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
Wednesday, September 28, 2005
Tomato Harvest & Beer
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.
***************
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.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment
Comment here ...