Evening Of Good Beer And Artisinal Cheese

Cafe Saint-Ex presents an Evening of Good Beer and Artisinal Cheese
Tuesday, 26 October, 7pm-9:30pm

With commentary on the beers and beer-food pairingfrom Thomas Cizauskas of Clipper City Brewing Company, and commentary on the cheeses from Michelle Sasscer of Whole Foods Markets.

Cheese 1
Nancy Camembert
paired with Oxford Raspberry.

Cheese 2
Humboldt Fog
paired with Clipper City Balto MarzHon.

Cheese 3
Everona Dairy Rapidan sheep's milk cheese
paired with Heavy Seas Red Sky at Night Saison.

Cheese 4
Canadian Oka
paired with Unibroue Terrible.

Cheese 5
McLeod Creamery's Middleburg cheddar
paired with Heavy Seas Winter Storm IPA, served fresh from cask.

Dessert Tray
Crater Lake Blue, plated with Moroccan Majul figs and chestnuts
paired with Heavy Seas Peg Leg Imperial Stout

Slow Food Beer Dinner in Baltimore

Thursday evening, September 19th, Sean Bolan's Pub is hosting Slow Food Baltimore. Sean Bolan's is located in the Federal Hill neighborhood of Baltimore, Md. And, in case In case you're not familiar with the international Slow Food movement, here's a quote from its manifesto:

We are enslaved by speed and have all succumbed to the same insidious virus: FAST LIFE, which disrupts our habits, pervades the privacy of our homes, and forces us to eat FAST FOODS. <...> A firm defense of quiet material pleasure is the only way to oppose the universal folly of FAST LIFE. May suitable doses of guaranteed sensual pleasure and slow, long-lasting enjoyment preserve us from the contagion of the multitude who mistake frenzy for efficiency.

Whew! and right-on.

The evening will feature a three course beer dinner: 3 courses, prepared with beer, and served with beer.

• Chicken Satay cooked with hefe-weizen, paired with Buergerbrau Nikolaus dunkel (1st time on draft in US!)
• Pork, pan seared with framboise, paired with Schneider Wiesen Edel-Weisse
• Guinness ice cream float paired with Guinness.
• Dessert: an open cask, tbd.

Ken of Sean Bolan's will discuss the food and offer pointers on cooking with beer. Yours truly and Dave Pollack of B United will discuss the beers.

Beer and Saké Dinner

One of the last functions I organized as an employee of Maryland distributor Legends, Ltd. was a beer and saké dinner at Matsuri in the Federal Hill neighborhood of Baltimore, Maryland, in May of 2004.

Matsuri proprietor Bill Tien (r) and I co-hosted the sold-out event in the cozy restaurant's upstairs room. Bill paired the sakés and beers of Japanese brewer Kiuchi with sushi and Japanese fare. (Kiuchi beers are sold under the name Hitachino.)

I served one non-Kiuchi beer that evening: Kelpie, a Scottish beer brewed with seaweed.

Despite, or maybe, because of that unusual ingredient, Kelpie is quite tasty, and was indeed appropriate for the evening's dinner. (Here's a review of Kelpie, written by Phil Sides, who took the two photos in this post.)

The dinner finished with 'Pink Sushi' for dessert: sticky rice soaked in berries and finished with a fruit glaze.

Assessing the gravity

Assessing the gravity of the situation, at Manayunk Brewing Company, October 1996.

Gravity refers to the amount of fermentable sugars present in the wort (the solution extracted from the malted barley) before yeast is added - and during and after fermentation. In this case, with all that foam present, it appears that I'm assessing the gravity during fermentation.

The photograph was taken when I was the original brewer for the Manayunk Brewing Company, a Philadelphia brewpub. I assisted with brewhouse design and construction (April - September 1996), and, once we opened (October 1996), I was responsible for recipes, brewing procedures, staff training and ... brewing.

I worked with the Chef Bill McConnell to create beer and food pairings printed in the menu. A local beer writer told us that ours were the first he had ever seen.

After Bill moved on, new head chef Ed Fialkowski expanded our beer cuisine program. He added spent grains from the mash to the pizza dough for tang and texture. The Schuylkill Punch, our Raspberry Wheat Ale, he used as the base for the house vinaigrette. He reduced wort (unfermented beer) for his demi-glace.

Farewell Legends; ahoy, Clipper City!

a job change

On August 1, 2004 I leave the employ of Legends, Limited.

Owners Patrick and Sherri Casey have assembled a broad (and growing) catalog of beer (and wine and spirits). In the last 10 years, the duo has done much to promote a 'good beer' culture in Maryland and nationwide. Since August 2001, I have been honored to have had a role in that campaign. I remain a loyal admirer.

I have accepted an opportunity to work with Hugh Sisson, a pioneer of Maryland craft beer, as a representative of his Clipper City Brewing Company .

I have great respect for what Sisson, lead brewer Scott Dietrich, and the entire team of the Clipper City Brewing Company have accomplished.
Specifically ...
1. There's the quality control evident throughout the portfolio.
2. There's the design of the brand extensions -- Clipper City, McHenry, Oxford Raspberry.
3. Finally, there's the introduction of the flavor-driven Heavy Seas line.

Together, these things became a coalescence irresistible to me.

As Territory Manager for Clipper City Brewing Company, my job will be to continue to expand the reach of its brands throughout the District, Montgomery County, and Northern Virginia.

Caveat blogger:
My previous blogs in praise of Clipper City's Heavy Seas beers predate my employment with the company. I must state, to be candid, that it was while under the influence of the Red Sky at Night that I made initial contact.