Sunday, February 21, 2010

Bruery/Ithaca Dinner at Cambridge Common

Starting off a beer dinner with Black Tuesday and LeBleu is definitely one way to introduce a week full of Extreme Beer. And the minds who put together Tuesday's beer dinner at Cambridge Common did just that. The Bruery and Ithaca Beer collaborated by pairing up some of their best beers with some hearty, tasty fare to match. With 12 different beers being offered (yeah, 12!), ranging from a lavender witbier to a 19.5% bourbon barrel-aged stout, this event was the perfect start to the week leading up to BeerAdvocate's Extreme Beer Fest.

As I mentioned, the event started off with some 4 oz. pours of Black Tuesday and LeBleu. Having heard so much about these, I was eager to try both of them. I can say that the amount of credit given to Black Tuesday is rightly served, as this beer was amazing and incredibly smooth for being 19.5%. It was an interesting being paired with LeBleu, a sour blueberry ale, and fell on almost the complete opposite of the spectrum in every aspect.

Black Tuesday and LeBleu

We were seated at the long table in the middle of the room, with about 20 other attendees. The atmosphere was friendly and everyone was excited to talk about the beer and upcoming festival. The courses and subsequent beer pairings came out at a good pace, with enough time to enjoy the qualities of each beer, but not leave us wanting for more too quickly. Our first course was fries and aioli sauce, served with Ithaca's AlphAlpha and The Bruery's Mischief. Mischief is an extremely cirtusy, hoppy Belgian style pale ale, and was one of my favorites from the night. Patrick Rue mentioned that it soon should be available in 750ml bottles around the Boston area.

Mussels and a scallop entree were both served with lighter styles from the two brewers, as The Bruery served Orchard White and Saison de Lente, while Ithaca brought out White Gold and Ground Break. Ground Break is a new release from Ithaca, and was well-received by all. Refreshing and bursting with a taste of pineapple, this Saison style beer went extremely well with the seafood dishes.

Scallops Entree at Cambridge Common Dinner

The highlight in terms of food/beer combination for this dinner had to be the waffle dessert with Ithaca's Brute. Brute, a 6.5% wild ale, has a punchy tartness and is unbelievably drinkable and delicious. The sour aspects of the beer along with the sugar provided in the cream topped waffle complimented each other beautifully.

Dessert with Brute and Melange No. Sechs

In all, a delicious dinner and positive first trip to Cambridge Common. We will be back for sure, and hoping to attend future beer dinners.

1 comment:

bar reviews said...

I just love beer dinner's. Did you know that here in the Philippines, they serve flavoured beer as well? I enjoy drinking before a nice meal!!! I love your the way you talk about beer.