Last night was the annual Fall beer dinner @ Twain's, and boy was it a tasty one! Here's how it went down:
StarterGrilled Shrimp, fresh basil beurre blanc with Roma tomato and herb tartlets paired with Cask conditioned Temperate Temperance Mild Ale
Where to start...what an opening blast of flavor! The shrimp was grilled perfectly and I could have drank a glass of the beurre blanc...just delicious. The acid punch of the tartlets worked great with the cask ale.
Temperate Temperance was just subtle enough to allow the juicy flavor of the dish shine. A pale ale/ESB/IPA would have been too much here. Excellent pairing.
NextGingerbread Brown Ale w/ Pumpkin soup topped with savory gingerbread croutons.
Typically, I am not a huge soup fan especially when paired with a nice ale. So this course was a nice surprise. Earthly, roasty, peppery pumpkin soup contrasted nicely with the floating gingerbread crouton. There was a nice caramelized, brown sugar sweetness to the crouton. Kelly commented that most pumpkin soups use cream, and how nice this soup was without any cream. Very savory, but not too heavy. The Gingerbread Brown Ale was a nice compliment, matching the pepper in the soup with crisp, somewhat piney hops. Ginger in the ale and ginger in the soup worked very well without overdosing on ginger.
Main CourseXL Double IPA w/ Thai Tenderloin with tomato chutney and pomme frites --- Beef tenderloin rubbed with Thai chiles and szechwaun peppercorns, charred and served over tomato chutney.
Onto the meat & potatoes portion of the evening. This plate was so gorgeous that I had to just snap a shot of her. Brewmaster Jordan said this was the 2nd batch of
XL DIPA and hot damn is it good. And since IPA/DIPA is my favorite style of beer, this was the course I was most excited for. Once again, this course was perfectly matched with the hand-crafted ale. There was a good crust ring on the beef, with the spices perfectly blended in creating a sort of "delayed spiciness." The tomato chutney had the sweetness to counter-balance the spice rub. The sharp, piney hops in the
XL just danced all over the beef. And the shoe-string thick frites were fun to pick up and eat.
DessertNitro Coffee Stout w/ Apple Pecan Fritters with Brown Sugar Vanilla ice cream --- Whole Empire apples cored and filled with butter and pecans, wrapped in pastry and baked to a golden brown. Served with a scoop of Jake's Brown Sugar Vanilla Ice cream.
This work-of-art was demolished in 4.2 minutes. I loved that fact that a Empire apple was used and not a tart Granny Smith. Layer, after layer of yummy goodness. The
Nitro Coffee Stout has a strong coffee flavor, yet carried a nice creaminess from the nitrogen.
I've been lucky to attend a dozen or so beer dinners over the years, and last night is way high on my list. 4 courses, $40 bucks just can't be beat. I couldn't resist grabbing another
XL for dessert #2 at the bar. Around that time, the Dave Ellington Organ Trio had just started their 1st number but we had to leave. Dave plays the famous Hammond B-3 organ which has such a funky, deep nasty sound to it, kinda like the thai tenderloin from earlier. They play every Wednesday, so I'll be back.
I've never seen more anticipation for a cask tapping at the Brick Store. The bar was packed, all eyes glued on that little silver can. Pictures snapping, smiles gleaming. Bell's Brewing has landed in Decatur, and the energy in the pub was very festive.
