I hosted yet another beer dinner on Saturday – this time at the Citrus Classic Balloon Festival in Santa Paula.
Skywriters greeting the thousand of attendees!
My company sponsored the festival and I got to set up the pairings, host and eat!
Blue Moon was the welcome beer.
Pork belly sliders paired with Deschutes Mirror Pond Pale Ale.
Rosemary chicken flatbread with Karl Strauss Red Trolley.
Short ribs with risotto cake and Dogfish Head Indian Brown Ale.
Flourless chocolate cake with Rodenbach Grand Cru.
This is Samantha Harvey of Sam ‘n Ash! If you recall, she was playing EVERYTHING at the Banjo and Fiddle Fest! I had to get a picture to send to Brew Chief Joe for proof.
As the sun began to set, the balloons began to rise.
A delicious and magical evening! I love my job.
Tag Archives: food and beer pairing
Citrus Classic Balloon Festival
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Boys in Short Shorts
It’s been a busy week – that seems to be a new tradition. On Wednesday I had a beer and food pairing event at Sagebrush Cantina in Calabases that I designed and had to get there early to set up. I happened to get there just a tad too early and used the extra time as an excuse to go visit Pedaler’s Fork across the street.
I was a tad too late for breakfast…
And just hungry enough that I might be able to finish a piece or two of flatbread.
Smoked chicken and shishito peppers! Smokey and sweet.
The crew from Lagunitas happened to show up as I was enjoying my first bite. They ordered some fancy whiskey for themselves…
…and a shot of Lagunitas Sucks for me. I had a speech to give so I was behaving.
Behaving is very difficult with Pedaler’s selection of 32 taps, but I stood my ground.
Except for a small sip of the fizz that mixologist Thor was trying out. Thor (his actual name is Tor, but I can’t not call him Thor) also happens to be a Chiver!
In exchange for letting me call him Thor, I gave him a Bill F***ing Murray shirt. Good trade, in my opinion.
I enjoyed the last of the sunlight in the rustic restaurant before going back across the street to set up.
Beer. Check.
Other beer. Check.
More beer. Check.
You get the idea. Check.
All in all we had about eighteen different breweries attend with about thirty two beers. I’d spent the past week putting together and finalizing all of the food pairings. Unfortunately for you guys, I got too busy hosting and giving speeches (aka a single two-minute speech about how to taste the beer before I ran to Lagunitas and told them to “beer me” whilst holding out my four ounce glass for a fill) and was unable to take pictures of the actual prepared food. The event and pairing was well-received by all, and brewery tours were promised by reps. It was a good evening for me!
In other news, I’m slowly adding to my beer/brewery photography portfolio. I apologize in advance if these explicit photographs offend anybody.
Behind the scenes for Enegren Brewing’s new beer Shorts Day.
The official pic.
The boys decided to try out the entire brew in their short shorts.
The official beer picture for Shorts Day Spring IPA…
And the background model in all of his white-legged glory.
Again, I’m so sorry.
Filed under beer, beer tasting
Beer Pairing: Bite Me Chicken Stew
Good afternoon! I’ve decided to start a little series about pairing different styles of beer with food – partially in preparation for the Cicerone test, and partially because every single type of meal can be brought to another level when combined with the right style of beer. I’ll try to post a new pairing every week and if you have any questions, recommendations or requests, feel free to write them down in the comments!
Yesterday I was feeling a little under the weather and was craving something warm with a spicy “bite”, so I threw a bunch of random foodstuffs from my cupboards into a pot and came up with:
[gmc_recipe 5659]
If you’d like, you can even make your own chicken stock for this recipe, which is what I did.
[gmc_recipe 5675]
Continue with the Bite Me Chicken and Brown Rice Stew recipe above.
I decided to pair this wonderfully spicy stew with Uinta’s Cutthroat Pale Ale (I’d recommend either a pale ale or an IPA for this soup). The pale ale has just a hint of a bitter backend to enhance the spicy bite that rounds out the edges of the stew, but enough of a light graininess so as to not compete with the flavors. The caramel malts that grace your palate at the end of the sip brings out the sweetness of the corn and tender chicken. If you want to really suffer (in a good way), pair this with a seriously hoppy IPA like Dogfish Head 90 Minute or another dry pale ale. The hops will make the spice even more pronounced and clear your head of any congestion, guaranteed.
Other pale ale pairing recommendations:
– Fish ‘n chips – crisp hops help to cut through the grease
– Grilled/broiled halibut – dry pale ale doesn’t overwhelm the delicate flavors of white fish
– Gumbo – hops bring out the spices while chilling the afterburn at the same time
– Sushi – light flavors in pale ale add a sweet complexity that pairs well with the vinegar-graced sushi rice
– Anything fried, spicy, or seafood of any kind
– Pale ales with higher IBUs are good for dishes like roast beef or pork roasts to bring out the sweetness of the meats
Any other food pairings you’ve tried with pale ale that you’d like to recommend?
Filed under beer pairing, recipe