Terra Waconia & Waconia Brewing Company Dinner

So our sleepy little town of Waconia now has its second brewery!  Waconia Brewing Company is open for business!  I will be doing a full write-up on them soon, but wanted to do a quick blog post about their first beer dinner that occurred Thursday the 30th at Waconia's own Terra Waconia restaurant.  This is the second time I've been at a beer dinner for Halloween there, and they do a great job of getting you in the mood!

This particular event started right across the road at Waconia Brewing's tasting room.  Several of us dressed up for the event--I as Indiana Jones and Sj as Willie the shrieking maiden from Temple of Doom (complete with bugs in her hair and stuck onto her clothing!)  We were greeted warmly and a large platter of cheese, meats, and olives provided sustenance for us hungry patrons.  Within minutes, Tom the brewer handed me a new hoppy and complex Belgian pale ale made with an experimental hop.  Once most of us had arrived, we got a quick tour of the brewhouse (my first time being in there) and then headed across the street to the restaurant.

The small entry way to the restaurant was coated in white plastic with artful bloody hand prints and gore spattered across it.  Once you moved into the building, the windows were blacked out and the place was lit by flickering scattered candelabra and individual candles in wine bottle holders.  Cobwebs with suspended spiders coated the old tin ceiling and many of the walls, grabbing out at passers by.  Creepy horror music led a disturbing tone to the darkened surroundings.  A freakish doll hung from a fan.  Another doll on the bar held half its face and scalp in one hand...  All of my pictures are pretty sad due to the low light, so keep in mind that things looked better than this!

Sj and I got to sit with Dave and Sarah Manley this year and had some great conversations while waiting for each course to arrive.  Strangely much of the talk revolved around Halloween and horror themes...  The kitchen staff were all decked out in bloodstains and gore, working by headlamps so as not to break the mood for us diners.

Our first course was a seafood cake made to look like small bloody brains on a plate.  This was very good, but the texture was as squidgy as the brains it was supposed to be!  The pairing was with Waconia's kolsch and was a good one in my opinion.

Second course was a most disturbing squished and decomposing rat dish!  Made of potato carved into a ribcage, beets, beef, and a beet "blood pool", this was one of the craziest looking dishes I've ever had.  Tasted great!  I believe this was paired with the IPA, nice and refreshing for a palate cleanser after lapping up all that blood...

Did I mention the dead rat being the craziest dish?  Yup, but only until the next plate arrived!  This plate of finely shaved duck in broth, topped with hideously worm shaped gnocchi was my favorite of the evening.  Gotta tell you, it was hard taking that first bite!  Paired with the Waconia Amber, also a good combination.

Last dish was Eyeball Soup.  A melon soup served in a wine glass with floating lychee "eyeballs" with a firm apple pupil inside.  I'm not a melon fan so this was not my favorite of our courses, but still totally fun.  The texture and shape of the lychee was so spot-on for eyeballs that this was tough one to eat!  This was paired with the Waconia Wit, perhaps the only pairing I didn't love.  The beer itself was fine, but the soup and the beer seemed to clash a bit.

After the dinner was served, Chef Craig Sharp came out in his freaky clown mask with a devil doll to give us one last scare!  This was a great dinner, filled with scares, good food, good beers and good friends. 

Terra Waconia 21st Amendment Dinner

I had decided to hold off on writing up any more beer dinners and focus more on homebrewing and other beer events for a while.  But the best laid plans and all that...

On May 1 Terra Waconia (our local fine dining/farm to table restaurant,) had a beer dinner paired with 21st Amendment beers.  I love this restaurant and their use of fresh seasonal and local ingredients speaks to the locavore foody in me.  I've also been a fan of the 21st Amendment beer since they started distributing here in Minnesota, so this dinner really appealed to me. 

Apparently the distribution representative was unable to attend the dinner at the last minute and Tracy asked me if I would be able to help out on the beer side of things.  I don't really consider myself a beer expert, but I have certainly enjoyed enough beer dinners to be able to fake it!  I am not, by nature, comfortable with public speaking, however I really wanted this dinner to be successful for Terra.  So I jumped in, and had a quick tasting of the beers with Tracy on Tuesday evening.  I made sure to do a little research into the brewery as well, just in case anyone asked me some tough questions.

I have been listening to The Brewing Network Podcast for a long time now and the 21A has been one of their sponsors for most of that time.  For years I listened to advertisements for the brewpub, including a hilarious club/dance remix of one of them.  They often have the brew master Shaun O'Sullivan on the program to talk about brewing and beers, so I feel like I have some second hand background knowledge of the brewer and brewery.  When I first heard that they were brewing and canning beers in Cold Spring, Minnesota I was excited that we would get to finally try these beers.  Then it took quite some time to start getting them in our market.  Now we get all their year-round beers and some of the seasonals, so I can't complain anymore!

On the day of the dinner we had Dave, Sarah, Mark and Kelly from Jack Of All Brews at the restaurant, so I already had a dedicated cheering section.  It turns out there were a few homebrewers from other clubs at the event as well, and it was nice to meet those guys.  Several of the diners were regulars of Terra's wine dinners and were just trying something new.  Hopefully my brief description of how to critically taste beer was good enough for the newbies in the crowd! 

Prior to the dinner service, Tracy ushered me into the small but clean and brightly lit kitchen for a pre-service.  This was a very interesting experience for me.  I am a huge fan of fine dining as well as a budding cook myself.  I like watching shows like Top Chef and Restaurant Impossible and learning some of the details of what goes on behind the scenes in those restaurants.  Chef Craig poured tiny samples of the beers for everyone to taste when discussing the pairings so that everyone knew what to expect.  Craig is typically a fairly soft-spoken guy who seems to avoid the lime-light and likes to stay behind the curtain doing what he does best--cook amazing food!  Seeing him in his element was impressive:  he was firm and no-nonsense, running his kitchen with an organized intensity.  I really enjoyed getting this peek behind the curtain!

Back out on the floor I shrugged off my innate social phobia and talked (probably too quickly) about the beers and the pairings.  I think that being the head of our brewclub has really helped me to get at least some small comfort level with talking to smaller groups...especially when it is a subject I feel knowledgeable about.  Tracy did a great job talking about the food courses.  Having been a part of the pre-service I was able to speak briefly about the potential flavor components in the dishes.  While in this intro period we were served the meet-and-greet beer Bitter American: a 4.4% ABV take on an English bitter, with a large amount of American hops.  This is a tasty session beer and a good one to open the show with. 

Not groundhog...

The first course was Ground Hog Nachos, as a way of getting back at Punxatawny Phil for allowing us to still have falling snow on May 1.  Everything was incredibly well seasoned and the freshly made chips were crisp and amazing.  Clarification: this dish was made with Ground Hog...NOT groundhog!  The dish was paired with the well-balanced West Coast style Brew Free Or Die IPA.  The beer was refreshing and the strong flavors cleansed the palate well after the nachos.

The second beer was the Marooned On Hog Island, an imperial strength oyster stout made with real oyster shells.  This beer has a roasty aroma with a hint of brine; flavors to match with a silky and salty finish.  The oyster is subtle in this beer, with most people not picking it out unless told about it.  The dish paired with the beer was a complex and layered golden lobster soup that truly accentuated that briny character of the beer.  The best pairing of the dinner by far!

Third course was a bison short rib that had been rubbed, marinated and then grilled for a melange of deep meaty flavors.  The pairing was interesting: using the Back In Black black IPA.  That style is not my favorite, but the pairing with the bison and the spice rub really brought out the roast in the beer and toned down the citrus notes.  This beer is made with 2-row grain from our wonderful local maltster Rahr in Shakopee!

The final dish was Tracy's heavenly strawberry-rhubarb crumble.  The beer pairing was a bold move in my opinion, but worked quite nicely.  Tracy told me that she had tasted the Hell Or High Watermelon Wheat beer and based on that alone had wanted to do this beer dinner!  Most dinners would have used this as a meet-and-greet beer or paired with a melon salad...but not Terra Waconia!  No, they paired it with a dessert course!  The beer itself is unique, with mild melon flavors and a fairly neutral wheat character.  The tart rhubarb really brought out the melon flavors in this beer, making it actually taste better than on its own, the sign of a great pairing. 

This dinner was probably the best food I've had from the restaurant and they obviously had a great time producing the food and pairings for it.  I appreciate the opportunity to be involved in the process and see a bit of what goes on behind the scenes for such an undertaking.  They were prepping ingredients for some of these dishes days in advance!  Hopefully those who hadn't been to a beer dinner before had a good experience and learned a little something about beer tasting and pairing.  Despite being the "beer expert" I feel like I learned something from both Chef Craig and Tracy that evening!  Keep those beer dinners coming guys!

And more glasses for the collection...

Republic Homebrew Chef Dinner

When I was alerted to this event (via Facebook) this was a no-brainer...I had to get there.  I'm sure my readers know that I'm all about the gluttony and go to more than my share of beer dinners around the Twin Cities, already having been to a couple this month, so even I felt that this might be excessive.  But it was Sean Paxton the Homebrew Chef! 

Let me back up a bit.  I've been listening to The Brewing Network podcasts for many years now, usually while brewing, and first "met" Sean Paxton through them.  He hosted on several episodes, and just listening to him talk about beer and food was mouthwatering and intriguing.  Paxton is a bearded Goliath of a man, incredibly well spoken and seems to taste food and beer on a completely different plane than most people.  On one of the podcasts I listened to he directed attention to his website.  If you haven't done so go check it out now (but come back and finish reading this blog entry afterwards!)   Make sure to look at the recipes...

Ok, are you back from your Internet journey?  Those recipes are gold.  Foody and fancy and glorious.  I have successfully created dishes based on his recipes for chicken braised in dubbel, grand cru braised lamb shank, lamb shepard's pie, and the extravagant barleywine prime rib.  I have also used his beer brine for chicken and even a Thanksgiving turkey (using an old fermentation bucket as a brining vessel.)  Some of these recipes are simple, others are more complex, but all result in an amazing use of beer in the cooking process.  I recently used a set of recipes from Beer Advocate to make a St. Patty's Day dinner as well and blogged about that.  What I love is that he uses beer as an ingredient in pretty much all of his dishes, contrasting and complimenting the flavors of both the beer and the food.

I've also been to two NHC award banquets and both tasting menus were created by this man, paired perfectly with tasty and complex Rogue beers.  As a result of tasting Paxton's food personally and trying my own hand at recreating his dishes at home, to say I was excited about him coming to town for this beer dinner is certainly an understatement.  Strangely it took my wife prodding me to bite the bullet and get us tickets, but she's an enabler...

The dinner was at Republic Uptown, and only their second beer dinner to date.  The first was a smaller group with Steel Toe and we missed it due to prior engagements.  This dinner was very large, perhaps too much so, but they rolled with it and made the dinner a very good experience.  The event took up the entire restaurant side of the space, but was not really separated from the rowdy Friday night bar crowd.  Between the noise from the bar side and the ebullient diner cheer, it was a bit cacophonous.  Luckily the folks at Republic had planned ahead and set up a microphone for the various speakers, so we could all hear the details.  Our friend Emily Brink (previously from The Happy Gnome) is a manager at Republic and obviously put a lot of time and effort into making this work, as did the rest of the staff.  This dinner was the first such event that was organized by the Rob Shellman, founder of the Better Beer Society.  The goal of that organization is the improve the quality and serving of craft beer in Minnesota, with consulting for restaurants and pubs on their beer programs, as well as a certification for those places so potential drinkers know that they are doing things correctly.  This is the first time I've met Rob and he seemed positively giddy about the dinner!

Our meet and greet beer before the festivities was the sessionable and hoppy Steel Toe Provider.  Between each dinner they had Sean Paxton talk about the dish and the pairing, followed by the brewer to discuss the beer.  The only other beer dinner I've been to with this many brewers present is the Brewmaster's Dinner before ABR each year (last year was at Blackbird and was truly amazing.)

The first course was a raw shaved vegetable salad with goat cheese, paired with the Summit Unchained Organic Ale.  I was a little torn on how much I like this beer, but after getting to have a conversation with brewer Gabe Smoley about how much work it was to get all the organic ingredients and get it USDA certified, it rated a little higher for me.  Interestingly, they went through the effort of making sure the yeast was organic as well, despite that not being a requirement to the certification process.  Winner for this course was the Organic Ale.  Save the planet--drink a beer!

The second course was a walleye fillet poached in the Schell's Goosetown Gose beer.  I found this dish to be my least favorite of the evening, mostly because it was under seasoned, but also because I'm not a huge fan of fish.  The Goosetown was a new beer from Schell's and is a take on the nearly extinct style of Gose--a tart and sour beer with salt added during the brewing process.  Brewer Dan (I didn't catch his last name because it was loud and I'm totally losing my hearing...) discussed the beer for us.  I think he wanted it more sour, but the brewery was concerned that they wouldn't be able to sell it all if it was too sour.  I liked it, but there was more malty lager character than tartness.  Would be very refreshing on a hot summer day...maybe we'll get one of those soon!

The third course was more on track with a wild rice and purple barley (cooked in Bender) pancake topped with pheasant leg confit and a red currant sour cherry Pentagram beer jam.  There was also a healthy serving of pheasant breast that had been smoked with a Russian River Consecration barrel.  This dish was very complex and paired perfectly with the Surly Pentagram.  This beer is sour, dark, and wine like, bringing more interesting flavors with each sip.  A great beer for food pairing.  I'm glad I have a few bottles stashed away in the cellar!  Omar gave a quick talk about this one, and apparently they are now going to make this on a regular basis!

The fourth course was the winner in my book.  Or Blog.  Spring lamb simmered with leeks, yellow onions and shallots, as well as the paired beer.  This was served over soba noodles with a Sriracha gelee and brought tableside in a red Chinese carry-out box.  I am a huge fan of lamb and carbonade, and this spicy Belgian/Asian fusion dish was outrageous.  Bold flavors for a Scandinavian hold-out like Minnesota where many view black pepper as too spicy.  The beer used in the dish and paired with it was the Indeed Hot Box, an Imperial porter made in collaboration with Northbound Smokehouse.  Co-owner Tom Whisenand and brewer Josh Bischoff were both present and the humble Tom gave a bit of background on this unique beer.  They used alder, hickory, and (I think) maple wood to smoke the base grain for the beer as well as hot peppers that were added to the fermenter.  I tried this beer at Winterfest a few months ago and thought it was nearly undrinkable, but it has mellowed significantly with time.  The smoke is strong at this point but not overwhelming, and the chili burn is complementary and not overly painful.  I would search this beer out now just because it is so unusual.

The final beer of the night was my favorite: the Steel Toe Lunker.  I've blogged about this one a couple times, including standing in line outside the brewery in sub-zero weather to get our bottles of it!  Jason Schoneman talked about the beer a bit and apologized to the other brewers for not sitting with them--he was out with his wife Hanna for their second date in a year, so he should be excused!  His sweet English style barleywine aged in Templeton Rye barrels is simply heaven in a glass, and Sean Paxton encouraged Jason to send some to The Toranado Barleywine Festival in California next year.  The last decadent course was a deconstructed barleywine.  Paxton took all of the major flavor descriptors from English barleywine and combined them into a sweet and unusual desert for us.  Prunes, raisins and dried cherries were soaked in the Lunker, along with crunchy Lunker cocoa nib toffee, malted shortbread cookie and a pastry beer curd made with Before the Dawn black barleywine.  Sound awesome?  Yes it was!

Overall I think the dinner was very good, but my favorite aspect of this particular event was the social.  I am not naturally a very outgoing guy and often have a hard time talking to people unless I'm in comfortable company or surroundings.  I blame growing up Norwegian Minnesotan.  Some events though, can make it easier to break out of my stoic and quiet shell, and this was one such.  Sj and I knew a lot of people here!  Everywhere I looked I found an old friend or recent acquaintance to talk to.  I discovered a whole table of fellow homebrewers including Al Boyce, Steve Piatz and their wonderful spouses, as well as beer historian Doug Hoverson.  My good friend Chris German from Rahr/Brewer's Supply Group was there, and he knows everybody in the business.  Our friends Randy and Andrea from previous beers dinners kindly saved us seats and kept us entertained through dinner.  A contingent of folks from The Happy Gnome were there, including the talented Executive Chef Scott Brink, and general manager Ryan Huseby.  Ben Knutson and James Beard nominee Jack Riebel from Butcher & The Boar were there as well, lurking off in a corner.  Let's not forget to mention getting to briefly talk with Sean Paxton, Jason, Omar, and some of the other brewers.  I feel like even without great food and beer I would have had a wonderful time!  While I truly love food and beer, this is the real reason I continue to frequent so many beer dinners.  Thanks to Republic, BBS, Sean Paxton, all the brewers, and all the staff for putting on a unique experience, and for giving me the chance to take part.

McCoy's Public House Steel Toe Dinner 4/4/13

McCoy's Public House opened in St. Louis Park quite a while ago, before the big craft beer boom in this state.  At first they were touting themselves as a brew pub and some good friends of ours invited us to go there (knowing I was a big beer geek.)  I was disappointed to find out that the beer was not brewed there, but shipped from a facility in another state entirely--and I was disappointed in the quality of that beer as well.  The food was fairly good at the time, but nothing to get me racing back there.  I'll admit I left this place off my radar and forgot entirely about it until recently.

Just a few short weeks ago, my friend Nick Collins started working at McCoy's as the bar manager, and this prompted us to take a trip out there and get a baseline reading of how the place was doing.  We were actually fairly impressed with the food and prices, getting there for brunch and having chicken and waffles that were spot-on.  The beer list is extensive with a lot of taps and bottles to choose from.  They have thankfully let go of the McCoy's beers.  The beer menu was a little wacky, with some beers in the wrong category as well as a few unseasonal beers available.  Based on my visit last night the beer menu is looking better already and some cool beers are popping up there!  You can also get a four-drink sampler if you can't make up your mind...I am a sucker for these!  It looks like the restaurant wants to expand their craft beer selection and do more beer-related events like firkins and beer dinners--certainly the right direction to go in my mind!

Just after arriving at McCoy's, Nick was thrown into the deep end and asked to help organize a beer dinner, and that was music to my ears!  They managed to get Steel Toe Brewing on board, which makes sense since the brewery and their new tasting room is less than a mile away.  You have probably heard me say it before, and you probably will again: Steel Toe is one of my favorite breweries and Jason Schoneman makes some incredibly, consistently tasty beers.   This was actually Steel Toe's inaugural beer dinner and I feel excited and proud to have been a part of it.  One day when Steel Toe is a giant regional brewing behemoth like Summit or Great Lakes, I'll be able to say that I got in at the ground floor...

Upon arrival we were escorted to a back room where they had assigned us seats at communal tables.  I love this type of set-up for beer dinners because it encourages the diners to talk to their neighbors...something that Minnesotans are notoriously uncomfortable with!  We ended up talking quite a bit to a young couple seated next to us and had a great time hanging out with them.  We arrived slightly early and had a chance to talk a while with Jason, who is always entirely pleasant and laid-back.  I guess there were some late additions to the dinner so the poor guy had to sit at his own small table... sort of like getting stuck at the kids' table at a wedding.  Before the dinner began he gave a little talk about the history of his brewery and answered some questions.  I always love hearing this info directly from the brewers and appreciate him coming to this event himself--especially since he is knee deep in electrical work and installation of new fermenters in the brewery right now! 

We started the dinner with a glass of Provider:  an unfiltered pilsner-esqe ale with a citrus character, notes of yeastiness and a pleasant malt backbone.  This was paired with seared baramundi and crispy pork shoulder with a thai inspired rice noodle salad and pea shoots.  I wanted more of that sriracha sauce!  And more of the pork shoulder! 

Between each course Jason was able to give us a bit of background on each beer and then Chef Peter Hoff talked briefly about each course before rushing back into the kitchen to finish preparing our food.  My picture of the chef was blurry, (probably because he moves so fast,) so you will have to believe me that he really exists.

The second course was a flavorful take on chicken-fried steak, but using lamb instead of steak!  Madras curry reduction, local honey, pears, and tart apples made this a complex dish with bursts of heat, sweet, and savory.  The dish was paired with Size 7 IPA and apparently the lamb was braised in the beer as well.  I'm a big fan of this IPA and could drink it every day if I lived just a little closer to the taproom.  I should mention at this time that McCoy's did not skimp on the pours, bringing out a full pint of this beer, and usually topping up your glass if you so desired during the dinner.  Good job guys!

Third course was an incredible smoked beef tenderloin with a risotto made partially from Steel Toe spent grain.  The chef did some complex cheffery to get the flavor from the grain without leaving husks to get caught in our teeth.  Caramelized fennel, wild mushrooms and a roasted onion/Rainmaker jus also populated the plate, adding intriguing earthy and liqourice notes to the overall dish.  This was, of course, paired with the Rainmaker--probably my favorite of Steel Toe's regular line up.  A bitter and malty Imperial Red ale, the beer ends dry enough that you can keep on drinking and paired very well with the food.

To wrap up the meal we were brought a snifter of Steel Toe Lunker.  I have blogged about this beer before (and waiting in line for its release) and it is one of my favorite beers to come out in the last several years.  A perfectly balanced barleywine aged in Templeton Rye whiskey barrels, it clocks in at a brawny 10.6% ABV.  I would have gone to this dinner just for the glass of Lunker.  The desert was a sticky toffee pudding with vanilla bean whipped cream and coconut candied cashews.  The flavors in the desert played nicely with the beer, but my distended abdomen prompted me to focus my attention on the beer and leave behind some of the food.  Priorities...

As a veteran of many-a-beer-dinner, I think this was a very successful example.  For the price ($45 including tax and gratuity) it was a steal, giving us more than our money's worth in good beer, companionship and well-prepared cuisine.  The service was quick, efficient, and friendly.  About the only thing I would have changed would be having a meet and greet beer available before the first course for those who arrive early to sip on while making the acquantance of their neighbors.  The lack of such a beer may actually have been due to the limited number of options Steel Toe had available, but I would highly recommend one for their next beer dinner.  Speaking of which, McCoy's next foray into beer dinners will be Great Lakes 5/23/13, so keep your ear to the ground and sign up when it is posted.  Many thanks to Jason, Chef Peter, Nick, and all the other McCoy's folks who put this on--keep 'em coming!

Butcher & The Boar Founder's Beer Dinner 2013

Having recently blogged about Butcher & The Boar, I had not planned on returning them to print for a while.  However, after their beer dinner last night, I feel obligated to spread the gospel of the amazing food and Founders beer we experienced.  My wife and I have been to a LOT of beer dinners, and only one in all that time was not great.  But sometimes a dinner just "clicks" and everything works synergistically to elevate the event to become more than its component parts should justify.  The first Butcher & The Boar beer dinner was one such event.

Our story begins about two months ago at the Great Lakes/Fulton Happy Gnome Beer Dinner.  At that amazing dinner we found ourselves sitting at table with the Owner/Chef and the Ciccerone from Butcher & The Boar, who were doing "research" on how to run their own beer dinner.  At that time Sj got the inside scoop about when the dinner was supposed to take place, but official word on the event was slow to come.  Sj did a great job of Facebook-stalking the restaurant until they quietly announced the dinner--getting us in right away.  This was a very small dinner, limited to about 25 people and filled up incredibly fast, so I feel fortunate to have been able to attend.  Even getting regular seating at the restaurant can be a challenge, and since Chef Jack Riebel has been nominated for a James Beard Award this year, that can only get more difficult.  A good problem to have for a fairly young restaurant!

We arrived at the restaurant after an epic hour of crawling along in rush-hour traffic from Waconia to Minneapolis.  Pulling up into the valet parking lot, one can see the beautiful Adam Turman mural along the entire wall of the restaurant.  We then were directed to a small and slightly sketchy two-person elevator to drop us into the newly opened basement crypts for the inaugural beer dinner.  Off to the left, we entered a small and cozy basement bar, filled with rich wood paneling and comfortable leather chairs.  The bar itself fits that theme, also of shiny wood with a treated leather top.  We were greeted by Ben, the Ciccerone (beer sommelier) for the restaurant, who poured us large glasses of the not-yet-released-in-Minnesota All Day IPA.  The beer is a great sessionable hoppy ale that was created mainly because the owners of the brewery wanted to be able to drink their own beers at home and not fall asleep before their children did. Upon the bar was a sausage and cheese platter as well as turkey liver pate to tide us over until the main event.  If they added a small gas fireplace to the room, I would probably never want to leave. 

More and more people arrived, including our friends Randy and Andrea whom we have met through Happy Gnome and Town Hall beer dinners.  Most of the diners were involved in the beer industry, so it was cool to hob-nob with them.  Michael, Alvey and Bryan from the Four Firkins were there, the latter two dressed in suits and fancy hats.  Always cool to see those guys, but strangely out of context!  Several of the folks from Fulton Brewery were there as well, staying involved in the local craft beer scene.  Where is my bottled War and Peace guys?  Former local craft beer distributor Corey Shovein has recently been hired by Founders and was lively and entertaining as always.  Brewery co-founder Dave Engbers was also present and made it a point to get to know everyone in attendance.  At first he seemed a bit reserved, but after he told us a few stories that impression was dismantled quite completely. 

This way to the subterranean torture chamber?  No, just the bar!

Next we moved down the hall past some industrial equipment, into a newly refurbished intimate dining room.  The walls were textured concrete with a deep copper staining that kept the area feeling close and rich.  The ceiling was bare concrete with piping and a more industrial basement feel, but had new light fixtures to soften it up a bit.  Marble topped tables were arranged close together in two rows for us to sit at.  I liked the tight quarters, as it allowed us to talk to the folks at neighboring tables with ease, but I'm guessing our servers were less thrilled with it!  Along one wall was a large bank vault style door the led to some other mysterious recess of the basement.  We were quickly served a small sample of the Founders Oatmeal stout served on nitro; paired with an amuse of a single lightly roasted oyster on the half shell.  I wanted more of each!  Dave said that this is the first time he had sampled that beer outside of their own taproom in Michigan.

The first course was a pheasant and rabbit terrine with veal sweetbreads, served along with some curried quick-pickled cauliflower and other veggies.  I really dislike cauliflower but I can quite honestly say that this was the best I have had in my life.  Terrines are basically a meat log made of the cast-off iffy bits of animals, held together by fat and gelatin, then sliced and served.  Sounds freaky and questionable, but done right the flavors in them can be outstanding.  This was one of the best I have ever had--and I'm the guy that always orders the charcuterie plate whenever possible.  The plate was paired with the Red's Rye PA, a beer that I loved when it first came out, but have had mixed experiences with since.  Apparently Founders has been having some issues with the Amarillo hop character dropping out too quickly, leaving the beer a bit too sweet, which explains my last underwhelming tasting of this beer.  They have just moved it to a seasonal tap only release schedule to keep the beer fresher and to better control the quality.  I think that is a good move and really enjoyed this fresh version of the beer again.

Dave sharing great stories with the class!

As an aside, shortly after starting this dinner, Corey and Dave told us an anecdote that changed the whole tone of the evening.  But in a good way!  Apparently an inebriated and heavily accented east-coast fan of the brewery had recently left a very long and rambling phone message in which he lovingly and repeatedly listed off his favorite Founders beers, followed by saying "F*@!# off!"  I know, this sounds wrong, but it was all in the inflection--making this a high compliment of sorts.  That message quickly made its way through all the employees like an uncontrolled wild fire and the next day in the brewery everyone was quoting it.  After hearing this rather aggressively told story, as well as having some great beers in us by then, the whole room seemed to relax and open up.  For the rest of the night the whole crowd continued to use that line as a very strange but hilarious toast.

Our second course was a squash bisque with sweet maple croutons and hog jowl bacon.  The mix of sweet and savory in the dish was perfect, with extra texture from the crunchy croutons adding complexity to the simple soup.  The beer going along with this was the malty and sweet Dirty Bastard Scotch ale, and actually seemed dryer and easier to drink than usual when paired with this sweeter dish.  This is the beer that saved the brewery from bankruptcy.  After unsuccessfully trying to brew more accessible beers, the founders decided to brew a high alcohol unusual beer that they would want to drink themselves.  And the rest is history!

As the evening went on we found ourselves sipping increasingly strong ales, the ABV creeping up from 4.6% to 6.6% to 8.5%.  Then the BIG beers started to show up!  The next beer was Curmudgeon (clocking in at 9.8% ABV), an old ale that was very drinkable and complex, even when fresh.  I have tasted a three year old version of this that was even better and recommend aging one for a bit.  The dish paired up with the Curmudgeon was a perfectly prepared pan roasted sturgeon served atop a smoked butter, raisin and pickled cabbage concoction.  Our table decided that this pairing was the best of the night, with both the beer and the fish improving when tasted together.

By this time the arrival of each new beer and dish was being greeted with an increasingly raucous round of "F*&#$ Off!" But delivered in a respectful and loving tone I promise! Our next big beer was the 10.2% ABV Backwoods Bastard, the bourbon barrel big brother of Dirty Bastard.  This was the best beer of the night by far, but I'm a sucker for bourbon.  The food for this round was simply amazing and the serving size enormous.  Prior to our dinner, Founders had sent the restaurant one of the Heaven Hill bourbon barrels that had briefly housed the Backwoods Bastard.  This barrel was dismantled and the bourbon and beer infused staves were used to smoke one of the most tender briskets I've ever had the pleasure to taste.  Served with a spicy sausage and the best cheesy grits you are likely to find north of the Mason-Dixon Line, this dish was incredibly satisfying and outrageously filling.

So Good!

By desert the small room was echoing with the music of laughter, shouts, "F%$# Off's", and loud conversation.  Bellies were filled to capacity, even before the arrival of the impressively green grasshopper pie, and Dave made sure to tell us that it was only a wafer thin.  Gotta love Monty Python humor!  I'm not a huge fan of mint and I was feeling a bit overstuffed by that point so I didn't eat much of it.  They also served us up both the 2012 and 2013 versions of the Founders Imperial Stout, so that became my favored desert.

For a first beer dinner I think Butcher & The Boar did an amazing job.  The combination of the attentive staff, intimate setting, incredible food and beer, and wonderful company combined to make this a near perfect event.  It was not a cheap dinner, but I feel that I received an experience that made this trip more than worth the price of entry.  I will certainly be setting Sj back on Facebook-stalk mode to make sure we can get into future dinners!  Make sure to check out this restaurant if you can get in.  And drink some Founders beers too!  They make one of the most consistently good portfolios of craft beers around and I can wholeheartedly agree with their biggest foul-mouthed fan:  "F&$#@ Off!  This is so awesome!"

DIY Beer Dinner!

For the last several years Sj and I have been going to beer dinners.  We started doing this with some of the first beer dinners in the Twin Cities, at Wyzata's North Coast Restaurant when the executive chef was the amazingly talented Ryan Aberle.  I remember having a Surly Dinner there that featured one of the first unveilings of Coffee Bender done on a one keg scale.  When Ryan left the restaurant, we were driftless until discovering the Happy Gnome.  I have posted several times about the beer dinners we have been to there, and will likely continue to do so.  Over about three or four years of these dinners we have made good friends of fellow Gnome dinner fans Chris, Hassan, Carol and Kevin.  I have talked big about doing my own beer dinner for years now and a few weeks ago I took the plunge and did it.  Of course when the day came, we had ice, sleet, snow and wind to make the trek out to my place all the more difficult.  Carol and Kevin were unable to make the treacherous drive, but luckily Matt and Anna were able to take their places as the table as last minute replacements!

Blood orange and hazelnut salad paired with Belgian Blonde ale

As a homebrewer I wanted to showcase some of my homebrews for this event.  I like to share the fruits of my labors and also have a lot of them taking up space in my basement and fridges.  There was one dish I wanted to prepare that I didn't have an appropriate beer for, so I used one commercial example for the dinner.  Having a theme is fun: All Belgians; all Brewery X's beers; etc.  If you want to involve your guests in the process, let them choose a couple of the beers and then you can attempt to pair dishes with them.  I have also heard of folks having the guests bring a dish and beer and doing this more family or pot-luck style, which might work better for people with less time and inclination to cook all day!  For me, I enjoyed the challenge and really wanted to duplicate the multiple course style that our group has grown accustomed to.  A nice touch is having a fancy tasting menu printed out for your guests to peruse.  It is always nice to have a meet and greet beer as well for people to sip on while everyone shows up and gets settled in.  You can use this time for last minute prep, or take advantage of the time to talk to your guests and relax a bit before the big dinner starts.  I did both!

Thai coconut, chicken, mushroom soup paired with Great Lakes Dortmunder Gold

There are a few ways of picking out your dishes.  One option is starting with the beer and working on a dish that you think will pair well based on complementary or contrasting flavors.  Since I had my beers already, this is the method I chose for most of the dishes I used.  I wanted to use my smoked Baltic porter, so I picked a strongly flavored dish of lamb stew and used the beer in a broth as well as pairing the beer with the dish.  Make sure the beer doesn't overwhelm the dish and vice versa.   I had an American barleywine and wanted to pair a cheese with it--I chose a strong blue cheese to stand up to the high alcohol and hops in the beer.  The alcohol and carbonation in the beer also cuts through the fat and clears the palate after a bite of the cheese.  I highly recommend checking out the Homebrew Chef website for recipes and ideas.

Cassoulet with truffle, paired with smoked Baltic porter

Another question is whether you plan on using the beers in the preparation of the food.  You don't have to do this at all, but I find that it marries the flavors a bit better and makes you take some risks in your cooking.  I used my Belgian pale ale in the vinaigrette for the intro salad and paired it with that beer.  I also added a bit of my Doppelbock to the cassoulet instead of the recipe's white wine to add some extra complexity.

Beer braised lamb over IPA mashed potatoes, with hazelnut citrus green beans.  Paired with Skeletor Doppelbock

Use dishes you have made before if possible.  You are trying to do a multi-coursed meal and time management is tough unless you know how long prep and firing is going to take on those dishes.  Don't mess around with untried recipes when all your friends are watching you crash and burn.  I have made all of these dishes before and been happy with them.  Also choose dishes in which most of the prep can be done earlier in the week or that morning, so you have less scrambling around in the kitchen.  You want a chance to sit down with your guests and eat with them!

RIS and maple gelato!

Much to Sj's chagrin I am not a big desert chef.  We were lucky enough to have Chris and Hassan in our group:  proprietors of the Paciugo Gelato shop in the Mall of America.  They masterfully combined a few bottles of my Imperial stout with a maple gelato, making a fantastic pairing with the same beer.  If you haven't checked out their shop yet, they have a ton of amazing flavors, and have done Surly and New Belgium beer gelato before!

Overall I think this was a great success and I am hoping to do another later this year with new victims (um, guests,) to test out my culinary skills.  My favorite dish of the night was the cassoulet (a dense stew made with white beans, chicken, bacon and sausage.)  The best pairing for me was probably the lamb with the smoked Baltic porter. 

With the rattle of sleet on the windowpanes and the howl of the wind on the eaves, six friends clustered around a table sharing beers, food and good stories.  By the end of the meal everyone was vociferously wishing they had worn elastic-waisted pants--the perfect sign of a cook's job well done!

Fulton & Great Lakes Happy Gnome Beer Dinner

For those of you who get jealous easily or hate foods that are not Hot Dish, you may want to move on the next blog post now!  My wife and I end up at most of the Happy Gnome beer dinners and have been doing this for years now.  We have met some amazing friends by sitting at tables with strangers during these events.  We have also really been able to get to know the staff at The Gnome well which really brings our enjoyment of the dinners to the next level.  Over many dinners we have met a multitude of brewers, brewery owners, local reps and distributors:  all with interesting stories and personalities.  Where else can you talk one on one with non-local brewers from Goose Island, New Belgium and Alaskan?

This month was brought to us by an unlikely combination of breweries: Fulton (a small local brewery just 2 years old) and Great Lakes (a large regional brewery out of Cleveland, OH.)  Apparently the local representative for GL (Brent) hooked the brewers up together and suggested that they do a collaboration, so we have him to thank for getting the ball rolling.  Collaboration beers have been a recent trend and are a way to let brewers attempt new things and keep in touch with the craft beer community, especially for larger breweries that tend to focus on a core of flagship beers.  Mikey and Brian from Fulton went out to Cleveland and brewed this beer with Luke from GL on their 7 barrel brewpub system.  It is a baltic porter made with molasses and the GL proprietary lager yeast strain.  The release of this beer was the cornerstone of the collaborative beer dinner at The Gnome and one could feel the excitement emanating from the Fulton guys.

The dinners all take place upstairs in the Firehouse Room of The Happy Gnome, up a steep staircase that probably weeds out those who shouldn't drive after one of these events.  At the top of the stairs you are greeted by Ryan the new General Manager and directed to the beautiful auxiliary bar in the corner for your meet and greet beer.  This time we were handed two pint glasses: a Fulton glass with Sweet Child Of Vine IPA; and a Great Lakes glass with Commodore Perry IPA.  Double fisted IPA drinking from the get-go!  It was interesting trying these two beers head to head.  The GL beer is actually made with their previously mentioned yeast strain so is much more like a hoppy lager than a classic IPA, while the Fulton beer is more malty and balanced in a more English IPA style.  Both were good, but I think the Fulton won my vote this time. In fact I liked this beer more than I remembered liking it in the past.  Perhaps I'll be ordering it more in the future...especially if they start carrying it out in my neck of the woods out West.  Whilst drinking from two glasses of beer we met up with our old friends Carol and Kevin, as well as Hassan and his brother-in-law.  It is also nice to get see Molly and Paul, our regular beer dinner servers, and catch up on the last month or two...they are such great people, even while trying to pour beers, bus tables and serve food for 50 people!

Once we had settled into our seats, (always near the front so we can hear the talking once the diners start to get louder,) there was a talk about the breweries and discussion of the first few beers.  Then came the first course:  red snapper ceviche and a lightly dressed tuna tartare with watercress, dill cream and a honey-lemon vinaigrette.  Unless it is sushi I'm not much of a fish fan, but the flavors on this plate were amazing and bright.  The pairing with the malty and refreshing Great Lakes Dortmunder Gold was spot on, helping to clear the palate for the next bite.

The second course was a foie gras stuffed quail with bitter greens, root veggies and citrus jus.  Quails are very tiny birds and difficult to eat, but these were mostly deboned with just the legs and wings to gnaw on if you wanted to.  And of course foie is a freaking awesome thing to put in any dish.  The Fulton Ringer pale ale was a nice pairing with the dish.  The citrus flavored savory sauce on the bird really went well with the American citrus hopping in the beer.

The main course was a deconstructed rib eye steak of epic proportions served over creamy black lentils, house made boar bacon and smoky BBQ sauce.  Wow was this a perfectly prepared steak!  This was the best pairing of the night, showing off complementary roasty and malty flavors in the Collaboration baltic porter.  I would go out of my way for this beer and am somewhat sad that there are only a few kegs of it around.  They should have some at the Beer Dabbler this weekend and possibly some other places around town.  I'm guessing that The Gnome has some left, but I'm not sure.  I sincerely hope that the guys at Great Lakes will scale this recipe up and do a big batch next year!

For desert we were first served a roasted apple sorbet with a very flavorful walnut tuille (fancy cookie.)  That was paired with one of the small batch beers Great Lakes Loch Erie, a very smooth and somewhat sweet Scotch ale.  I'm always appreciative when breweries bring unusual or harder to find beers for these dinners.  After our intermezzo sorbet we were served a brown sugar coffee cake with cinnamon ice cream and poached pears.  Very subtle and tasty, but I was getting so full by this point that I didn't eat much of it.  Remember that gargantuan steak portion?  This desert was paired with my favorite beer of the night-- the Fulton War & Peace.  This is a version of their Worthy Adversary Russian Imperial Stout that has been dry-beaned with dark roast Guatemalan coffee from local Peace Coffee at a rate of one pound per barrel for about 4 days.  I find it interesting that they don't even grind the beans, just using the alcohol in the beer as a solvent to release the coffee flavor compounds.  I had this beer at Firkin Fest a couple years ago and wasn't impressed with it at the time, but all that has changed now.  This was apparently the last keg of the 2012 vintage around, but they will be releasing the 2013 batch soon.  I'll certainly be in line to pick some up and would recommend that you do so as well!  Perfectly balanced with a strong and smooth coffee flavor.  The beer lost some of it's power when paired with the very sweet desert so I kept them separate for the duration.

I didn't quite know what to expect going into this dinner but once I found out about the collaboration/connection between the two breweries this all made more sense.  The mix of beers served this evening had quite a bit of range and appealed to a large audience of beer drinkers.  Getting to try three rare beers was a great treat as well.  Executive Chef Scott Brink does some amazing things with food that I've only seen on Top Chef and rarely seen in action.  I always enjoy the Happy Gnome beer dinners and if you haven't been to one yet, you owe it to yourself to make the trek out there.  Next up is Lagunitas.  They sell out fast though so like them on Facebook or sign up for the e-mails so you get word early.  I'm very happy that Ryan has continued this tradition for The Gnome and really seems to be doing a great job at organizing things.

Rock Bottom MPLS Holiday Brewmaster's Dinner 2012

Every year during the holiday season the folks at Rock Bottom in Minneapolis unleash their chefs and let them do a beer-pairing dinner extravaganza.  I have been to this dinner several times over the last few years and all have been a lot of fun.  I was really interested in this year's event because I wanted a chance to test out the new head chef (Raphael) and the new brew master (Pio).  Our Rock Bottom has had a lot of changes over the past couple years, being bought out by Craftworks being the largest of these.  Partially due to changes in policy at that time, the old brew master Bryon Tonnis left for greener pastures (Duluth).  Assistant brewer (and crazy vegan) Peter Mack stayed on and they brought in Sherlock's Home alumni Bob Mackenzie as head brewer.  Just when the two of them seemed to be hitting their stride, Bob left for Cold Spring/Third Street Brewhouse, and Peter ended up at Town Hall.  Like some kind of soap opera isn't it?  The new brewer is Tim Piotrowski, or Pio, originally from Wisconsin, but living in Colorado most recently.  I'm not sure who he angered to get sent out to the icy gulag of Minnesota, but he seems to be settling in nicely.

Back to Rock Bottom.  After the Craftworks buy-out there have been some changes.  All the Rock Bottoms have the same four flagship beers brewed to the same recipe but possibly different in taste due to the different water and equipment from brewery to brewery.  Beyond that it seems like the brew master has some free reign to do seasonals and experimental beers.  Recently the Mug Club card has been changed from on high as well.  Previously it was based on visits and one could accumulate growler cozies, hats, shirts and my own personal goal of the barbecue tool set.  Now all the progress one has made toward that goal is scraped clean and it will be based on how much you spend at the restaurant.  I believe that the rewards are no longer items, but gift certificates to the restaurant.  Probably makes more sense from a restaurant/corporate stand-point, but we beer folks like our swag.  I'm also sad that they no longer will be counting pints drunk towards getting your name on a plaque mounted on a big keg on the bar side. 

After the above mentioned changes I've seen some drop in interest for RB from the beer people I know, and have even had some such thoughts myself.  As a beer geek and homebrewer, I want variation and ingenuity in the beers I drink.  I want the brewer to make the beer he/she wants to make and not what a corporation thinks will be liked by more non-craft beer drinkers.  I view Rock Bottom as a brewpub, not a restaurant that happens to make beer.  On the other hand I realize that most brewpubs live or die by the food they sell, so that is a vital component of the business.

The beer dinner was a nice way to try some of the chef's new ideas and to taste a bunch of the new beers paired to contrast or compliment those foods.  I was at RB not too long ago, but several of the beers on tap were left over from the previous brewers and I wasn't sure which were from Pio and which were older.  By now, all the beers on tap are from Pio's hand and I got a good sampling of them over the night.  Sj and I were slightly late due to our one hour commute, but they caught us up quickly with a large glass of Kolsch and a lamb crostini on arrival.  We settled into a couple of open seats and met some very fun people over dinner.  Lots of homebrewers in the house!  We also got to sit next to Pio's girlfriend (dragged from the balmy land of California originally) who was very fun to talk to and hang out with.  She filled us in a bit while Pio was spending time socializing with the other tables.

The appetizer course came out next, consisting of amazing green mussels steamed with the RB White Ale and spicy jalapeno butter.  This was my favorite dish of the night and probably the best mussels I've ever had.  This should go on the regular menu.  The pairing was a good one since the beer was the base of the broth the mussels were served in.  I don't tend to drink wheat beers since they often give me migraines, so I didn't drink much of this one. 

Between each course Pio talked passionately about the beers and the thought behind the pairing.  He is a young man who obviously loves what he does and takes pride in his beers.  For me it makes all the difference getting to meet and discuss beer with a particular brewer.

A butternut squash bisque was next, made and paired with the Sunday Bloody Sunday Irish Red ale.  A good soup, and the pairing was nice.  The beer was quite dry but not in a bad way.  I find that style is often overly sweet and carmel-like and the dry finish on this made you want to keep drinking it.

Salad course was an enormous grilled Belgian endive served over a Nut Brown balsamic reduction with gorgonzola cheese and pickled red onions.  The endive was a bit too big and didn't really get soft enough from grilling, but the flavors were great.  The version of Big Horn Brown was significantly different from the old one.  It used to be sweetish with an English character, but now is dry and a bit roasty.  If I didn't know better I'd be tempted to call it a light porter.  Don't get me wrong here, I really liked it, but simply quite different from the old version.

The main course was a roasted duck breast and leg glazed with a Belgian IPA and orange glaze that really played well with the beer pairing.  I am a professed hater of the Belgian IPA style, but this one was restrained and among the better examples of this heinous travesty of beer style.  I did drink the whole glass which should tell you something.

The nemesis to my lactose intolerant gut came out next.  Beemster 18 month aged Gouda cheese.  Strong nutty flavor with crunchy crystals make this a wonderful and tasty cheese.  Worth the risk.  The pairing on this one was probably the best of the night.  Served alongside a vanilla flavored Winter Tartan Scottish Ale.  This one was a bit sweet, but not cloying. 

To cap off the dinner we had a chai molten lava cake topped with a cardamom whipped cream and salted caramel.  The pairing with the Coconut Chai Stout was very pleasant.  This version of the famed MPLS RB beer was different, but I think Pio did a very good job of making this beer his own.  Dryer than the sweet original, this one seems a bit more like an Irish stout.  That may have been accentuated by putting it up against such a decadently sweet dessert though.  I liked the mix of chai spice flavors in both the beer and the cake.

Overall this was a very nice way to spend a Tuesday night.  I would make it a point to get to next year's dinner, and hopefully Pio is here to stay for a while!  Here is looking for no more RB brewer upheavals over the next few years.  If you haven't tried out Rock Bottom since Pio and Raphael took over, I would recommend a trip out there.  I also hope that RB gets past its growing pains and the company will find a good balance between the beer/brewery aspect and the bar/restaurant portion.  You can't find a much better place to hang out for a pint after a show at the Orpheum or State Theaters. 

Terra Waconia Halloween Dinner

After radio silence for a bit here, I'm back in action looking into all the beer events I can get to.  I am very disappointed that I was unable to take part in Darkness Day at Surly, but some of my friends were able to go and I'll get to take part vicariously with the official Limited Release episode when it is done.

On the day before Halloween our local fine dining restaurant, Terra Waconia, had their second beer dinner.  They tried to organize this event for last Halloween, but things fell through, so here we are one year later and it really happened!  Having been lucky enough to get to know Tracy and Craig, the wonderful folks who run the restaurant, I was invited to help out a bit with selecting the beers.  I am very appreciative that they involved me in this.  For a while they had planned on a Magic Hat dinner, but that was difficult to organize, so they rethought the event a bit.  Through unusual circumstance, Adam O'Brien, the local Samuel Adams Representative, has been staying in town recently and had dinner at Terra about two weeks ago.  He jumped at the chance to help out with this dinner and I give him a huge amount of credit for doing so on such short notice.  Last week Adam, Tracy, myself and Craig (when he took quick breaks from chefery,) got together in the evening and tasted through a bunch of Sam Adams beers.  We were looking for overall quality, as well as potential for pairing with food.  This is the best way to plan a beer dinner: start with the beers and then mould the menu around that, looking for contrasting or complementary flavors.

We tasted through about 10 different beers and came up with a plan.  Sam Adams has a huge portfolio of different beers to choose from, and many for this dinner came from the Fall Sampler.  They have some newer and more unusual beers but most of them were not feasible to get on short notice or to serve to large group.  Say what you will about the Boston Beer Company, they have been making and marketing true craft beers since before there was even a name for that.  They have moved with the times and make funkier beers to please the beer geeks (Infinium, Utopias, etc.) but continue to make a lot of great drinkable beers.  Tasting through the beers that night, I realized that I have pretty much counted them out of my regular drinking line-up over the last few years.  I may have to re-think that and give them a bit more of my time. 

We arrived at the restaurant right at 6 PM and were greeted by a "Welcome" smeared in sticky blood on the glass door.  Entering the small vestibule, the walls and floor were coated in plastic sheeting and spattered with very realistic looking gore.  Hmm, were we walking into a restaurant or a murder-house?  As the door closed behind us, it gave an agonized groan, prompting us to spin around and look back. (Apparently the door always does that, but for this night it was perfect!) Into the restaurant proper, we came upon a tableau of skulls, bone-saws and lit candles upon the console table/hostess stand.  Two skeletal life-sized dummies were near the entry way, one of which rotated it's head toward us, flashed red eyes, and warned us to enter at our own risk.  The lighting was very dim, and each table had black table cloths and two candles in wax-coated wine bottles.  Disturbing music played in the background.  I was shocked at how much effort had gone into setting up this change in the restaurant interior.

We were seated at our table and Nikki, our server, handed us a Samuel Adams pint glass full of Boston Lager.  At the bar they had a small grave-yard model with house-made suckers dressed in white ghost outfits poked around the periphery.  We each got one to pair with our intro beer.  Apparently they were made with pancetta and had a cranberry center...a very interesting mix of sweet and savory.  Tracy gave a quick introduction and smoke billowed out from near the entry, further creepifying the atmosphere in the room.  Adam, initially startled by the smoke, took it in stride and gave a quick talk about Sam Adams and the first two beers prior to our first course of food.  We invited him to sit with us since they had him sitting at a small table by himself.  It was great getting to talk beer with him during the dinner and his very sweet wife showed up later to join us as well.  Later we realized that the kitchen staff was actually using headlamps and cooking by flashlight to keep the dim vibe of the dining area.

The first course was a crazy-good lamb sausage served with a cabbage salad.  Sitting plopped upon the salad was a molecular gastronomy masterpiece of an eyeball!  This was a circular globe made of parsnip puree with a black olive pupil and either chili thread or saffron red veins making it look bloodshot.  Once you punctured the eye, the thick and viscous filling oozed out.  Craig outdid himself on this one!  The pairing was with the Oktoberfest, because what goes better with sausage than a German style malty lager?

The second course was a wonderful (and not creepy) fish and chips.  The fish had a perfect crispy beer batter and was served with tasty fries and house-made tartar sauce and vinegar foam.  This fancy take on a classic was paired with the English style IPA, Latitude 48.  I am a huge fan of this beer, the earthy English hops and a strong malt backbone really cleanse the palate with fried foods.  Last year they released a sampler pack called Latitude 48 Deconstructed which featured 6 single hopped versions of this base beer...an amazing thing for a commercial brewery to do.

The third course was a small serving of cider sorbet paired with the Angry Orchard Ginger Cider.  Sj loves this cider and we always have some at home.  I learned from Adam that Sam Adams used to make Hardcore Cider (which we never really loved) but had discontinued that and moved to a more impressive cider line-up for Angry Orchard.  They use tart apples from France and Italy for these, which explains the improvement in complexity and flavor with the new brand.  The ginger really accentuates the tart and sweet of this particular libation.

The fourth course was wonderful, named Tongue & Cheek.  The base was more or less a cassoulet with large white beans, lamb tongue and wild boar cheeks.  Atop this daunting hearty plate sat a disturbing reproduction of a severed finger.  The finger had "bones" made of firm white turnip, "skin" of garlic flavored fruit-roll-up, and a dried cranberry "fingernail."  Wow was this a crazy dish.  The flavors were fantastic and the presentation was up there with some of the best restaurants I've been to (I'm looking at you Moto!)  A very filling dish that had me groaning, but I had to finish it!  This was a pairing made in heaven--Sam Adams Double Bock.  The strong alcohol and malt truly played off the savory components in the meal.

The final course came with the sad knowledge that the meal was nearly over.  Even the best things must end.  We were served a plate that looked like a grave: a mound of chocolate ice cream topped with hazelnut "dirt" and a R.I.P. decorated shortbread cookie on a base of chocolate truffle.  Amazing.  This was paired with the new Sam Adams Hazelnut Brown Ale.  I think this was the only pairing that didn't quite work, as the desert was much more rich and flavorful than the milder beer.  Still both were great on their own.

Near the end of the meal Tracy came around with ballots and the people who didn't come in costume (lame!) voted on who was the best dressed couple.  Sj and I were dressed in steam-punk outfits, (though Sj could be mistaken for sexy French maid in the low lighting.)  One couple was dressed as a mobster and moll.  And the last couple to dress up were a cowboy (complete with lasso) and an Indian with elaborate buckskins and headdress.  Until that last couple came in I thought we had it, but Sj and I looked at each other and knew we didn't have a shot.  They won a $50 gift card to Terra and a Sam Adams Fall sampler pack.  At least we tried!

I have to give thanks to all the staff of Terra Waconia and to Adam for making this event happen on short notice.  A lot of effort went into this and it was a great way to spend the night before Halloween.  This brought back why Halloween always used to be my favorite holiday...dressing up, scary stuff, sweets.  Terra plans to have this yearly now, and I highly recommend placing this on your calendars now.   I will certainly be there again!  And probably a bunch of other times in the year as well.