Yours for Good Fermentables ™: September 2005

Wednesday, September 28, 2005

Tomato Harvest & Beer

The beer dinner at Washington D.C.'s Cafe Saint-Ex on Monday 27 September 2005 was a celebration of the harvest season and of the initial release of Clipper City Brewing's newest Heavy Seas beer - Loose Cannon Hop3 Ale.

Chef Barton Seaver created a 5-course menu, each meal using organic locally-sourced heirloom tomatoes, each paired with a different Clipper City beer, including two cask ales, served from firkins (10.8 US-gallon casks).

MENU
☞ Balto Marzhon
Puree of tomato soup garnished with woodgrilled onions

☞ Small Craft Warning Uber Pils
Sliced tomatoes and portobellos drizzled with minted herb oil

☞ Red Sky at Night Saison
Grilled fresh shrimp with endive and tomato compote

☞ Peg Leg Imperial Stout (served from a firkin)
Grilled lamb finished with tomato leaf & hazelnut pesto; served on a bed of carmelized tomato risotto

☞ Loose Cannon Hop3 Ale (served from a firkin)
House-made Tomato Basil Ice Cream

For the lamb dish, Chef Seaver emphasized the minty/herbal aroma of the stems of a tomato plant.

For dessert, Seaver was intrigued by the herbal character of the cask-conditioned Loose Cannon IPA. He stove-reduced fresh tomatoes for an extended period over low heat and then churned and froze them with cream and basil. When I appeared momentarily skeptical, he laughed. "That's why I'm the chef and you're the beer guy."

And, indeed, infused with basil and drizzled with tomato syrup, his ice cream turned out to be an inspired pairing for the herbal/fruity character of the cask-conditioned Loose Cannon. One beer-dinner veteran told me that the evening had been the best he had ever attended.

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In defense of the quality of the photos, I was on a bit of a 'digital diet' back then. In the nine months leading up to the dinner, I lost one digital camera and accidentally drove off with another on my car roof. So, to capture these images, I used an inexpensive disposable digital camera. More photos: here.

Sunday, September 25, 2005

Change brewing in VA?

I have heard this rumor from several sources. I've called certain people in the industry who would be in the position to know something about it. So, I am 75% certain that:

A major regional mid-Atlantic brewery will be sold within the next couple of weeks. The buyer will be a major national brewery. An in-house duopoly at the local brewery is attempting to put together a counter offer.

Thursday, September 01, 2005

Hurricane Katrina

Just think: where would you go, what would you do, how would you live, how would you provide for yourself and your children ... if your entire city was obliterated? Contribute to the Red Cross or do whatever you can do to help the victims of Hurricane Katrina.

What has happened to our brethren at Abita Brewery?