Craft Brewers Conference Beer and Food Events

April 8, 2015 by 4 Comments

Next week from April 14-17 is the Craft Brewers Conference in Portland at the Oregon Convention Center. This means next week 10,000+ craft brewers and industry people related to craft breweries and brewpubs will all be descending to PDX from all over the US and multiple parts of the world. How does this affect you?

Well, you can expect that many of the breweries that are unique to Portland and/or nearby the convention center are going to get even busier then usual – Cascade Brewing, I am especially looking at you who is also doing a Cascade Brewing Sour & Wild Invitational special beer tappings all week from April 14-18.

You can expect the extra crowds to happen even before April 14 as many will probably fly in slightly before the conference, and/or may stay slightly after the conference as well.

But also, there’s a huge amount of special beer events, including beers that these brewers are bringing from wherever they are coming from, all over the city next week! There are many meet the brewers events, places that special beers are tapping, and my favorite, beer pairing events bringing together craft beers and foods. Beer and Food is totally my thing.
Fort George 3 Way IPA, paired with this delicious course from Whole Foods Pearl of Scallops with pea puree and greens  Whole Foods Pearl Brewery dinners, this one is with Hopworks Urban Brewery (HUB). Dessert started with a honey herb butter custard with lavendar sage rosemary and thyme (and winner of a Whole Foods department ice cream competition) with house shortbread with many of those same herbs, then paired with Hopworks' Notorious FIG, a Belgian Dark Strong Ale that uses 30 lbs of organic fig

You can see a list of the activities on the Craft Brewers Conference/CBC Website, but a few highlights I thought I would share of the Craft Brewers Conference Beer and Food Events list:

Week long Craft Brewers Conference Beer and Food Events

  • Monday April 13- Friday April 17 Tap Takeover at Lardo. Enjoy delicious sandwiches (and those Dirty Fries) AND a portfolio of beer from a specific brewery all in one place. At the Hawthorne location, it will be Fort George Brewery, from Astoria OR that includes a wide range of Fort George one-offs and specialty beers on those 13 taps that will be rotated the entire week. Meanwhile, at the Downtown location, San Diego brewery Ballast Point Brewing & Spirits will control the 10 taps there, and at Lardo North the taps get commanded by Oakshire Brewing from Eugene, OR.
    Fort George Wit beer (conveniently in a can in case you want to take it camping or on a river float or on a hike) Ballast Point Brewing, taster sizes of various beers
  • Monday, April 13th – Sunday, April 19th Le Pigeon will offer beer pairings to accompany their five and seven course chef’s tasting menus. Usually they only offer wine pairings so this is a special pairing they are offering if you are into food and beer. Which, why wouldn’t you be. Beer flights: $30 (5 pairings) $45 (7 pairings) and the Chef’s tasting menu: $75 (5-course menu) $95 (7-course menu), gratuity not included
  • Monday April 13 – Saturday April 18 Bailey’s Taproom is doing “The Drinking Lot” a popup beer bar with 12 rotating beers and a rotating food cart at the East Burnside Street and NE Martin Luther King Jr Blvd in yes, a parking lot (it will be covered). See more details at this article on Brewpublic.
    Beer in a Bailey's Taproom glass in Portland

Monday, April 13

  • EastBurn is hosting a 7-course dinner featuring rare beers from Avery, Burnside, DC Brau, Firestone Walker, Flying Dog, Maui and Surly called the Charlie Bravo Charlie Beer Dinner for $100 a seat that includes 7 courses and the 7 beers. If you aren’t going to the dinner, EastBurn will be closed that night just for that private event.

Tuesday, April 14

  • Accanto will be pairing their Northwest/Italian cuisine with five farmhouse ales from Green Bench Brewing (from St Petersburg, FL)  for a private dinner in the elegant former Genoa dining room on Tuesday April 14th, at 6:30 PM. They are also saying they are hunting down funky Italian beers to have by the bottle all week long; specials to go with those will be on the chalkboard. Call Accanto at 503-235-4900 to reserve a spot at the Green Bench Brewery dinner.

Wednesday, April 15 – the big beer dinner night apparently

  • There is a lunchtime event (lucky you who can actually make something like this) of Stone Beer & Blue Star Doughnut Pairing at Bailey’s Taproom/Upper Lip. It is beer paired with doughnuts from Blue Star Doughnuts! Dammit, such a good idea, Bailey’s Taproom! Bill Sysak known as “Dr.” Bill in the craft beer community is the Craft Beer Ambassador and Certified Cicerone for Stone Brewing Co. and will also be there to discuss his “Masterpairings” philosophy on pairing beer with food at The Upper Lip. A special private session will kick off the event at 11:30 AM which has limited tickets are available in advance for $28. Then, there will be Public tasting begins at 12:30 PM through 2:30 PM.
  • Wednesday is a big day for Dr. Bill (Bill Sysak, Craft Beer Ambassador and Certified Cicerone at the Stone Brewing World Bistro & Gardens) because after Upper Lip at lunch, he’s off to Zupans. From 4-6 PM he will be at a Beer & Tapas Social Hour (cost $45) and then 7-10 PM he marathons on with a 5 Course Dinner and Beer Pairing that includes Stone brews paired with a five course menu for $85. Both events listed here take place at Cellar Z (at the Zupan’s downtown cellar, at the Zupans located on Burnside). Purchase tickets in stores or on-line at zupans.com/
  • Imperial Bottle Shop and Taproom is having a 40 Oz to Fort George and Free Pok Pok Wings Night. Fort George Brewery is taking over the Imperial 14 taps for one night and the first 80 lucky beer lovers that buy a 40 oz drink ticket package (10 tickets) for $15 will also get a FREE 1/2 order of famous Ike’s Vietnamese Fish Sauce Wings from the Imperial Bottle Shop neighbors Pok Pok! Wings will start to be delivered in waves at 6 PM, and be served until gone.
    Pok Pok Wing at the PDX airport offers Ike's Vietnamese Fish Sauce Chicken Wings which you can get normal or spicy. You can get a half dozen in a full order, or just 3 wings in a half order of these fresh whole natural chicken wings marinated in fish sauce and sugar, deep fried, and tossed in caramlized Phu Quoo fish sauce and garlic
  • At the McMenamins Crystal Hotel at the Zeus Café, you can make reservations for the Spring Brewers Dinner that includes a tour at 6:45 PM of the brewery and then followed by 4 courses and 5 beers as well as lots of tall tales from McMenamins Crystal Brewers Drew Phillips and Dan Black. $75 per ticket Tickets onsale now at mcmenamins.com
  • At Hotel Deluxe, a Sierra Nevada Beer Dinner option will be available. As part of their menu offerings a one-night-only four-course prix fixe beer-pairing menu during their dinner service (5-9 PM) that pairs food from Chef Mark Hosak in the sophisticated and elegant atmosphere but reasonable prices of Gracie’s Restaurant with the beers of Sierra Nevada is being offered for $50 per person, plus tax and gratuity. Make reservations to dine anytime between 5 and 9 p.m. by calling the restaurant directly at 503-222-2171 or using OpenTable.
  • Stammtisch Chef Graham Chaney is collaborating with Eric Toft, the head brewmaster of Schönramer Brauerei from Germany for a five course beer dinner at 6 PM. The beers from Eric will include the first US appearance of the new IPA & Imperial Stout. Tickets are $75, call (503) 206-7983 to make reservations
    Stammtisch and Schönramer Brauerei Beer Dinner
  • Ned Ludd and Breakside Brewery are doing a Collaboration Dinner with Elder Hall that includes 5 course, 10 beer pairing dinner with 2 beers for each course, one of them beers that Breakside created in collaboration with Jester King Brewery (Austin, TX), Melvin Brewing (Jackson, WY), Crooked Stave Artisan Beer (Denver, CO), and Moody Tongue Brewing (Chicago, IL) and one beer from the visiting brewery. Tickets are $90 (not including gratuity), with two seatings available at 6PM or 8:30PM. For reservations, email events@elderhall.com or call (503) 477-4725 or call Ned Ludd at (503) 288-6900

Thursday, April 16

  • Brewer’s Dinner with Oakshire Brewing (Eugene, OR) and 3 Floyds (from Indiana) at modern steakhouse Urban Farmer promises to be classy and delicious with a four course tasting dinner with three beers from each brewery! Tickets are $125 per person and include beer and gratuity. Call 503.222.4900 to make your reservation
  • Ninkasi Space Beer Dinner at the Oregon Museum of Science & Industry, $60 inclusive, 21+ older only, ID required. Advance tickets required, purchase from the OMSI website. This is the Portland premiere of Ninkasi’s space beer, Ground Control, made from yeast that’s traveled in space. The evening starts with a space science demonstration on “What Would It Be Like to Drink Beer in Space?”, followed by a three-course dinner courtesy Bon Appetit’s Executive Chef, Ryan Morgan. The courses are paired with Ninkasi beers.
  • Definitely one of the most affordable events is the Heads and Tails CBC Dinner at Culmination Brewing from 5-9 PM (5-6 PM is the CBC VIP hour for those with CBC Badges. Free shuttle service from 4:30 – 10 PM from Oregon Convention Center to Culmination Brewing for CBC attendees.). For only $20 with a CBC badge or $25 without a CBC badge, guests receive a four course tasting dinner starring Tails & Trotters and a commemorative Culmination / Tails & Trotter Belgian tulip beer glass, 2 beer tickets, and a tour of the Culmination Brewery.
  • Interurban from 6 – 10 PM will offer a special 9 item menu specifically designed to pair with 3 beers each from breweries of other states, namely Alesmith Brewing from San Diego California, Trinity Brewing from Colorado Springs in Colorado (they have already shared that they are bringing Koelorado Spontaneous, Magic Brett Tour #1 Drie, and their Wild Apple Saison), and Against The Grain from Louisville, Kentucky.  All items will be available a la carte so this is also a great deal in terms of tasting beer (9 beers!) and food pairings (9 special food items!).
  • Deschutes Brewing is going all out at the event space Pure Space by throwing a party they call BEER MACHINES A Steampunk Ode To The Craft Revolution. Besides beer, they promise lots of entertainment including circus theater and steampunk art pieces. Tickets are $20 in advance, $25 at the door and includes beer tokens and all entertainment and starts from 8 PM – 1 AM

Friday, April 17

  • Lardo ups the game with its beer and sandwiches with a special one day special highlight with Breakside Brewing thanks to a Breakside and Lardo Beer & Sandwich Pairing Collaboration Event at their Hawthorne location from 5:00 pm – 8:00 PM that includes Breakside Brewery and Lardo offering amazing collaboration beer (each beer is a different collaboration of Breakside with another brewery, including Stone, Pinthouse, GBonfire, Iron Goat, NoDa, and Elliot Bay) paired with collaboration sandwiches event. 7 breweries, 13 beers and 6 sandwiches. No cover.
  • Imperial Bottle Shop and Taproom is hosting The Bruery Pop-Up Beer Pairing Dinner with Coquine Supper Club. Limited to only 40 people, this 6-course, pop-up beer pairing dinner is $75 per person (18% gratuity added for a total of $88.50). For reservations, please email info@imperialbottleshop.com or call Imperial at 971.302.6899 between noon – 5PM. Check out the awesome menu and beers here

Saturday, April 18

  • You have another chance with doughnuts and beer thanks to Baker’s Dozen Coffee Beers & Doughnuts Festival at Culmination Brewing from 10:00 AM – 1:00 PM that offers a total of 13 3-oz coffee beer samples, and 13 gluttonous doughnut morsels along with Olé Latte Coffee. Tickets are limited to 300 and are available through Eventbrite for $20 (or $10 for those with a CBC badge, checked at the door.)
  • Or, about sour and coffee beers for Saturday brunch instead? Hop & Vine is hosting a Sour Sunrise w/ Sante Adairius, Rare Barrel & Almanac brunch that starts this funky brunch with sour beers with a flight of “mimosa-esque” apricot sours, followed by a “coffee-ish” trio of dark sours, all to accompany a special Hop & Vine brunch lineup to compliment the flights from these three California breweries. Each flight offers three 5 ounce pours. Hop & Vine will be offering 3 seatings for this brunch at 10:30 AM, 12 noon, and 1:30 PM. The reservation is only necessary for the member(s) of your party who will be partaking in the flights/brunch pairing, they have a limited amount of the beer and brunch servings available. An additional brunch menu and full drink menu will also be available. Reserve your spot(s) in person at the Hop & Vine on Sunday, April 12th or make reservations earlier (my recommendation, you pay upfront but gratuity is already included in the presale price) at this link here. Brunch and the two flights are $30 for the beer only and then $20 for the food for $50 total for both. There is also a vegetarian option available for this brunch food (though as noted, you can also decide to offer item from their other brunch menu instead of the pairing one)

So yeah, there’s a lot going on. I didn’t even list the special beer events because then this would be 10 pages long. If you’ve ever wanted to try a beer pairing of beer and food, I can help you out with this list, but you’re on your own looking the rest up for beer only events!

If you are interested, make reservations ASAP because as of this blog post one dinner (Wild Side at Imperial) already sold out and I expect other Beer Food Events to do the same.

I’ll be going to the Bruery Brewery and Coquine Supper Club dinner at Imperial Bottle Shop and Taproom on Friday – that was the one that really stood out to me. I also might try to make Interurban on Thursday because I am highly interested in Trinity beers, and at Culmination on Saturday The Baker’s Dozen as those coffee beers sound really fun paired with doughnuts, though I am equally torn by the Hop & Vine Sour Sunrise Brunch – do I dare do both? Add to this that I also have multiple other events on my calendar (3 a night!) so let’s see how my palate (and my liver) feel.
Starter of Shigoku oysters, tomato, fish sauce, lime, cilantro, paired with Newport Summer Ale, Smallwares PDX, Breakside Brewery, Smallwares and Breakside Beer Dinner A course at the Saraveza Block 15 Winter Dinner Block 15 Saraveza Dinner Pairing Seared Foie Gras on Brioche Coffee Dusted Roasted Figs, Chocolate Almond Sauce

Did you know about the Craft Brewer’s Conference coming to Portland? Are you thinking of attending any of the beer events happening around Portland next week?

Signature

Filed Under: Festival Event, Portland Highlights Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Whole Foods and Hopworks Beer Dinner

August 27, 2014 by 8 Comments

Earlier this month, I wrote about the series of brewery dinners that Whole Foods is doing at their Pearl District location. Each ticketed dinner event involves working with a brewery every month while Whole Foods prepares food to pair with a beer for four courses for $25 or less.

Last week, I attended the one for August, which was a Whole Foods and Hopworks Urban Brewery Beer Dinner. This one also had a good cause in mind: all proceeds benefit The Whole Kids Foundation, an organization devoted to improving children’s nutrition and wellness with the goal of ending the childhood obesity epidemic. As before, the dinner was held in their Salud Room and beautifully set up.
Whole Foods Pearl Brewery dinners, this one is with Hopworks Urban Brewery (HUB) Whole Foods Pearl Brewery dinners, this one is with Hopworks Urban Brewery (HUB)
Whole Foods Pearl Brewery dinners, this one is with Hopworks Urban Brewery (HUB) and started off with a cheese course by Benjamin that was paired with Hopworks Belgian Apple

I am going to recap the dinner for the rest of the post, but I wanted to let you know there is no dinner for September because Whole Foods is going to be pretty busy with Feast!! The next dinner they are thinking of will be October 3, so pretty early in the month, and may be partnering with Merchant du Vin, who imports some pretty fabulous beers. The menu will be Oktoberfest themed, so it all sounds pretty damn exciting! Be sure to keep checking their Events Page to see when it is up!

Whole Foods and Hopworks Beer Dinner Recap

It was such a thrill to get to sit and chat with Owner and Brewmaster Christian Ettinger and his wife as they told us what it was like to at the same time found Hopworks while also having their first child. It is also very clear how extremely proud and dedicated Chris is in truly being an Eco-Brewpub. It started with how they took an existing building and then carefully deconstructed and then reconstructed it to be as green and efficient as possible, including sorting and reclaiming everything they can and using recycled materials. Then, add to that beers and a food menu that leverage organic and fresh, local ingredients and even after you’re done, HUB recycles food waste for animal feed and composting to strive for zero waste.
Whole Foods Pearl Brewery dinners, this one is with Hopworks Urban Brewery (HUB) Whole Foods Pearl Brewery dinners, this one is with Hopworks Urban Brewery (HUB) and here is founder of HUB himself, Christian Ettinger

HUB has big plans in its future- Chris is working with New Deal, which means soon they will be experimenting with oak and whiskey barrels. As a barrel aged beer lover, this is sooooo cool to hear, I can’t wait to see what HUB does!

Also, Chris hopes a wine license will allow him more freedom in using more fruit so he can push even more the levels of flavor that he went right up to the limit for the Organic Belgian Apple Ale. Because these Washington apples for the juice used are sourced locally, Chris admits the beer flavor may vary from year to year- but it is honest and reflects the origin of the ingredients and of that time. The Belgian Apple beer was paired with a Cheese Course by Benjamin which I was delighted I brought F because he turned over his prosciutto and blue cheese to me!
Whole Foods Pearl Brewery dinners, this one is with Hopworks Urban Brewery (HUB) and started off with a cheese course by Benjamin that was paired with Hopworks Belgian Apple

The Belgian Apple beer was a great pairing, as its balance of wheat malt with slight tart fruit flavor line throughout from the apple and effervescence was reminiscent of a sparkling wine. It did a great job of balancing the fat of the cheese and the prosciutto and was fun to contrast the kinds of tartness when biting into one of those little grapes and then a little sip of the beer.
Whole Foods Pearl Brewery dinners, this one is with Hopworks Urban Brewery (HUB) and started off with a cheese course by Benjamin that was paired with Hopworks Belgian Apple Whole Foods Pearl Brewery dinners, this one is with Hopworks Urban Brewery (HUB) and started off with a cheese course by Benjamin that was paired with Hopworks Belgian Apple Whole Foods Pearl Brewery dinners, this one is with Hopworks Urban Brewery (HUB) and started off with a cheese course by Benjamin that was paired with Hopworks Belgian Apple

Next course was a refreshing reflection of the current bounty of the Oregon summer with a salad of beets, heirloom tomatoes, beans, and watercress greens in a dijon dressing.
Whole Foods Pearl Brewery dinners, this one is with Hopworks Urban Brewery (HUB). This second course included beets, heirloom tomatoes, beans, and watercress greens in a dijon dressing paired with HUB's DOA American Style Strong Ale Whole Foods Pearl Brewery dinners, this one is with Hopworks Urban Brewery (HUB). This second course included beets, heirloom tomatoes, beans, and watercress greens in a dijon dressing paired with HUB's DOA American Style Strong Ale

This was paired with HUB’s DOA American Style Strong Ale, one of my favorites of the evening with its balance and caramel finish. No wonder it’s the house beer at esteemed Northwest cuisine restaurant Higgins.
Whole Foods Pearl Brewery dinners, this one is with Hopworks Urban Brewery (HUB). This second course included beets, heirloom tomatoes, beans, and watercress greens in a dijon dressing paired with HUB's DOA American Style Strong Ale <a href= Whole Foods Pearl Brewery dinners, this one is with Hopworks Urban Brewery (HUB). This second course included beets, heirloom tomatoes, beans, and watercress greens in a dijon dressing paired with HUB's DOA American Style Strong Ale

Next up, this main course was an amazeballs grilled flank steak with potatoes, arugula and tomato tarragon dressing paired with Hopworks IPA. Even for F, who is vegetarian, they swapped out the flank steak for portabella mushrooms so he had a wonderful main as well. So if you are vegetarian, you can ask for the menu to accommodate you!
Whole Foods Pearl Brewery dinners, this one is with Hopworks Urban Brewery (HUB). This main course was an amazeballs griled flank steak with potatoes, aruglua and tomato tarragon dressing paired with Hopworks IPA Whole Foods Pearl Brewery dinners, this one is with Hopworks Urban Brewery (HUB). This main course was an amazeballs griled flank steak with potatoes, aruglua and tomato tarragon dressing paired with Hopworks IPA Whole Foods Pearl Brewery dinners, this one is with Hopworks Urban Brewery (HUB). This main course was a vegetarian version of the entree that used portabella mushrooms instead with potatoes, aruglua and tomato tarragon dressing paired with Hopworks IPA

Hopworks IPA is the HUB best-selling beer and takes the West Coast approach of dry and citrus (versus the East Coast IPA that leans more towards sweet and herbaceous)
Whole Foods Pearl Brewery dinners, this one is with Hopworks Urban Brewery (HUB) Whole Foods Pearl Brewery dinners, this one is with Hopworks Urban Brewery (HUB) Hopworks IPA, which is their bestselling beer and takes the West Coast approach of dry and citrus (versus the East Coast IPA that leans more towards sweet and herbaceous)

Dessert started with a honey herb butter custard with lavender, sage, rosemary and thyme (and winner of a Whole Foods department ice cream competition) with house shortbread with many of those same herbs partially dipped in chocolate.  Oh yes. This was then paired with Hopworks’ Notorious FIG, a Belgian Dark Strong Ale that uses 30 lbs of organic fig.
Whole Foods Pearl Brewery dinners, this one is with Hopworks Urban Brewery (HUB). Dessert started with a honey herb butter custard with lavendar sage rosemary and thyme (and winner of a Whole Foods department ice cream competition) with house shortbread with many of those same herbs, then paired with Hopworks' Notorious FIG, a Belgian Dark Strong Ale that uses 30 lbs of organic fig Whole Foods Pearl Brewery dinners, this one is with Hopworks Urban Brewery (HUB). Dessert started with a honey herb butter custard with lavendar sage rosemary and thyme (and winner of a Whole Foods department ice cream competition) with house shortbread with many of those same herbs, then paired with Hopworks' Notorious FIG, a Belgian Dark Strong Ale that uses 30 lbs of organic fig Whole Foods Pearl Brewery dinners, this one is with Hopworks Urban Brewery (HUB). Dessert started with a honey herb butter custard with lavendar sage rosemary and thyme (and winner of a Whole Foods department ice cream competition) with house shortbread with many of those same herbs, then paired with Hopworks' Notorious FIG, a Belgian Dark Strong Ale that uses 30 lbs of organic fig Whole Foods Pearl Brewery dinners, this one is with Hopworks Urban Brewery (HUB). Dessert started with a honey herb butter custard with lavendar sage rosemary and thyme (and winner of a Whole Foods department ice cream competition) with house shortbread with many of those same herbs, then paired with Hopworks' Notorious FIG, a Belgian Dark Strong Ale that uses 30 lbs of organic fig

See how the berries make a happy face in the reflection of the Notorious Fig? That is how I felt at the end of this marvelous Whole Foods and Hopworks Beer Dinner.

Signature

Filed Under: Food and Drink Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Smallwares and Breakside Beer Dinner

July 20, 2013 by 4 Comments

Chef Johanna Ware of Smallwares, specializing in “inauthentic Asian cuisine” and Head Brewer Ben Edmunds of Breakside Brewery created a beer paired dinner of 5 courses on Thursday July 18 for 20 lucky guests, of which I was one! When I saw the price was $45 for 5 courses (plus add gratuity), and thinking of how great the experience was at the Breakside Brewery’s dinner at Wildwood restaurant I attended, I was happy to sign up. I love beer pairing dinners, and with all the great breweries here I don’t know why I don’t see them more often.

Smallwares Breakside Brewery dinner,Chef Johanna Ware of Smallware and Head Brewer Ben Edmunds of Breakside created a beer paired dinner of 5 courses Smallwares Breakside Brewery dinner, Brewer Ben Edmunds chatting about the beer

The dinner was supposed to start at 6pm, but started a little late because of the logistics of everyone actually getting there by that time after work. After a day of doing presentations at work, I left around 4:30pm from Beaverton and was able to make it in time, which left me some time to sample a couple cocktails before dinner. I tried The Gin, with plymouth gin, mango, yogurt, rose water, cardamom, shaked and served on the rocks, as a way to cool off from my crowded commute, and also The Whisky, with templeton rye, raspberry shrub, vermouth, lemon, shaken and served on a big rock. This gave me an opportunity to admire the bold red and white modern atmosphere of the restaurant that combined the sleek lines and textures of contemporary design elements with thoughtfully and whimsically selected eclectic touches.

Smallwares PDX, restaurant Smallwares PDX, restaurant The Gin, with plymouth gin, mango, yogurt, rose water, cardamom, shaked and served on the rocks, Smallwares PDX The Whisky, with templeton rye, raspberry shrub, vermouth, lemon, shakend and served on a big rock, Smallwares PDX

Opener:

  • Beer: Newport Summer Ale
  • Food: Canapes and hors d’oeuvres
    Starter of shigoku oysters, tomato, fish sauce, lime, cilantro, Smallwares PDX, Smallwares and Breakside Beer Dinner Starter of Cantaloupe, benton's ham, kimchi puree, shiso, at Smallwares PDX, Smallwares and Breakside Beer Dinner

This Summer Ale is an easy-drinking English golden ale that is lightly hopped and uses floor-malted barley. It was paired with starters of Shigoku oysters, tomato, fish sauce, lime, cilantro, and Cantaloupe, benton’s ham, kimchi puree, shiso. Ben explained that he always like to start with a big pour of the first beer because who knows when dinner will start, and it helps everyone with a bit of liquid courage to socialize at the table. The oysters were clean acid that seemed to echo the clean flavors of the ale, while the heat from the kimchi puree and salt from the ham and sweetness of the cantaloupe were then refreshed and calmed down by the beer.

Starter of Shigoku oysters, tomato, fish sauce, lime, cilantro, paired with Newport Summer Ale, Smallwares PDX, Breakside Brewery, Smallwares and Breakside Beer Dinner Starter of Shigoku oysters, tomato, fish sauce, lime, cilantro, paired with Newport Summer Ale, Smallwares PDX, Breakside Brewery, Smallwares and Breakside Beer Dinner Starter of Shigoku oysters, tomato, fish sauce, lime, cilantro, and Cantaloupe, benton's ham, kimchi puree, shiso paired with Newport Summer Ale, Smallwares PDX, Breakside Brewery, Smallwares and Breakside Beer Dinner Starter of Cantaloupe, benton's ham, kimchi puree, shiso, paired with Newport Summer Ale, Smallwares PDX, Breakside Brewery, Smallwares and Breakside Beer Dinner

1st course:

  • Beer: Smallwares Saison
  • Food: Grilled shrimp, aji amarillo, lychee, pink peppercorn, chive

The Smallwares Saison is a Belgian farmhouse ale made with lychee, pink peppercorn and aji amarillo, and was inspired by another dish at Smallwares that Ben confessed to falling in love with the combination of flavors and just “ripping off” by putting those flavors into the beer. This was my favorite pairing of the evening with beer and food building on each other so that even when I had finished chewing or swallowing the food or beverage, the flavors lingered long after, tickling my tongue and taste buds pleasantly.

Grilled shrimp, aji amarillo, lychee, pink peppercorn, chive + Smallwares Saison made with lychee, pink peppercorn and aji amarillo, was inspired by another dish at Smallwares, Smallwares PDX, Breakside Brewery, Smallwares and Breakside Beer Dinner

2nd course:

  • Beer: Biere de Juillet (collaboration Biere de garde with Persian lime and coriander)
  • Food: Mushroom salad, walnut puree, Persian lemon dressing, pickled shallots, hijiki

Breakside partnered with Smallwares to brew this Bière de Juillet, a summer version of a French bière de garde with Persian lime and coriander that debuted at this dinner. I was using the salad to try to wipe up that walnut puree as much as I could.

Mushroom salad, walnut puree, Persian lemon dressing, pickled shallots, hijiki + Biere de Juillet (collaboration Biere de garde with Persian lime and coriander), Smallwares PDX, Breakside Brewery, Smallwares and Breakside Beer Dinner Mushroom salad, walnut puree, Persian lemon dressing, pickled shallots, hijiki + Biere de Juillet (collaboration Biere de garde with Persian lime and coriander), Smallwares PDX, Breakside Brewery, Smallwares and Breakside Beer Dinner

3rd course:

  • Beer: Sour ApriHot (sour golden ale aged on Apricots and Chinese mustard powder)
  • Food: Flank steak and apricots, mustard seed, red onion, parsley

Sour ApriHot is the latest of  experimental, culinary-inspired creations Breakside is trying, this particular one being an imperial sour apricot ale conditioned with heat… well, heat to come. At the dinner, they had added the apricot but not the hot portion yet, whether it be through Chinese mustard powder or horseradish or wasabi or what have you, they were still thinking about how they wanted to proceed. That was fine when combined with this dish though, which was already packing lots of spicy heat so the apricot ale was some relief.

Flank steak and apricots, mustard seed, red onion, parsley + Sour ApriHot (sour golden ale aged on Apricots), Smallwares PDX, Breakside Brewery, Smallwares and Breakside Beer Dinner Flank steak and apricots, mustard seed, red onion, parsley + Sour ApriHot (sour golden ale aged on Apricots), Smallwares PDX, Breakside Brewery, Smallwares and Breakside Beer Dinner

4th course :

  • Beer: Alan from the Wood (strong smoked ale aged in rye whiskey barrels)
  • Food: Black cardamom panna cotta, mixed berries

This strong beer was my favorite of the evening in terms of flavor, and it paired well with the cardamom in the panna cotta. However, the raspberry puree was a little overwhelming in sweetness that didn’t seem to go with the beer, so I fixed that by just eating the puree on its own after scraping it off, and leaving the panna cotta so pair with my sips of Alan.

Black cardamom panna cotta, mixed berries + Alan from the Wood (strong smoked ale aged in rye whiskey barrels), Smallwares PDX, Breakside Brewery, Smallwares and Breakside Beer Dinner

F joined me, and Smallwares was able to accommodate him with a vegetarian menu. For his opener there was kimchee but no ham around his cantaloupe, although there was no second option to replace the oyster. Tofu was the protein instead of shrimp for the first course with the aji amarillo, lychee, pink peppercorn, chive + Smallwares Saison made with lychee, pink peppercorn and aji amarillo, although his dish seemed sweeter with more lychee than the omnivore version I enjoyed.

Both of us enjoyed the same mushroom salad, and then for third course instead of flank steak, zucchini, cashews and additional salt were used instead for his dish with and apricots, mustard seed, red onion, and parsley. Unfortunately he couldn’t enjoy the panna cotta because it uses gelatin, so a friend volunteered to help him out.

Tofu, aji amarillo, lychee, pink peppercorn, chive, Smallwares PDX, Smallwares Breakside Brewery Beer Dinner Zucchini, cashews and additional salt instead of flank steak for the vegetarian with apricots, mustard seed, red onion, parsley, Smallwares PDX, Smallwares Breakside Brewery Beer Dinner

The service was great, and the flow of the meal was well paced to allow everyone to have time to converse and enjoy their beer without feeling a need to rush because the next course was coming up. Later as the sun set, the staff lowered the curtains so we would not be blinded, and then later still they pulled open some of the garage door walls to open up the restaurant to the outside. The bartender returned to the table several times, offering to pour a little more of a beer taster for us from the growler, and Ben and his brewers gave a little talk at the beginning to introduce the beer, and also stopped by so that both ends of the table got to talk to them.

I love what Breakside is doing with experimenting with savory and sweet additions in their beer, and was even more excited to hear that the Milwaukie location has their Salted Caramel Sweet Stout (a collaboration with Salt & Straw Ice Cream and Jacobsen Salt Co) on tap!  It’s one of my favorite beers from them, though I also love their Aztec Bourbon Barrel, their Old Bourbon Woody, the Whiskey Dick…  it’s hard to believe they’ve only been around for 3 years because of all the great and balance of classic and experimental unique beers they have crafted in that time. Yay for the brewers of Breakside!

This weekend is the International Beer Festival, and next week on Wednesday kicks off Oregon Brewers Festival… the beer continues!

Signature

Filed Under: Beer Review, Festival Event, Food and Drink Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Saraveza and Block 15 Winter Dinner

February 27, 2013 by 5 Comments

Sunday, Feb 24th at 6pm Saraveza and Block 15 hosted a special Pre-Fixe Winter Vintage Draught Dinner at Saraveza’s Bad Habit Room, highlighting pairings of Block 15 beers with food courses, and including verticals of the beers. We started out with a glass of Golden Canary 2011 and getting to know the other guests at the table (if you weren’t in one of the 5 2-tops along the wall where presumably the 2 people already knew each other) that you would be spending your evening enjoying food and drink. The Bad Habit Room has been remodeled since I saw it last, and now has a beautiful curved bar that takes up a corner space, and lovely chandeliers provide sparkling lighting ambiance that can class up any event.

The Golden Canary is a barrel matured golden wild ale blend, and was Block 15’s first journey into their wild yeast program. Since they were aging these wild cultures in the same cellar with their normal beers, others expressed doubt and concern that there would be cross-contamination and it would all explode. They called Block 15 a canary in a coal mine… and thus came the inspiration for the name for this beer.

This is one of my favorite things about the entire night- Nick Arzner (head brewer and co founder of Block 15) telling us the story for each beer like they are each his children. Since he and his wife are expecting their first child (congratulations!), I wonder if he will continue to be the one at Portland events telling these stories or if other brewers will take up that role.

Saraveza and Block 15 Prixe Fixe Winter Dinner menu with Golden Canary from Block 15 Saraveza and Block 15 Prix Fixe Winter Dinner at Bad Habit Room

First Course:
Crab Stuffed Profiteroles on a bed of frisee and Pineapple Aioli
Paired with 2011/2012 Wonka’s Wit, Belgian style white ale spiced with orange peel and coriander. Matured in French Oak Pinot Noir barrels for nine months with wild yeast. 5% ABV

The 2011 offered more pleasure for me on its own so I could enjoy its more yeasty flavor, while the citrus was more apparent in the 2012 so complimented the dish to bring out the hint of pineapple while cleaning up the creaminess.

Beer always tastes different from year to year- not only because of the ingredients (be it directly such as hops and wild crazy who knows what it is doing yeast, or environment such as the barrels), but because Block 15 uses a Solera process. I covered this previously when at the Breakside Brewery dinner, but this means there is always a small portion of the product that is left in the barrel, and then the new product is added, so history lives on and contributes to the next generation.

It is one of the constant tensions I have with Block 15 and Firestone Walker and Russian River and Mikkeller… I want to drink their barrel aged, high alcohol beer and enjoy it, but I also know that if I give their barrel aged beers a little time, it will change the characteristics and I can see how it grows up (but not too much where it mellows out to lose flavor). And yes, Block 15 are one of the 5 breweries (“of the Wood” from Hair of the Dog being the other local brewer) that we like to buy multiple of and have some in the cellar.
Block 15 Vintage Draught Dinner and Pairing Saraveza Crab Stuffed Profiteroles on a bed of frisee and Pineapple Aioli

Second Course:
Beef Tartar with Shallot Dijon & Oregon Tart Cherries
Paired with 2010/2011 Demon’s Farm, Ruby Black Farmhouse Aged in Pinot Noir Oak and Bourbon Oak with Brettanomyces and Oregon Tart Cherries 8.75% ABV

The 2010 had a darker dryer feel which was interesting to counterpoint the beef tartar if the spoonful also included one of the cherries. Meanwhile, the 2011 seemed to have a rounder sweetness to it.

Nick explained that in the 2010 he had used an Oregon oak barrel but thought it was adding too much tannin to the flavor so removed it in the 2011 production. He also told the story about how this beer was born from the dart toss at Cheers to Belgian Beer… and he suddenly found himself having to contend with making a dark strong beer with a Belgian Saison yeast strain… and, it’s was all Brewer’s Iron Chef from there to here!
Block 15 Vintage Draught Dinner and Pairing Beef Tartar with Shallot Dijon Oregon Tart Cherries

Third Course:
Seared Foie Gras on Brioche w/Coffee Dusted Roasted Figs, Chocolate Almond Sauce
Paired with 2011/2012 Super Nebula, Bourbon Barrel Matured Imperial Stout 11% ABV

Not surprisingly my favorite dish and beer and pairing, because I already love the dark chocolate coffee chewy flavors of Super Nebula, and add in the buttery softness of that seared foie gras and I was in heaven. I believe I was cutting the slivers of foie gras as thing as possible so I can savor each bit individually and close/roll my eyes.

As for Super Nebula, it is my favorite. At Hop & Vine’s first bottle release part with Block 15, I went alone because I really wanted some bottles of Pappy’s Dark, which I had a major crush on from Bailey’s Cellarfest. I had no idea about Super Nebula until I got into the bar and saw that was available to taste. Yeah, I also remember that was the first time I met Nick and he seemed sort of shy and not sure what to say as he was meeting those in line to buy the bottles of Pappy’s Dark.

Clearly in the past couple years he has reach a super high comfort level. Last year he was very easy going and beer geek proud giving us the brewery tour when I decided (I remember booking my ticket at Bailey’s as soon as I saw it on my phone, got F’s permission, and then bought it immediately as I knew they would- and they did- sell out) on the Brewvana + New School: Corvallis VIP Tour with Block 15 to get bottles last year. This time, throughout the entire night he had to keep reminding himself to impose a 2 minute limit, but the storytelling just is so hard to hold back…

Block 15 Saraveza Dinner Pairing Seared Foie Gras on Brioche Coffee Dusted Roasted Figs, Chocolate Almond Sauce

Next, we had a “break and discussion” where everyone enjoyed a cool palate cleanser of Block 15’s Wandelpad Belgian Pale Ale 6.4% ABV. This was one I had not had before, and it was endearing as he told the story of travelling to Belgium and staying at the B&B while visiting St. Bernardus (and yeah, if I ever go I will definitely stay at their B&B right on the estate!- I believe it is Brouwershuis B&B Although wtf you mention the beer fridge didn’t mention they also have fresh baked bread and their own cheese…?!) and sampling a few too many so needing to take a walk along the path to sober up with his wife- and thus the story behind the name of this beer.

Fourth Course:
Bourbon Pork Belly and Kale Stew with Winter Vegetables
Paired with 2010/2011 Pappy’s Dark, Pappy Van Winkle Bourbon Barrel Matured Strong Ale 10% ABV

This stew was amazing in terms of complexity of flavors and textures. I wanted to have the brioche I had not eaten from the third course back to sop every dop up. It was a little difficult for me to drink the Pappy’s Dark with this though as this stew really comforted but also heated me up in terms of body temperature.

Block 15 Saraveza Pairing Dinner Bourbon Pork Belly Stew with Winter Vegetables

Fifth Course :
SugarPimp’s Dessert of Figgy Pudding (made with Block 15 Figgy Pudding)
Paired with 2011/2012 Figgy Pudding Brandy Barrel Matured Holiday Ale conditioned with Mission Figs, Ceylon Cinnamon & Nutmeg 11% ABV

Figgy Pudding is a English malt London yeasted beer inspired by the English cake of the Christmas song… and I was thrilled to after all those times I’ve heard those lyrics for my first experience with the actual figgy pudding cake. At this point I was so seriously full I tried to take bites of the Figgy Pudding x3 but was struggling in this final, third hour. The Figgy Pudding dessert was a date and fig based cake that was moist and melt in your mouth that was then served with toffee sauce and brittle and mascarpone-stuffed dried figs. I was so sad that I didn’t have more room for this big piece of dessert, but what a sweet ending to a fantastic night.
Block 15 Saraveza Dinner Pairing Figgy Pudding

Signature

Filed Under: Beer Review, Festival Event, Food and Drink Tagged With: , , , ,

Breakside Brewer’s Dinner at Wildwood

June 30, 2012 by 2 Comments

There was a Wildwood restaurant event of a Brewer’s dinner with Breakside Brewery Friday, 6.29 in Wildwood’s back (and newly renovated event space) Wood Room. Wildwood’s Paul Kasten & Breakside Brewery’s Ben Edmunds recently collaborated to brew “Old Woody”, another one of Breakside’s series in which Brewer Ben works with a restaurant chef to make an interesting beer. They then created a special pairing dinner to pair various Breakside Brewery beer with Chef Paul’s gastronomic creations, including of course drinking “Old Woody”. All this was at the reservation price of $65 which was inclusive of food, beer and gratuity… yes that’s right, 6 courses, all paired with beer, tip included!

The menu included

  1. strawberries and asparagus basil, spring onion, champagne vinaigrette, goat cheese, saba paired with solera-style lambic. Brewer Ben explained meant that this beer was made using the solera process in which 3 beers were used in succession in the barrel with a little purposely left as the new beer was added, so this beer is the culmination of the flavors from all three (Sour Double Wit, Soursop Wheat, and Sourdough Ale plus Brettanomyces lambicus to make it a lambic… despite all the”sour” in the beer names, it only has a slight sourness to it). Pairing wise, he also noted that the same sort of acid found in this beer was echoed in the goat cheese of this salad.
  2. pastrami pork belly éclair spring onion, pickled chile cream cheese icing paired with newport summer ale although for the vegetarian, the pairing was mixed summer greens with cucumber, snap peas, and feta. Of all the items in the menu, this was one I highly anticipated, and I loved the taste of the pork belly eclair with the chili cream cheese (although I thought the amount of icing was a bit overwhelming for the beer, though it was tasty), a melding of the tang of the cream cheese with the softness of the eclair and the meaty with bit of fat of the meat inside. At the same time, I thought the nice fresh taste of the radishes and greens was quite complimentary with the ale too, perhaps even a better pairing… though I would not give up that pork belly eclair.
  3. lamb carpaccio guajillo oil, grilled scallions, crispy chickpeas, cumin yogurt paired with session brown which for the vegetarian was a grilled asparagus and farro salad with scallions and lemon that used a slight grilled smoke taste from the asparagus to go with the malt forwardness of this beer- in this case both pairings of food dishes was excellent but the lamb was better, particularly with those awesome light as air crispy chickpeas and guajillo oil
  4. crispy chicken confit wild mushroom and fava bean panzanella paired with old woody while the vegetarian had panzanella with wild mushroom and fava beans. Both these dishes were fabulously full of crispness and complex savory flavor to hold up with this collaboration beer that has a touch of sweetness from molasses. Panzanella, a stale bread dish, never sounded that interesting to me but now I know that crunch from the bread balanced with flavors of oil and vinegar and mushrooms sounds simple but delivers more than what you would think from the sum of those parts

  5. pan seared rib eye filet fava purée, grilled porcini, pale ale glace paired with old bourbon woody while the vegetarian pairing was russet potato gnocchi with morel mushrooms, fava beans, and creme fraiche. I’m certain this is the beer that started really working out my liver (just looked it up as it’s currently at Breakside Brewery on their board listed at 11%) but the complexity of flavor that every sip of liquid offered is well worth it, this is one fine beer. Ben also mentioned this beer’s other alias, Old Whiskey Dick.
  6. colston-basset stilton honey, candied walnuts, brooks cherries paired with bourbon barrel aged 1st anniversary wheatwine This was the only beer I didn’t love (though I still like it) because I thought it had too much alcohol upfront (it does clockin at 12.7%) and I would have liked to have it sit a little longer to mellow out, but F thought the beer was perfect as it was/is.

All the food and beer pairings were really wonderful through all six courses without anything being a disappointment and in fact, even impressing us more than we expected. Overall it was an amazing experience as everyone around us was a beer and food lover, but we got to enjoy this in a relaxed but refined atmosphere.

Wildwood also has a great bar with seasonal summer concoctions I enjoyed while waiting between the end of work and beginning of this brewer’s dinner. One of their summer drinks is the The Naughty Kitty with pimm’s, india lemongrass, lime and strawberry puree, a sweet but not too sweet drink that definitely took me away from my worries quickly and smoothly. I also appreciated a little gift from the kitchen of pate with a little dop of mustard and bit of cornichon all vehicled into the mouth by a little toast… as if I wasn’t already grateful enough that the Chef was willing to put together a vegetarian version of the six courses at my request. Enboldened by this bite, I decided I still had enough time to try one more cocktail that caught my eye- Oh Snap! Tanqueray, cointreau, mint tincture, lemon, and sugar snap peas puree, a fresh cocktail. As always, I have never been disappointed by Wildwood in presenting me with local and seasonal flavors that really embody the Northwest region.

Signature

Filed Under: Beer Review, Festival Event, Food and Drink, Restaurant Review Tagged With: , , , , , , ,
« Previous Page