When it comes to holidays, I am, to my family, the one in charge of the beverages for holiday gatherings. This year, the wine drinkers out number the beer drinkers, so I decided on four delicious, beers brought up from the depths of my cellar to complement our Thanksgiving feast this year. I also decided to share them with you, so if you feel the need to crash our party, you know what to expect. Some of these beers are available right now, but some are pretty rare.
Breckenridge Brewery has a pretty awesome looking beer dinner coming up this weekend in Colorado Springs, the menu was just released and it looks great. This whole week is jam-packed with all sorts of beer events across the Pikes Peak Region, so if you find yourself wanting to hang out in the downtown area, I'd give this dinner a big recommendation. Breck will have two really special beers available including a Barrel Aged Summerbright, which is usually a pretty easy drinking wheat beer, and they'll have a firkin of their Oatmeal Stout with the added goodness of chocolate and coffee. They'll also have seasonals and other great favorites.
The dinner is at Brewer's Republic on Saturday, Sept. 21st. Tickets are $35 and include 5 courses with 5 beers. Tickets are available at Brewer's Republic and at Coaltrain, you must pick them up in advance if you want a spot. Here's the menu:
Breckenridge Barrel Aged Summerbright Ale
Caesar salad with chevre, served in a parmesan basket.
~ Breckenridge Autumn Ale
Pumpkin ravioli with a gouda cream sauce
~ Breckenridge 471 Double IPA
Smoked beef brisket tamale
~ Breckenridge Vanilla Porter
Beef back rib with blackberry habanero glaze
~ Breckenridge Oatmeal Stout firkin with Chocolate and Coffee
Chocolate Creme Brulee
Brewer's Republic is located at 112 N. Nevada, Colorado Springs, CO.
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On Saturday, June 29th, Brewer's Republic has a really fantastic looking beer dinner and I wanted to make sure it was on your radar. Check out the menu below. The pairings look awesome, the one that looks really fantastic is the Fluffy Kitty Meow Meow IPA with Orange and Jicama salad. The beer, which has the best name for a beer that I've ever heard of, is a limited run beer, and if I had to guess, it's probably a super-citrusy flavor bomb of an IPA. And then an Oatmeal Raisin Yeti? What a treat. We give high recommendations for this dinner.
Tickets are only $35 for 5 courses. Make reservations by stopping in at Brewer's Republic at 112 N. Nevada, Colorado Springs or call them at 719.633.2105
First course: Great Divide Nomad Pilsner with Cream, Tequila, and Cactus soup with hominy and cilantro, and finished with jullienned radish topper.
Second course: Great Divide Rumble with Deep fried Avocado in a cumin beer batter served with a cilantro sour cream dipping sauce.
Third course: Great Divide Fluffy Kitty Meow Meow IPA with Orange and Jicama salad- fresh oranges with Jicama in a ground chile, tossed in vinaigrette and finished with fresh scallions.
Fourth course: Great Divide Claymore Scotch Ale with Sliced Skirt Steak marinated in a roasted tomato and garlic sauce, grilled to perfection with a roasted pepper and red onion tapenade drizzled in a chipotle cream sauce served with a roasted garlic and poblano pepper mashed potato
Fifth course: Great Divide Oatmeal Raisin Yeti with Chile infused dark chocolate bark with bacon, marshmallows and salted peanuts.
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Warning: I am not a foodie! I’m a beer drinker. I always prefer to sit at the bar before
asking for a table. I welcome anyone wanting to chat about the beer they’re
enjoying and I soak up any knowledge people are willing to share. I tend to not
go to events if it means I’ll need to put on something other than jeans.
This last Friday I went to a beer dinner at the Melting Pot.
When I think of the Melting Pot, I envision forcing myself to put thought in to
my attire for an intimate Valentine’s Day, ordering a fancy
bottle of wine that I might struggle to appreciate (sorry, not a wine-o!), and trying to eat dripping
morsels of food in a somewhat dignified manner.
The Melting Pot I saw at the beer dinner was completely
different than what I imagined.
Banana Foster Flambé
The dinner was four well-thought-out courses and a dessert,
each paired with a beer from Great Storm.
This is common for most beer dinners. However, a few things really stood
out.
Devyn from Great Storm, introduced all of the beers. Steve, owner
of the Melting Pot who also designed the courses and pairings, was there to introduce
all of the food. They both did a great job walking around, knowledgeably answering
questions, engaging the guests, giving out brewery schwag, and a favorite of
many – offering refills.
The environment was very conducive to people talking. One
guest said, “All of our tables share similarities so the conversation keeps
going while we keep finding common ground.” The biggest common ground: beer.
“We don’t do wine, we do beer,” said a couple that has been coming to the
Melting Pot’s beer dinners regularly. I’m not sure if it was the larger tables or the fact that you
were dueling with complete strangers for dipping rights, but everyone really
seemed to “melt” into more conversation than I’d seen before at any other beer
dinner.
The beers and food went so well together. Something
different you get out of the fondue pairings is the creativity that comes with the
variety, as opposed to just one dish paired with each beer. Each course was an
exploration trying the different food dipped in all of the sauces. One guest
told me, “I really enjoy seeing how the different food changes the taste of the
beer.” Each person was able to explore comparisons and contrasts with the four
Great Storm beers. The second
course was made up of a traditional Swiss Fondue and Mardi Gras Cheddar Fondue,
each mixed with Great Storm’s Seven Wolves IPA. This was my personal favorite.
Having the savory cheese next to the bitter of
this blended hop IPA really highlighted each other's characteristics and was a great example of the efforts put in to the pairings. Who can say no to beer and cheese?
Lettuce Wraps with Great Storm's Lightning Wit
The star of the show was most definitely the dessert. When
the banana foster was set on fire, or flambé as I’m told it’s called, everyone was
aflame. It helped finish off the night with a sense of excitement.
Lesson of the evening: fun beer events can be found in otherwise traditionally non-beer places. The Melting Pot really impressed me with a beer drinker
friendly event. How can you enjoy one of these affairs? Check out their
upcoming events on their local Melting Pot site,
or join their Club Fondu mailing list.
They're expecting to host the next beer dinner in August and I definitely recommend it.
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The Vail Big Beers Festival is like an extension of the holiday season. The holidays are always a beautiful time of the year, I look forward to them, I love traveling to see my family, I love the food, the smell of the Christmas tree, I love partying with friends on New Year's Eve, and I love that in my life time seems to slow down a bit. Luckily, when it's all over you still have this festival to look forward to, as it usually takes place within two weeks of the new year. I've attended the festival for three years in a row now, I've proclaimed loudly that it is my favorite festival, and each year I look back and cherish the two-three days I spent in Vail.
Many people call the "Commercial Tasting" the main event of the festival. This is much like other festivals where breweries set up their booths and pour small samples of beer. At this festival all the beer is over 8% and a lot of it is really specialty and hard to get stuff. But for me, this commercial tasting is not the sole reason I attend, nor is it the main event in my mind. Instead there is a diffusion of main events, multiple educational seminars, outstanding beer dinners, a gigantic mountain for skiing, and a good chance to catch up with friends from other places. These are all the "main events" of Vail Big Beers.
Trinity Brewing has gone above and beyond with this year's Wild Beer & Game dinner! This week they are bringing sour beer expert Peter Bouckaert down from New Belgium brewing to brew a special collaborative Berliner Weiss at Trinity and that beer will be one of the beers available at the six-course dinner, each course paired with a beer that has wild yeasts. That kinda blows my mind a little. Check out the menu below to see just how amazing this year's dinner will be.
If you'll step back in time with us for a moment you might remember that we covered last year's Wild Beer & Game dinner. It was definitely a standout moment for me and some of the best pairing beer and food pairing I've had. See all our photos and recap of that here.
So you're not going to want to miss out on this event. Seats are very limited and will likely sell out very quickly. Tickets are $90 plus tip. (***Just heard they sold out immediately! Better get on the waitlist!) The event is set for Sunday Feb. 24th at 8pm. Visit Trinity or call at 719.634.0029.
Here's a look at the menu:
New Belgium & TRiNiTY Berliner Wiesse Collaboration, with Amuse Bouche.
Cantaloupe and Locally Raised Wild Goat Buffalo Cheese on an Endive Leaf.
Biere de Mars alongside appetizer.
Colorado Micro Celery wrapped in a Thick Cut Wild Boar Prosciutto Cigar.
Red Swingline, IPA Primitif and salad.
Fried Kale topped with Roasted Red Peppers, Red Onions, Supremed Tangerines finished with a Marinated and Lightly Seared Ahi Tuna in a Miso Drizzle.
Heavenly Feijoa Tripel paired with our Entree.
Wild Gulf Shrimp Sauteed in a White Wine Lemon Butter then topped with a Garlic Beurre Monte Sauce over a Local Rice Pilaf.
Damn, it Feels Good to be a Gangsta, Obscur Noir and the Main Course.
Pan Seared Crusted Pheasant served with Caramelized Buttered Carrots in a Grains of Paradise Seasoning.
Transatlantique Kriek accompanying Dessert.
Local Glacier Vanilla Ice Cream with a Wild Grain Cinnamon Brugge Waffle and a Dark Chocolate Pappy Legba Drizzle topped with a Sprig of candied Mint.
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If you have been paying attention you know that we've been planning a Beer Bacon Breakfast as part of our blog's Second Anniversary Weekend Party. Well, we are very very very happy to say that you can now make your reservations. This will be the ultimate hangover meal. After filling yourself completely the previous night with specialty beer at our Anniversary Party at Trinity you can just sit down and work off that headache with five courses of bacon-laced grub from Front Range BBQ.
We have worked with FRBBQ closely to pair some fantastic rare beers with each course. The menu is not finalized but there are whispers of a bacon-maple donut and we will be sure to reveal the menu in all of it's glory as soon as it's ready. But, by then I imagine all the seats will be reserved, we expect this to fill up very quickly so please call in and reserve your spot now. $50, plus tax and tip. You'll also have to sign a waiver in case your arteries clog while you're there. No joke! The beers we have confirmed so far are: Oskar Blues Whiskey Aged Ten Fidy, Elevation Prostrator Smoked Dopplebock, Avery Out of Sight Coffee Infused Stout, and Crabtree Berliner Weisse. We'll still have a few more beers as well. Call to RSVP at 719.632.2596.
***Update***
The Beers
Welcome Beer Cocktail - Your choice of Twisted Pine Billy's Chilies
used in a Bloody Bacon Beer OR Bristol Brewing 2010 Barlywine used in a
Bacon Beermosa.
Elevation Prostator Smoked Doppelbock
Oskar Blues Oak Aged Ten Fidy Imperial Stout
Crabtree Berliner Weisse (Intermission Beer)
Avery Out of Sight Coffee-Infused Stout
New Belgium Super IPA
Odell The Meddler Oud Bruin
Russian River Pliny the Elder
The Food
Chipotle-Bacon-Jelly filled Donut
Fruit Braised Pork Belly over Cheddar Bacon Drop Biscuits topped with a Bacon Hollandaise Sauce
Sweet Potato Ham Hash with Bacon Cheese Grits & Poached Egg
Pancake Sandwich filled with Canadian Bacon, Egg, Beer Cheese Sauce, topped with a Beer Syrup
Ground Bacon & Chorizo Scotch Egg Burrito with Queso Fresco & Green Chili Pico de Gallo
Bacon S'mores with Beer Ice Cream
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Sunday mornings just got a lot more interesting when Brian Fortinberry, owner of Front Range BBQ, decided to have beer brunches on select dates. We're helping plan a beer, bacon, breakfast on Dec. 09 and we can confirm that beer for breakfast is great. So, I had the pleasure of attending the most recent brunch, a Belgian beer themed brunch consisting of 5 entrees paired with one or two Belgians beers.
Do I even have to tell you that the Belgian Beer Brunch is going to be incredible? Front Range BBQ is pulling out the stops and will be serving quite an exquisite five-course breakfast-time feast this weekend (Sunday) featuring seven wonderful beers. Have you ever drank beer this early in the morning? On special occasions I have, and it's a lovely couple hours. In fact I've been to a FRBBQ beer brunch and it was truly a great time. The same way I imagine that a mimosa or a bloody mary are the perfect remedies for those hazy mornings after long nights of fun a beer brunch is perfect for a day where you'd just like to chill out, be convivial, and enjoy the crisp air. I can't recommend this event enough.
Last week, Coaltrain and Blue Star threw what may have been the most mouth-watering-est and elegant beer dinner I've ever seen. Eight Jolly Pumpkin beers with a five course menu. I'm going to let the pictures do all of the talking in this post. And don't worry, you're not the only one who is jealous about the dinner, I wasn't able to make it because I'm out of state. If these photos are too much to handle, you better sign up for the Firestone Walker beer dinner that takes place this Wednesday, and the owner of the brewery will be visiting the restaurant from California, so it's really a nice treat.
Okay...Blue Star is awesome. Not only do they have that Jolly Pumpkin beer dinner but they've not got this pretty fantastic one with Firestone Walker Brewing from Colorado. Why is that cool? Well, Firestone continues to win countless (I do mean countless) awards at GABF, they have absolutely perfect beers, AND I've recently heard that FW owner David Walker is flying out and will be a part of this dinner. Yep, so if you go to the dinner you get to meet David Walker and get a few special beers. That's really cool.
Here's info for the dinner, you'll want to book your tickets now.
Firestone Walker Beer Dinner At Blue Star / 1645 S. Tejon, Colorado Springs Wed. July 25th / 6:30pm / $65 / RSVP 719 .632.1086
Jolly Pumpkin Artisinal Ales is a brewery in Michigan that specializes in open-fermentation, oak-aging, wild and sour beers. They are a phenomenal brewery, one of the very best in the country and one of the most reputable with brewers and beer geeks alike.
A couple weeks ago Isaac and I had the privilege of helping The Blue Star and Coaltrain pick out which Jolly Pumpkin beers should be a part of the next beer dinner and which order they should go in. It was one of my favorite drinking sessions ever, the beers were absolutely killer and I believe we all came up with a lineup that will totally knock your socks off. I just got word that the menu is finalized, so I'm sharing all the menu here. In all honesty, this beer dinner will be ridiculously good, I would recommend getting your ticket because this will sell out.
Jolly Pumpkin Beer Dinner July 19th / 6:30 / The Blue Star / 1645 S. Tejon St. / RSVP 719-632-1086 $65 plus tax & gratuity
I've noticed that Colorado Springs loves beer dinners. We've attended quite a few over the last year and perhaps there are three important rules I've noticed for beer dinners: 1 - Good beer and good cheese can make an extraordinary pairing and also makes a perfect first course. 2 - Beer mixed with fruit juice can make for the best mimosas. 3 - People are quieter at the beginning of the dinner but by the end of dinner everyone is friends with everyone and no one wants to go home.
With that in mind, I'd like to mention a few upcoming beer dinners that I believe deserve your attention.
Thanksgiving is less than a week away. I love Thanksgiving for the food but have generally never been able to find a wine that goes well with the dinner. I converted to trying out beer with dinner so I'll share some of my thoughts with you, using beer you should be able to pick up in Colorado Springs. If you're in the Pikes Peak Region, but not the Springs, take some of my ideas and work with the offerings at your local brewery. Even if you're in the Springs, you'll have to either visit Coaltrain's, the Springs Liquor Outlet, or another place that carries good beer. Or visit the brewery to pick up a growler (64oz) of beer.
I think many people choose to bring wine to the Thanksgiving Dinner because family has gathered together and wine has the appearance of being a bit more classy, well, it is when you compare it to the 3.2% beers you buy in the grocery store. But good beer can offer a complexity and flavor palate that far surpasses anything that wine can offer, and it can be presented in an elegant way as well. If you don't have snifter glasses, just pour the beer into a wine glass.
Pre-Dinner Beer:
If you're the average household during Thanksgiving, the guys are all watching TV in the
