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
