A Tough Job

But someone has to do it.

Last week my friend Greg dropped off some variations of his award-winning Pike Ale. He was seeking opinions on the three different versions in a blind taste test. So Wednesday evening Colleen and I sat down and "worked' our way through the beers.

Wow, it was a hard decision to pick a favorite. All three are quite good, and any of them I would have enjoyed without complaint. We based our "judging" on taste alone — how much we enjoyed drinking the beer. The beers were extremely similar in flavor, with just subtle variations. After our initial opinions were recorded, we walked away, snacked on some almonds and drank some water. Coming back to the warmed beers, we finished them off, and came up with the same ranking order. Despite having different "favorite" beer styles, Colleen and I both agreed on the same sample as our favorite.

A tough job, but one that I was willing to take on. After all, what are friends for?

Beer Dinner Auction

This past weekend our son's school held its annual fund raising dinner and silent auction. As we've done for several years, for two schools, we donated a beer tasting event. This year's offering will include at least eight courses, for eight people, to be held this summer in our home. We'll pair up a selection of beers and foods, and enjoy a fun afternoon of culinary delights.

As the evening went on, it was obvious that one bidder had his sights set on winning the bidding. He was one of the attendees of last year's event and wanted to do it again. I saw him hovering frequently over the bid sheet to ensure he kept the top bid. At the end of the evening he let us know, with a big smile on his face, "I'll see you in July!"

In order to give the winners something to take home that evening, we put together a basket of related treats; three six packs of craft beer, assorted glasses, and some bottle openers.

The auction bar offered a treat for the craft beer fan as well, one that I appreciated throughout the evening. The bar featured Blue & Gray beers! They served the brewery's Fred Red and Classic Lager on draft, as well as Stonewall Stout and Borman's Belgian Ale poured from fresh growlers. Not a factory beer in sight!

I'm excited just thinking about the upcoming tasting event, and we're already putting together the menu options. Of course, there will be lots of beer and menus to preview in the meantime.

Do It For The Children

As noted previously, our son's school held their annual dinner and auction fundraiser this weekend. At our previous school, each year we donated a craft beer and food tasting event to the cause. Now that he's moved on to high school, we agreed to do the same for the new school. The event consists of at least  eight different courses, served for 6 people, in our home. We discuss the various types of beer, the signature marks of each style along with interesting brewing, beer culture or historical facts related to craft beer. Of course an appropriate food is served with each beer. The event has apparently developed a bit of a reputation as we have folks telling us well in advance they intend to bid it.

The tasting is scheduled be held in May. In order to give the winning bidder something to take home that evening, the package also included a cooler, a bottle opener, a six-pack of Starr Hill beer, a 750ml bottle of Gouden Carolus, 4 assorted specialty beer glasses, 2 Blue & Gray Brewery pint glasses, and copy of the classic "Brewmaster's Table: Discovering the Pleasures of Real Beer with Real Food" by Garret Oliver.

As the evening progressed it became apparent that folks had pooled their resources and two groups were engaged in a bidding war for the event. After the bidding ended, in order to further support the school, we offered to provide another dinner to the second place bidder, if they agreed to also match the winning bid. This offer was accepted.

So, now there will be two Saturday afternoons this Spring that we'll spend expounding on the goodness of craft beer and food, and of course tasting it too! It is a sacrifice that we'll happily take on. After all, we're doing it for the children.

A Winter Beer Feast

As we have done a couple of times previously, (here and here) Colleen and I offered to donate a beer and food tasting event for the annual fundraising auction to benefit our son's school. In previous years, we loaded up the car with food and beer and took the tasting on the road to the winners' homes. This year we hosted it at our house, so we were not as limited in what we could serve. And it was indeed a feast!

The theme for the tasting was "Winter Beers." Each beer was served with a food chosen to demonstrate the variety of food flavors that work when pairing with our favorite beverage. We poured 3-4 ounces of each beer and used of a variety of glassware. There were nine courses served featuring nine different beers. The menu for the tasting and pairing experience is listed below, along with some comments.

Great Lakes Christmas Ale
Winter Warmer (7.5% ABV)
Paired with gingerbread cake with lemon curd
This winter seasonal from Great Lakes Brewing was a perfect match for the gingerbread cake. This was a great start and our guests all commented how good it was, but there was much more to come!

Starr Hill The Gift
Maibock / Helles Bock (6.5% ABV)
Paired with humus, olives, labneh, and pita
This pairing was a nod to the foods we enjoyed on our trips to Italy and Israel. The fresh baked pita with herbs was a hit, as well as the beer.

Sierra Nevada Celebration
American IPA (6.8% ABV)
Paired with Buffalo wings and ranch dressing
The only food that wasn't prepared in our kitchen, the wings were picked up at a local sports bar. This course answered a question I was asked at the start of the tasting, "What beer can I serve with spicy food?"

Gouden Carolus Noël
Belgian Strong Dark Ale (10.5% ABV)
Paired with mixed berries on pound cake topped with custard
The Gouden Carolus Noël came from two bottles I had been saving for a few years. This was a different style of beer than most of the participants had experienced previously, and was enjoyed by all. I think that most were surprised how well it went with the berries. Fruit with beer, not in beer I always say!

Tröegs Mad Elf
Belgian Strong Dark Ale (11% ABV)
Paired with Blue Cheese, Gorgonzola, and Roquefort
This was another beer from our cellar. I've always preferred aged Mad Elf to new, and these bottles had held up quite well. I think several of our guests are planning to put away some of this Tröegs seasonal for the future.

Old Dominion Baltic Porter
American Porter (7% ABV)
Paired with marinated flank steak and garlic ciabatta
This was a last minute addition after I saw it on a store shelf and remembered how much I had enjoyed it previously. Folks were impressed with the beer, but I have to admit, I think the grilled flank steak was the real hit of this course.

Lagunitas Brown Shugga’
American Strong Ale (9.99% ABV)
Paired with crème brûlée
This pairing was one we had never tried previously. As I was, um, refreshing my memory on the flavor of this beer recently, I came across a mention of crème brûlée served with a barleywine and thought it would work here as well. I dare say this just might have been the hit of the menu. One guest admitted that his wife loves crème brûlée and he's always shrugged it off. Now he has to go home and admit that he's been wrong in his opinion. We still have some Brown Shugga’ left, and I'm going to have to convince Colleen to recreate this pairing for dessert real soon.

Williamsburg AleWerks Coffeehouse Stout
Milk / Sweet Stout (5.4% ABV)
Paired with chocolate almond panini
This was a beer that I purchased especially for this event, but had never tried until recently. Like our friend with the crème brûlée, I've been missing out. Everyone commented on the distinctive coffee aroma and flavor of this beer.

Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout
Russian Imperial Stout (10% ABV)
Served with Hershey chocolate, and in an ice cream float
Chocolate and Imperial Stout. What more is there to say? Admittedly, we might have gone overboard with this pairing. By this point, everyone was remarking how stuffed they were. We'd been eating and drinking, a lot, for several hours. We served a 2009 vintage, both a small taster with a bit of chocolate on the side, as well as an ice cream float made with vanilla ice cream, Black Chocolate Stout, whipped cream, and a cherry on top.

It was a fun afternoon of indulging in good beer, good food, and lively, interesting conversation. There were five guests for our meal, and everyone had a good time. Some were old friends and we also made a few new friends as well. Is there a better way to spend a day? And to top it off, the whole thing was done "for the children."