Vino Vixens meet Foam Fatales

This past evening (Monday Feb 11), Blue Ridge Brewers Association member Dan Hurlbert held a beer tasting event hosted by the Vino Vixens, a local group of ladies dedicated to self-educating the fineries of wine culture.  Discussions centered on the history of beer making, emphasizing contributions women “brewsters” have made throughout millennia.  This was followed with a discourse on the mechanics of brewing and a brief dialog on the four basic ingredients of beer and how brewers mix and match these ingredients to achieve certain beer styles.  Finally, it was time for the main attraction; a beer/food pairing spectacular. 

A broad spectrum of styles were tasted and paired with a fantastic array of food delights prepared by “chef” Patressa Kearns. Following are beers tasted and their suggested pairings, so enjoy:

Czech Pilsner Urquell served with "white" pizza – a Jim Lahey's "My Pizza" crust (homemade) smothered with goat cheese, smoked salmon, marinated artichoke hearts, fresh grape tomatoes, mixed wild mushrooms, garlic oil (homemade), homemade béchamel sauce, chopped dill, olive oil drizzle and black pepper.

Hoggarden Bavarian Wheat served with a Reuben pizza – a pumpernickel rye crust with lots of caraway seeds, sauerkraut, chopped yellow onion, spicy 1000 Island dressing (homemade), beer smoked sausage, pastrami, more caraway seeds and grated Swiss cheese.

Beaver Run Breweries Rauch Pale Ale (RPA) paired nicely with the next course of parsnips -- roasted with olive oil, kosher salt, white pepper, and a sprinkling of cumin, Brussels sprouts -- roasted with walnut oil and olive oil, with walnut halves, kosher salt, and black pepper and a mushroom Pate made with Dominion Pale Ale.

Sierra Nevada’s Torpedo Extra IPA was next in the lineup served with traditional "Italian meat" pizza – a chewy traditional Italian crust, pepperoni, Italian sausage, extra fennel seed, a couple pinches of red pepper flakes, lots of Italian seasoning, lots of extra dried oregano, red onion, fresh garlic, tomato sauce, a mix of five Italian cheeses (mozzarella, Parmesan, fontina, provolone, and asiago), chopped green bell peppers and chopped white onion.

Beaver Run Breweries Smokey Tail Porter paired nicely with the Smoked Cheese-Beer Fondue -- made with smoked Cheddar and Abita's "Purple Haze" (raspberry) beer and served with Sourdough Hard Pretzels (Snyder's of Hanover brand), Fresh veggies: "Baby" carrots, celery sticks, radishes, baby Vidalia onions and beer mustard for dipping.

Finally came the dessert finding Legend’s Chocolate Porter and Peak Organic Brewing Oak Aged Mocha Stout flowed nicely with Guinness Stout Cheesecake -- with an Oreo cookie crust, Guinness Stout Chocolate Truffles -- some rolled in Hershey's cocoa, some rolled in black cocoa mixed with a whisper of ground cloves and sweet and spicy beer nuts -- candied pecans, made with Guinness Stout, raw sugar, cumin, cayenne, a little olive oil, some kosher salt, and ancho chili powder.

Bon-Appetit and Cheers to all for a grand success.

Dan

Josh - Brewing Day

Josh addes gypsum and calcium added to distilled water
 during the sparge and mashing to control PH, and bring out specific flavors.
  



Josh's Notes: Note taking is the key to brewing consistently

malted barley for Saison style brew

Stirring the grains in the mash tun

Checking temp of grains in the mash tun

refractomer to measure initial gravity of wort

Hops pellets - close up

Hops pellets to be used at different times during the boil



sparging grains - hot water rinses the wert (liquid that makes beer)
 from malted and boiled grains

Gravity Feed System - hot water to sparge grains, to boil pot

wort (beer essence) with hops added at different intervals duirng the final boil

 

boil pot - boiling the wort (liquid from boiling and rinsing the malted grains)
Here is where you add hops, irish moss, or other adjuncts.

 

brewmaster at work - stirring the wort to prevent scalding



The end of a successful brew day.
 





Brewers at Work - Dan's New Brewing Area

Brew space including obligatory bar area......nice

Bench with Barley Mill

Brew Kettle Set Up with Plate Wort Chiller

 

Hot Liquor (water) tank above, "washing"
liquid from the mashed grains

Proud Brewer

January 2013 BRBA Meeting

BRBA Meeting and Brew Tasting Summary

Notes and Additional Comments on food pairings from Sharron,

the group's resident "foodie" expert

Cranberry Wheat Ale (brewer - Kevin)

This has a light, refreshing, slight tart after- taste from the cranberries. This beer would pair well with chicken summer dishes, Waldorf salads, apples, cucumbers. It would also pair with roasted chicken.

RPA - Rausch or "smoked" pale ale (brewer -Dan)

Smokey taste balances the light taste.  This batch was crafted using Rich Wasmund' donation of 2 row, lightly smoked, malted barley.  This would pair well with winter squashes, root vegetables, especially turnips, grilled starchy vegetables-corn, potatoes, squash.

Holiday Ale (brewer -Tim)

This has a hint of warm spices with a light taste. It would pair well with salads of stronger tasting lettuces, macaroni and cheese made with a light cheddar or combination of mild cheeses. It could also go with uncooked tomatoes and fruit salads.

Black Lager (brewer-Tim)

This has a creamy, slight chocolate taste, a comfy beer.  It could be a sipping beer by itself or it could go with any dish or snacks-great all purpose beer.

Double IPA (brewer-Josh)

This has a smooth, slightly rich, and well hopped flavor. This is definitely a deli sandwich ale- a Super Bowl, sports-watching and eating-nachos and/or soft pretzels with mustard ale.

Hop Back Ale (contribution from Bill from Troeg Brewery)

This is a light, warm tasting, all purpose ale that would pair well with traditional meat and potato meals-meatloaf, steak and mashed potatoes.

Smoked Porter (brewer- Christine)

This has a smooth, slightly sweet malty flavor.  Again this batch was brewed with Rick Wasmund's malted barley donation.   It would pair well with chocolate desserts, custards, marinated game meats and oily fish dishes. It could also be added to ice cream to make floats.

Cherry wood Smoked Porter (brewer - Josh)

This has a mild smoky, sweet and spicy taste. This would pair well with Mediterranean style meat and vegetable meals that use oregano, thyme, rosemary, lemon and olive oil-a really good porter to drink with antipasto.

Irish Stout (brewer - Tim)

This has a smooth, slightly sweet, warm fruity taste- a sweet-tooth lovers’ stout-the perfect drink with apple pie, peach cobbler and apricots.

Java Head Stout-(contribution from Bill from Troeg Brewery)

This has a warm, creamy, smooth and coffee taste-perfect winter, non citric fruit brunch. It would pair well with quiche, sweet glazed ham or pork, desserts with a caramel sauce-a coffee lovers’ drink.