The Pros and Cons of CSAs
Snowpocalypse 2010: Metro Strikes Back
Washington Leads the Country in Troubled Banks
Requiem For a Dream Season
Well, sorry we couldn't let you know earlier. But, Seattlest had the pleasure of attending another incredible beer dinner this weekend. This one took place at The Collins Pub in downtown seattle and featured the impressive beers of New Belgium Brewing from Colorado; presented by the big brew man himself, head brewer Peter Bouckaert and company.
If you do not know The Collins, it is a wonderful pub just on the edge of Pioneer Square on 2nd and James. Owner Seth Howard does a great job of rotating amazing local beers and exceptional taps from around the country. Chef Addam Buzzalini and company did a great job of preparing these outstanding dishes to go along with the tasty beers.
Many of you may know of Fat Tire, New Belgium's easy drinking Amber Ale that seems to be on tap everywhere west of Kansas. That is what we started off with, but we moved on to some truly fantastic brews.
Menu:
First
Salad of bib lettuce, roasted local beets, goat cheese, oranges and a lambic vinaigrette.
Served with New Belgium Mothership Wit.
Second
Pan seared halibut, buttercream potatoes, organic vegetables and their purees with crispy leeks.
Served with New Belgium 1554 Black Ale.
Third
Bacon wrapped, beer marinated pork tenderloin, oven roasted and served with caramelized spring onion, shitakes, asparagus and red potatoes
or
New York strip, "Deconstructed" A-1 steak sauce, salt and vinegar fries and asparagus.
Served with Abbey Ale.
Fourth
Abbey Ale brownie, rocky road ice cream.
Served with La Folie.
Read on to see what our favorites were....
Favorite Pairing: The brownie with La Folie. La Folie is an outstanding wood aged Flemish Sour Ale that might knock you off your feet if you aren't expecting it. Very sour in the finish, but starts off surprisingly balanced and sweet. Pairs perfectly with the chocolate dessert. This beer is hard to find, but The Collins likely still has this on tap. Some of us had to have 2 dishes of the dessert it was so good.
Favorite Food: Pan Seared Halibut. This dish was perfect. Light halibut served with tasty whipped potatoes and a variety of vegetables. Yum. The pairing with the 1554 Black Ale wasn't our favorite though.
Favorite Beer: Abbey Ale. While the La Folie is outstanding, it would be tough to drink more than the small glass we had. In contrast, the Abbey Ale is a fantastic Belgian Dubbel style ale. Tastes of dark fruit and belgian yeast dominate this unfiltered beer. Very enjoyable beer you could keep coming back to. Seriously though, all the beers rocked. The Wit and the 1554 were both fantastic.
Overall, this dinner was fantastic. We were able to speak with no less than 3 brewers/reps from New Belgium who were all great. The best story heard involved a brewer's weekend trip from Ft. Collins, CO to Chicago in a car just to get some pizza from Gino's East back in the early 90's. Now that is awesome. Interaction like this is what makes these dinners so great.
We swear, next time we'll try to let you know about the next dinner before it happens....so maybe you can partake yourself.
Cheers!
New Belgium Brewmaster Peter Bouckaert and The Collins Pub owner Seth Howard
add to stumble upon
add to reddit
tweet this
post to facebook
Post a comment (Comment Policy)