beer is unique, just like the dessert, in that this stout is much sourer than most other stouts. Almost bordering on a Flemish-style sour, the hardcore cherry punch perfectly matched with the cherries and cherry sauce of the dish. The stout creaminess worked well to bring out the chocolate flavors (so I was told) and the sour of the beer just rounded out a complete tasting experience. As evidenced by the lack of dessert on any of the plates but full glasses of beer left on the tables, this pairing wasn't the most successful, but I blame that on the unique and craziness that is a cherry sour stout. As a combination the pairing worked. Separately I would question the success of such a beer.
