Upcoming December 2014 Brewery Dinners

December 6, 2014 by Leave a Comment

I wanted to share a few upcoming brewery dinners that are being held this month in case you are interested.

Raven & Rose + Goose Island Bourbon County Stout Brewery Dinner

Tomorrow, you can get access to some incredible beers from Goose Island Brewery which you cannot always find here in Portland at the latest Brewery Dinner at Raven and Rose. This one is titled the Goose Island – Bourbon County Release dinner, and offers Goose Island cult favorite beers (with four of them being barrel aged beers aged in wine casks or bourbon barrels) with Raven and Rose’s English Style roast dinner.

The menu includes, for $75 a person, a welcome appetizer and beer pairing, followed by a Sunday Roast family style dinner along with a beer flight, and then a dessert with beer. This brings the total to 6 beers! The details of the menu include

Course 1: Welcome Snacks & Beer

Beer 1.IPA, a fruity aroma, set off by a dry malt middle, and long hop finish

Course 2: Salad

Field Greens, radishes, spiced pumpkin seeds, red wine vinaigrette

Course 3: Family style Mains and Sides for a English-style Roast Supper

Mains

Beef Tri-Tip

Oregon King Salmon

Portland Farmers’ Market Sides Like (depending on what is fresh at the Portland Farmers Market on Saturday – I have seen the staff there on more than one occassion loading up their carts!):

Oven-roasted Peppers & potatoes, olive oil, lemon, sea salt

Roasted Farm carrots & Beets, celery root puree

Fried Cauliflower, anchovy salt, sunflower seeds, manchego

Raven & Rose + Goose Island Bourbon County Stout December 2014 Brewery Dinners

Beer Flight for Course 2 and 3:
Beer 2.Class of ’88, The Class of ‘88 Belgian Style Ale was brewed in collaboration with Deschutes Brewery. brewed with whole flower Mt Hood hops, which were first introduced in 1988, then transferred to Muscat casks and aged with Michigan Riesling Grape juice and Oregon Pinot Noir grape must.
Beer 3.Matilda, dried fruit and clove aromas, a spicy yeast flavor, and a satisfying dry finish
Beer 4.Madame Rose, Brown Ale aged in French oak Cabernet Sauvignon barrels with the addition of Michigan cherries and heavily inoculated with Brettanomyces.
Beer 5.Bourbon County Stout, A liquid as dark and dense as a black hole with thick foam the color of a bourbon barrel. The nose is an intense
mix of charred oak, chocolate, vanilla, caramel and smoke.

Course 4: Dessert Beer Pairing

Beer 6. Bourbon County Barley Wine, aged in Kentucky bourbon barrels this traditional English-style barleywine possesses the subtlety of flavor that only comes from a barrel that’s gone through many seasons of  ritual care

The beer dinner is tomorrow, December 7, from 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm in the Main Dining Room. If you are interested, please contact please email Natalia Toral at natalia@ravenandrosepdx.com. There are often Brewery Dinners at Raven & Rose (I think once a month) or beer specials.

Also, the Sunday Roast dinner is a weekly event at Raven & Rose that replaces the regular a la carte menu, priced at $35 per person for a table (all family style as would be the tradition so the price includes the whole dinner: roast, sauce, potatoes, and a choice of two sides for the table) and served only on Sunday. The dinner features roasts that change weekly like whole lamb on the rotisserie and slow-roasted local pork, each carved to-order for the table, and the sides based on whatever is fresh on the market.

For a peek at what the dinner might be like, check out the pictures and recap from.  A preview of the event attended by fellow blogger ladies Beer Musings from Portland and Salt. Water. Coffee.

Cocotte and Upright Brewing Dinner

Thursday December 11th at 6 PM Upright Brewing, which specializes in farmhouse style ales, has a very tasty beer pairing dinner planned at French restaurant Cocotte by chef Kat LeSueur herself. Farmhouse and French food? Sounds incredible! This will be an intimate dinner limited to only 18 tickets. Reserve a seat by emailing the brewery at uprightbrewing@gmail.com. $65.

Menu

  1. First – Cauliflower and Mushroom Raviolo with Aleppo Chili, Anchovy, Picholine Olives, Pecorino, Fir Tips
    Paired with the Copper and Theory Fifth Anniversary Saison
  2. Second – Apricot Puree, Bay Shrimp & Scallop Salad, Roasted Beets, Shaved Fennel, Grilled Pugliese, Fennel Pollen
    Paired with Jeux d’eau, barrel fermented with Oregon muscat
  3. Third – Charcuterie
    Paired with the Six, dark rye saison
  4. Fourth – Roasted Chicken Breast, Chicken Confit, Chicken Liver Mousse, Apple, Butternut Purée, Yolk
    Paired with Fantasia Reserve, single cask from 2010 peach harvest
  5. Fifth – Cheese Course
    Paired with Spollen Angel, Belgian-style tripel
  6. Sixth – Dark Chocolate Bread Pudding, Cinnamon Coconut Ice Cream, Coconut Coffee Caramel
    Paired with Coffee Stout, wine barrel aged with Extracto cold press

Whole Foods Pearl + Rev. Nat’s Hard Cider Brewery Dinner

I’ve attended brewery dinners at the Whole Foods Market in the Pearl in the past, such as this one with Hopworks that I recapped and this one with Burnside that I also recapped. For December 18, a Thursday, from 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm they are at it again, this time partnering with Reverend Nat’s Hard Cider. This is a huge bargain / value of a brewery dinner I think, the best that I know of in Portland at the moment. You get four courses with four pairings for a mere $40. The dinner also offers you an opportunity to hear from Reverend Nat himself to hear about how he is a cider rebel / revolutionary and evangelist.

The brewery dinner is set upstairs in the room they call the Mezz, which is near where the cafe is. They have done incredible jobs setting up beautiful dinners there before in the past: you will forget you are in a store! If you look carefully, you will see me in the photo in the back right!

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)

Course 1

Gorgonzola cheesecake, tomato sauce, flat bread, basil oil 

Paired with Reverend Nat’s Hazelnut Abbey, a cider utilizing Starvation Valley cranberries, Albina City hazelnuts, organic Minneola tangelos and a touch of winter spices

Course 2

Cider brined trout, apples, greens, pickled fennel, creme fraiche and spiced almond 

Paired with Reverend Nat’s Revival, I think he is probably bringing Hard Apple which is a secret blend of Washington-grown apples and then they add piloncillo, dark brown evaporated cane juice, purchased direct from Michoacan, Mexico. Or, maybe he’ll bring the limited release Revival Dry, which is made with 2/3rds English and French bittersweet-bittersharp apples and 1/3rd American heirloom dessert apples and represents the first cider Reverend Nat ever made.

Course 3

Spiced crusted pork tenderloin with pickled onions, creamy shrimp hominy and yam Yukon whip

Paired with Reverend Nat’s Envy (one in the series of his 7 Deadly Sins ciders), this cider is big, as it is intensely hopped with 11 varieties of hops (boiled, bursted, whirlpooled, dry), a half-ton of dark muscovado and the finest northwest fresh-pressed apple juice

Course 4

Apple crumble with vanilla bean ice cream

Paired with Reverend Nat’s Providence, I’m not sure if he is bringing the Ginger Tonic (to which he adds to the cider pure squeezed ginger juice, hundreds of hand-cut fresh lemongrass stalks, the fresh-squeezed juice and zest of thousands of limes (zested by hand!) and top it off with hand-extracted quinine from the bark of the Peruvian cinchona tree) or the Traditional New England version, a traditional cider that follows a very old recipe dating from early 1600’s colonial America but additionally made with prime California raisins, dark Maldivian muscovado, whole Indonesian cinnamon and nutmeg and fermented to complete dryness on toasted American oak.

Whole Foods Pearl + Rev. Nat's Hard Cider December 2014 Brewery Dinners

To get tickets to this brewery dinner, you can sign up in the store or go to Eventbrite.com at this link. You can also try to win reservations for 2 people by going to the Whole Foods Facebook page here and leaving a comment!

Even if you can’t make either of these two brewery dinners, you definitely want to keep an eye out for future events, either for yourself or perhaps to give as a gift, as both Raven and Rose and Whole Foods offer brewery dinners often as part of a series.

Let me note even if you don’t drink beer often, one of the great things about pairing the beer with food is that it opens up a new way to appreciate the flavors in beer that you might not have realized when drinking beer by itself.

Furthermore, even if you are a beer drinker regularly, these events also give you access to the brewers in a very intimate atmosphere, which is a really unique opportunity.

Which of these brewery dinners interests you? Have you attended a brewery dinner before, and what did you think of it, what brewery was it with?

Cheers!

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Bite of Oregon 2014

August 8, 2014 by 4 Comments

Today is the start of the 3 day food event on the Waterfront Park known as Bite of Oregon 2014, running from Friday August 8 – Sunday August 10. Admission is $5 (but kids 12 or under are free! And they have several booths of games and Chef hat decorating and a Kids Entertainment stage especially geared for them). This grants you access to the Bite all day as it runs from lunch through dinner and then some, 11 AM – 10 PM Friday-Saturday and 10 AM – 8PM Sunday.

This will be my fourth year attending, as it is also for a good cause to support Special Olympics Oregon. And, it is a celebration highlighting food and drink, so of course I’m there. I thought I would share a few tips.

Your $5 is a small price for admission (which is good all day that day- they give you a wristband to show for re-entry). There are usually several booths giving out free samples (for instance last year I sipped various tastes of Cupcake Vineyards and ate a whole Chobani yogurt Flip container), and there is also plenty of seating, multiple stages for live music so something always playing, there’s a show with various culinary Iron Chef, Iron Mixologist, plus other chef competitions and demonstrations all day, two beer gardens, and a wine pavilion and even some representatives of the Portland food truck scene.

You need to purchase your various bites of food and drinks with cash once you are inside.  There are ATMs at the park, but just be prepared with cash when you come visit.

One thing I always highly recommend is to check out the Oregon Bounty Chef’s Table which usually has more complex flavors piled into affordable $4 bites. As an example, at past years I tasted what you see below: Duck Mousseline with Berry Chutney Tomato Confit Bread, Traegar Smoked Food Forest Farm’s Berkshire Pork Porchetta, Served Open Faced on House -made (gluten free) Focacceta Rolls Drenched in Smoky Pork Jus Topped with Nero and Ricotta Cheese (a mouthful of a description but mmm look at the photo!), a Pinot Noir braised Oregon beef on polenta with greens, Marion Berries on Nitro with Fruit Compote & Cookie… Did I mention these are $4?

Duck Mousseline with Berry Chutney Tomato Confit Bread at Bite of Oregon, taste from Oregon Bounty Chef's Table for $4 Traegar Smoked Food Forest Farm’s Berkshire Pork Porchetta, Served Open Faced on House -made (gluten free) Focacceta Rolls Drenched in Smoky Pork Jus Topped with Nero and Ricotta Cheese at Bite of Oregon, taste from Oregon Bounty Chef's Table for $4 Pinot Noir braised Oregon beef on polenta with greens from the Oregon Bounty Chef Table, thanks Oregon Beef Council at Bite of Oregon 2013 Dessert: Oregon Blackberry & Raspberry Commission's Oregon Marion Berries on Nitro with Fruit Compote & Cookie!. Bite of Oregon 2013

To give you an idea of the many offerings this year for the 2014 Chef’s Table, the Oregon Beef Council promises 18 Hour sous vide Oregon Beef Flat Iron Steak with Butter whipped Yukon Gold Potatoes and Herbs de Provence, and the Seafood Oregon Commission lists Oregon Black Sable Cod Hazelnut Smoked on a bed of fresh Herb and Yakisoba Noodle Salad finished with a Root Beer Rum Barbecue Sauce. And that’s just 2 of the 16 items! Here is a glimpse of some of what you can get for that $4 Chef’s Table ticket (you buy the ticket for $4, and exchange it for one of the Chef Table plates – this way they don’t ever handle money since it is a separate section. The tickets are only good for the Chef Table items).
Bite Of Oregon 2014, example of the 2014 Oregony Bounty Chefs Table food items

Make sure you come hungry… there are lots of other booths as well, and $2-$9 per item and offering some of the sights and aromas like these…

Bite of Oregon, grilling chicken Some BBQ in progress at Adam's Rib Smokehouse from Salem. The smell of smoke and meat is so intoxicating! At Bite of Oregon 2013 Rainbow of Lemonade... home of the free refill. At Bite of Oregon Bite of Oregon, strawberry shortcake Berry Ka Bob at Bite of Oregon

So my second tip is to make sure you first walk around to plan out what you want to eat and drink so you don’t find yourself too full once you come upon some amazing strawberry shortcake sundae like the above.

My next tip is bring the family and friends because then you can share bites together and try a larger variety of things. Though no judgement if you eat it by yourself, that’s cool.

Another tip is to make sure you visit the Wine Pavilion. One of the things I really like about the Bite of Oregon is that there are two dozen booths for tasting here. You don’t have to drive from tasting room to tasting room- they are all gathered here for you, and you can have sips for a tasting fee or just buy a glass in many cases to enjoy out in the sunshine/shade of the Waterfront Park boundaries of the Bite! Some of my favorite wineries like Macindoe Family Cellars and Rizzo Winery and Zerba Cellars will be there and you will not find their wines easily in stores, but they’ve brought it all to us downtown for this weekend.

Look for someone holding a bunch of “Age Verified” wristbands as you enter the Wine Pavilion (they are also located at the entrance of the two Beer Garden areas)- they will check your ID and give you a wristband that proves you are over 21 and can drink.
Rizzo Wines available for tasting at their booth at the Bite of Oregon

This year, there is also a special Wine Bar by SE Wine Collective and they have created several wines specifically for Bite of Oregon attendees, including the 2013 Collective Rose of Pinot Noir, 2013 “Bite of Oregon” Red, 2013 Collective Pinot Noir and “Bite of Oregon” White. The wine bar is located on the other side of the bite from the Wine Pavilion, so look for it near where the food carts are parked.
Southeast Wine Collective's Bite of Oregon 2014 collection. They have created several wines specifically for Bite of Oregon attendees, including the 2013 Collective Rose of Pinot Noir, 2013 Bite of Oregon Red, 2013 Collective Pinot Noir and Bite of Oregon White Southeast Wine Collective's Bite of Oregon 2014 collection. They have created several wines specifically for Bite of Oregon attendees, including the 2013 Collective Rose of Pinot Noir, 2013 Bite of Oregon Red, 2013 Collective Pinot Noir and Bite of Oregon White

There is a little area of various distilleries, and for my next tip I highly recommend you stop by Glaser Distillery and taste their delicious limoncello and award-winning coffee liquor. They are based in Roseburg, Oregon (as part of Glaser Estate Winery) but are working on opening a tasting room in NW Portland in the next half year. I find this news super exciting that they will soon be so much more convenient to replenish my bottle supply (they also offer a too delicious Butterscotch and Chocolate liquor). Their tasting room in Roseburg, where you can also taste wine, has a relaxing patio in the back overlooking a river, and on the front porch there was a skeleton… who came to supervise the tasting booth as I sipped a Limoncello and Ginger cocktail.
Glaser Distillery at Bite of Oregon 2014 Glaser Distillery being supervised by a skeleton at Bite of Oregon Glaser Distillery at Bite of Oregon 2014

Don’t miss stopping by the cider section either – the Atlas Cider company is offering super refreshing apricot and blackberry cider that you will probably walk away having bought a pint of after a taste. After getting that 18 hour sous vide Flat Iron Steak, I enjoyed it with their apricot cider. If you haven’t had Reverend Nat’s Hard cider, try it out too!
Atlas Cider Co at Bite of Oregon was selling their ciders in bottles as well as by the pint of apricot or as you see here, blackberry cider Atlas Cider Co at Bite of Oregon was selling their ciders in bottles as well as by the pint 18 Hour sous vide Oregon Beef Flat Iron Steak with Butter whipped Yukon Gold Potatoes and Herbs de Provence from Oregon Bounty Chef's Table courtesy Oregon Beef Council with Atlas Hard Cider apricot cider Reverend Nat's Hard Cider booth at Bite of Oregon Reverend Nat's Hard Cider booth at Bite of Oregon

If you decide to visit one or both of the two beer gardens, may I recommend something to go with your beer? Such as these Mt Angel Sausage Company homemade European sausage or the food cart The Angry Unicorn‘s Unicorn burger, made with “Unicorn meat” a magical meat with ground bacon, strips of bacon, cheddar on a Krispy Kreme glazed doughnut
Bite of Oregon 2014, Mt Angel Sausage Co homemade European sausage Bite of Oregon 2014, participating food cart The Angry Unicorn and their Unicorn Burger, 's Unicorn burger, made with

Besides the truck looking adorable, the Dannon booth is also giving out various samples of from their yogurt line if you are interested in trying a different yogurt flavor or type of yogurt for free.
The Dannon truck is adorable at Bite of Oregon 2014 Samples of various Dannon yogurts at Bite of Oregon

For the lactose intolerant or even just to try because this is a healthy good alternative, try So Delicious Dairy Free brand booth. They had free samples of their almond milk, coconut milk, and a surprisingly tasty Cococcino coconut milk ice coffee latte made with organic coconut milk and fair trade coffee. They also had dairy free coconut milk ice cream sandwiches and a mocha almond milk fudge bar samples they were giving away!
So Delicious Dairy Free products being sampled at Bite of Oregon, including almond milk and various coconut milk flavors So Delicious Dairy Free Cococcino coconut milk iced coffee Latte, made with organic coconut milk and fair trade coffee So Delicious Dairy Free dairy free coconut milk ice cream sandwiches and a mocha almond fudge bar So Delicious Dairy Free Almond Milk dessert of mocha almond milk fudge bar

My last tip is to make sure you save room for cake from Gerry Frank’s Konditorei from Salem. Although you could share the cake, you could also choose to take the cake home for later if you’d like. That $6 gets you a very generous slice of that extravagant cake that comes in flavors such as Birthday Cake, Raspberry Lemonade, Caramel Pecan, Coconut, Champagne, and more.
Gerry Frank's Konditorei Extravagant Cakes Et Cetera comes from Salem to downtown Portland thanks to Bite of Oregon Gerry Frank's Konditorei Extravagant Cakes Et Cetera comes from Salem to downtown Portland thanks to Bite of Oregon, and offers cake for $6 a slice Gerry Frank's Konditorei Extravagant Cakes Et Cetera comes from Salem to downtown Portland thanks to Bite of Oregon, and offers cake for $6 a slice Gerry Frank's Konditorei Extravagant Cakes Et Cetera comes from Salem to downtown Portland thanks to Bite of Oregon, and offers cake for $6 a slice including flavors like Birthday cake Gerry Frank's Konditorei Extravagant Cakes Et Cetera comes from Salem to downtown Portland thanks to Bite of Oregon, and offers cake for $6 a slice including flavors like the raspberry lemonade cake Gerry Frank's Konditorei Extravagant Cakes Et Cetera comes from Salem to downtown Portland thanks to Bite of Oregon, and offers cake for $6 a slice including flavors like this Truffle cake Gerry Frank's Konditorei Extravagant Cakes Et Cetera comes from Salem to downtown Portland thanks to Bite of Oregon, and offers cake for $6 a slice including flavors like this Caramel Pecan cake

If you’re having your piece of cake at the Bite, consider stopping by the Portlandia Ice Cream Parlor to add a scoops of ice cream to your cake slice. The ice cream in this booth has all been donated so all proceeds from this booth go directly to Special Olympics.
Portlandia Ice Cream Parlor at Bite of Oregon: The ice cream in this booth has all been donated so all proceeds from this booth go directly to Special Olympics. I had a scoop of salted caramel pecan and a scoop of strawberry cheesecake

Have a great weekend – what are you doing for fun this weekend?

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