A few weeks ago, I attended the Beermaker’s Dinner, held at the Duck Club Restaurant, featuring the wonderful beers of Firestone Walker. This is the second beer dinner I’ve been to from the Duck Club Restaurant, the first being a Belgian beer dinner hosted by Trappist bartender and Certified Cicerone Nicole Erny. Mrs. BetterBeerBlog and I had a great time and after a long week at work, we were looking forward to this dinner as well.
Unlike the Belgian Beer Dinner, Mrs. BetterBeerBlog and I actually arrived on time this year, in fact, a little bit early. The Lafayette Park Hotel has a wonderful center courtyard enclosed on all sides except for the top. If the weather was warmer, the courtyard wouldn’t have been a bad place to hold the beer dinner as well. The courtyard was where the Duck Club held the reception for the dinner. Waitstaff served sausages and fried while Firestone Walker Solace was served.
Solace, 6% ABV
Solace pours out a cloudy, gold color with a white/off-white, lasting head. The aroma is fruity, I can smell a slightly spicy, clovey, peppery note on the aroma as well as citrus character. The flavor is fruity as well but with a slight sweetness and wheat malt flavor not unlike a hefeweizen. I also pick up a slight tartness in the finish. This is a low hopped beer, both in flavor and bitterness, medium-low bodied and medium-high in carbonation.
According to Firestone Walker’s website, Solace is a “summertime fusion wheat beer”, although judging from the ingredient list on the product page, I’d be hard pressed to tell you why it’s a fusion. I suspect that the omission of what yeast they use could be the fusion part as there are some soft, Belgian yeast characteristics to the beer that I noticed. Even though the appetizers and Solace kept coming out, I had to limit myself or else there’d be no room for dinner.
Dinner was once again served in the main dining room of the Duck Club. Seating was arranged but I made no effort at the time I made the reservation to state a preference. As a result, Mrs. BetterBeerBlog and I were seated with strangers. Well, kind of. We met Pam and her husband Steve (I think) and to my surprise, we were also seated with Dave Hopwood (Stone Brewing rep) and Mr. 21st Amendment himself, Shaun O’Sullivan. I had always seen Shaun at various events but never had the opportunity to talk with him until that night and was looking forward to getting to know him. The opportunity wouldn’t last long though as Shaun ditched our table to hang out at the table were Matt Brynildson and friends were sitting. I wouldn’t have thought much of it but apparently Dave Hopwood, who wasn’t even planning on attending, was convinced by Shaun to go with him and was left high and dry for his trouble.
First Course
Food: Cedar-planked pink trout, plantain tostones, smoked garlic mojo
Beer: Double Barrel Ale (DBA), 5.0% ABV
Tasting Notes: The trout was moist and flakey while the plantains were a little smokey and salty, like bacon. The fresh citrus on the trout was tart and served as a great counterpoint to the fish with the acidity really making the flavors pop. The challenge with cooking fish is to not overdo it, especially when you’re cooking right on a plank but the cooking staff just nailed it on the head; perfectly done. I could’ve eaten pounds of this stuff.
DBA poured a clear, reddish brown ale with an off white head. The flavor and aroma were for this beer was a balance between a slightly sweet, roasted malt character with some nutty undertones and noble hop flavors and aroma. While I found the malt flavors to be more pronounced over the hop character, neither was dominant; hop bitterness was medium-low in intensity and enough for balance. DBA has a dry finish, light, oaky astringency on the mouthfeel. DBA is “selectively fermented” on Firestone Walkers union oak barrel brewing system. Basically, 20% of DBA is fermented in neutral, American oak barrels while the other 80% in stainless steel.
I felt that this was an excellent pairing. I though the thread that tied the beer and the dish were the wood notes that were present in both the dish and the beer. With the cedar plank providing the wood notes for the fish, DBA got it’s oaky character from the 20% that was fermented in oak barrels. Just an awesome way to start the dinner.
Second Course
Food: Grilled wild boar sate, Asian pear, lemongrass basmati rice, pale ale peanut sauce
Beer: Pale 31, 4.6% ABV
Tasting Notes: Boar was very moist, soft and juicy; darker in color, there was no noticeable “gaminess” to the meat at all. The Asian pear wasn’t sweet at all but had a nice crunch that contrasted with the boar. The basmati rice was light and fluffy while the peanut sauce touched just about everything on the plate. I was really surprised by the wild boar; for whatever reason, I was expecting a tough, chewy and gamy but it was anything but. My only criticism was I think the peanut sauce was a little overpowering and hid some of the other flavors on the plate.
Pale 31 pours out a clear, amber color with a white head. The aroma is malty with a slight toasty character supported by a citrusy, floral hop character. The flavor echoes the aroma. I love how Pale 31 is bitter enough for the style but doesn’t overkill on hop bitterness allowing its hop flavor and aroma to really shine through. Someone at the table even notices some hop flavors reminiscent of grapefruit. Pale 31 has a dry finish and is lightly astringent on the mouthfeel. Pale 31 had about 5% of its volume fermented on the Union barrel system.
I though this was a good pairing as well. The carbonation of the beer helped to cut through the peanut sauce while its fruity and floral hop character was pleasant compliment to the boar.
Third Course
Food: Spice-rubbed beef tri-tip, charro beans, sweet corn masa, grilled pineapple and orange pico de gallo
Beer: Union Jack India Pale Ale, 7.5% ABV
Tasting Notes: Corn masa was very sweet, almost dessert sweet. The tri-tip was pink, moist and perfectly grilled. The pico de gallo was flavorful and had a bright acidity to it. The charro beans, slightly nutty, starchy and grainy, were probably the low-point of an otherwise wonderful dish. It wasn’t even that they were bad in anyway but when compared to everything else that was going on, they lacked the same flavorful punch.
Union Jack pours our a clear, amber/orange color with an off-white head. The beer is initially malty, with a toasted, lightly roasty malt character that gives way to a pineapple-like, resiny hop character wtih medium-high hop bitterness. I also pick up slight, spicy notes.
I felt this was a very good pairing as well. The bitterness of Union Jack was matched by the sweetness of the corn masa while the flavors of the tri-tip were matched well with the maltiness of the beer. The pineapple and orange pice de gallo reinforced similar hop flavors in the Union Jack.
Fourth Course
Food: Sticky, toffee pudding, porter toffee sauce, fresh whipped cream
Beer: Walker’s Reserve Dark Ale Porter
Tasting Notes: Toffee sauce is very sweet with a granular texture. Toffee pudding seems to be more like a little cake and is moderately sweet while the whipped cream is light and fluffy. While I am admittedly not into desserts all that much, I think I could have finished this one. This dessert makes me realize that I probably like desserts after all but it’s just the bad ones I dislike.
Walker’s Reserve Dark Ale Porter pours out a dark brown color with ruby highlights and beige colored head. Deep roasted malt with chocolate notes and a hint of black coffee in the flavor. Aroma is similar. Low hop bitterness and flavor. Slight tartness in the finish.
I thought this was a fantastic pairing. The beer and the toffee pudding compliment each other well and, most importantly I think, their intensity matches each other. The toffee pudding wasn’t any more intense than the Walker Reserve and vice versa. Well done!
Parabola, 13% ABV
Parabola pours out a very dark brown, almost black with a brown head. Slight peppery alcohol note in the aroma along with bourbon, oak, vanilla and slight coconut aromas as well as a rich, deeply roasted malt character. The flavor is sweet, with deeply roasted malt flavors, slight burnt malt character, dark fruit notes, vanilla, hints of coconut and noticeable bourbon. Hop flavor is low but hop bitterness is about medium/medium-high. This is a full bodied beer with low/medium-low carbonation and a moderately low alcohol warmth in the back of my throat.
Parabola is a Russian Imperial Stout aged for about a year in Heaven Hill Kentucky Bourbon barrels. Heaven Hill bourbon barrels seem tailor made for beer as Steve Donohue from Firehouse aged his scotch ale in one and the resulting beer was lovely. Parabola was served side-by-side with the Walker Reserve and many people made the mistake of trying Parabola before Walker Reserve, which was unfair for the Walker Reserve. Parabola is a big beer and can really ruin a palette. What I also found interesting about this beer was that it has an IBU rating similar to Union Jack IPA but because of the aging process and recipe, Parabola doesn’t seem as bitter.
Overall
This time around, I don’t have any real criticism for either the food or the beer. I felt the pairings worked really well together across the board. When compared to the Belgian Beer Dinner earlier in the year, I think the things that make Belgian Ales so complex and interesting can also make them difficult to pair with food; it’s as if there are too many things going on with Belgian ales that trying to hone in on a single aspect of the food or beer may be at the expense of the other characteristics. With the Firestone Walker beers being relatively straightforward in their flavor profiles, I don’t think you run into those kinds of challenges.
Regardless of what I think, my hat goes off to Executive Chef Chuck Courtney and his staff, they did an excellent job preparing the food. I thought it was a nice touch for Chef Courtney to come out before the dinner and give us a little background on the dishes. Despite the fact that many of the beers we had this evening were English-inspired, the food was all over the board with Cuban, South Asian, South American and English influence. My favorite dish of the entire evening was the cedar plank pink trout. I love seafood anyway but this just blew me away.
Likewise, the staff at the Duck Club was fantastic. Dinner went very smoothly and courses transitioned from one to the other with minimal disturbance. The Duck Club is old school in the sense that they serve women first at every course. You just don’t see that sort service any more.
My lone criticism is actually reserved for Firestone Walker brewmaster Matt Brynildson. I would have to say that Matt did a good job on the microphone explaining his beers and giving us brief insights into each beer’s background. I think he could’ve held the microphone up to his mouth a little more because as the night wore on, it got harder to hear him. But what I really think he should’ve done was to go around from table to table and play host a little bit. I don’t think any one expects him to have in-depth conversations with every, single table but a little personalization would’ve gone a long way. As it is, with Shaun O’Sullivan jumping ship, Matt’s table became increasingly unapproachable to all but a handful of people.
The Duck Club does have one more dinner planned for the year: a beer versus wine dinner featuring the beers from Stone Brewing. Set for August 27, 2010, I am looking forward to this dinner just to see who will win in the end.
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