Brookston Beer Bulletin

Jay R. Brooks on Beer

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Session #30: Beer Desserts

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It’s been a full week since I forgot to participate in this month’s Session, for no better reason than it was the day I flew back from London; a lost day, as it were. So in an effort to at least write about the topic, albeit late, here is my take, backdated, on the last dish of the meal: dessert. The topic was hosted by Beer 47, who explained his rationale.

What beer desserts have you tried and liked? Disliked? What beer styles work well with dessert and which ones do not? Do you have any beer dessert recipes that you enjoyed and would like to share?

Like many people, the first beer dessert I had that opened my mind up to the myriad possibilities of beer with dessert was a porter float, which I had in the early 1990s during a visit to Colorado’s first microbrewery, Boulder Beer Co.. It was on their menu and I ordered one, not knowing exactly what to expect. It was revelatory.

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Since that close encounter of the dessert kind, I’ve had countless more experiences with beer and dessert, from desserts made with beer to simply heavenly pairings. Certain beers do, of course, more readily lend themselves to desserts than others. As a general rule, stronger, darker beers make good dessert beers, though some fruit beers are likewise a good match depending on the dessert. A Framboise (raspberry) Lambic and anything chocolate is a natural. The beers I’ve found work best with dessert are the following:

  • Barley Wine
  • Bocks & Doppelbocks
  • Dubbels
  • Flanders Red Ale
  • Fruit Beers (non-lambic)
  • Fruit Lambics
  • Lambic (Straight)
  • Oatmeal Stouts
  • Old Ale
  • Porters
  • Rauchbiers
  • Russian Imperial Stouts
  • Spice Beers
  • Stouts
  • Tripels

I assume I don’t have to mention two things. First, this list is not exhaustive, but merely some of the more common styles of beer to experiment with. Second, they’re not universal, each goes well with a certain range of desserts. But what could be more fun than trying a variety of desserts with a range of beers?

When Thursday Is Fryday

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You probably noticed that last week I was in Boston for a day, judging the Longshot Homebrew Contest finals at the Boston Beer Co. brewery there in Jamaica Plain. After we finished and had a late lunch, the rest of the day was open. My only plan was to try some more beer and, hopefully, some more frites. As we were waiting for judging to begin, several people in the Samuel Adams marketing department had suggestions of places around town with great frites. Armed with several names, I had a mission. And that’s how Thursday became a Fryday.

At lunch, Todd and Jason Alström, from Beer Advocate, mentioned they had to go to Boston Beerworks where they were being interviewed and then afterwards would be pleased to join me on my fry crawl. Bob Townsend, from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (and my favorite new person from Georgia) also tagged along since he had time to kill until he was meeting a friend for dinner later. So the Frites Foursome hailed a cab and our adventure began.

Out first stop was Boston Beerworks, the one near Fenway Park. Todd and Jason had to meet Boston Globe reporter Joseph P. Kahn so he could interview them about Beer Advocate and their upcoming beer festival. The article was subsequently published yesterday, entitled The Beer Necessities.

The brewery is just inside the door.

New signs hang behind the bar announcing which beers they have on tap. Bob and I waited here while Todd & Jason were interviewed and had some beers and, of course, an order of frites. Here, you can see my review of their frites.

The unsubtle sign above the entrance door, in case you weren’t sure what you’d been drinking as you leave. Our next stop was the first recommendation, Eastern Standard. For some reason I only took a photo of the frites here, oh and their handmade chips, so here’s what it looked like inside.

After that, we stopped for a quick pint at The Other Side, a cool organic dive bar near my hotel.

No frites, but they had a pretty decent beer list, both on tap and in bottles.

The vibe was Toronado meets Santa Cruz Organic Cafe, with loft seating, local art on the walls and an impressive menu of unusual dishes all made with local and natural ingredients.

Our next stop was another recommendation, Brasserie Joe, a French bistro, also attached to a hotel, the Colonnade Hotel.

Another nice place, with a contract beer on tap made by Brooklyn Brewing (tasted like their Pilsner). The frites were appropriately Belgian-style, served in a silver cup lined with a checkerboard paper. After I took photos of the frites for their review, our bartender asked me what I was doing and then, bemused I suspect, brought us over some delicious hot bread and carrots in a horseradish-based sauce. Also, Dann Paquette, from Pretty Things, met us at Brasserie Jo and joined us on our crawl.

Our last stop on the fry crawl was Cambridge Brewing, where we were to meet up with Bob Townsend again and also where Andy Crouch would join us. Bob had ordered some frites, so I was able to try his. They were somewhat different than the ones I had the last time I was there. I had a great talk with Dann there, and he has some exciting things going on. I was dying to try some of his beers, so …

Our last stop of the evening was the nearby Hungry Mother, where I had an opportunity to try two of Dann’s beers. First, I sampled the Jack D’Or, a really wonderful beer. Pretty Things took a saison and really put their own stamp on it, Saison Americain indeed. I also tried the Baby Tree, his interpretation of quadruple. It was likewise outstanding. Between talking beer and philosophy with Dann and how good his beers are, I think Pretty Things may be my favorite new brewery. So far they’re only in Massachusetts, New York and Pennsylvania.

 

Dann Paquette, Andy Crouch and Todd Alström showing off Pretty Things’ Baby Tree at the Hungry Mother..

 

Cheesesteak Love

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Thanks to Jesse from Beer & Nosh for tweeting me about this. It seems fellow Pennsylvanian Dave McLean, who owns both Alembic and the Magnolia Gastropub, loves cheesesteaks. What do you know, so do I. Perhaps most people from Pennsylvania do. If you grew up on them, you know how hard it is to find a decent one outside of the Keystone State.

Jesse probably didn’t know that I, too, am obsessed with cheesesteaks. He sent me the link because of Dave’s keen fashion sense. So I was pretty excited when I saw he was wearing my logo shirt. Way to go Dave!

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Photo by Stefanie Michejda

In a profile about food obsessions, Dave McLean reveals his own cheesesteak love. But he’s from Pittsburgh (BTW 7×7, Pittsburg is in California, Dave’s from Pittsburgh) whereas IMHO real cheesesteaks come from the Eastern part of the state, near Philadelphia. Both Pat’s and Geno’s are in Philly, where the cheesesteak, if not originated, is thought to have been perfected. Those two are the most famous, but I realize which is best and which other places are better is a volatile subject and everyone has an opinion on the subject.

I actually grew up west of Philadelphia, near Reading, and prefer the V&S Cheesesteak which used real cheese, not cheese whiz. I think whatever taste profile was your usual when you were a kid is the one that stays with you, like Mom’s home cooking. But Dave is also right that the Cheesesteak Shop, with 26 locations around the Bay Area, does probably the best job of approximating a Pennsylvania cheesesteak. As Dave points out, they do use Amoroso’s rolls from Philadelphia — a key ingredient — and they have Tastykakes, too. But I have to gently take exception to the assertion that a Tastykake is “like a Hostess cupcake.” That’s like saying Filet Mignon is like a hamburger.

Of course, I’m also obsessed with Tastykakes. I grew up on them and they’re definitely light years ahead of any other pre-packaged desserts I’ve ever tried. Although I love the Butterscotch Krimpets, the cream-filled cupcakes and even the now-defunct coffee cake, my all-time favorite is the peanut butter Kandy Kake. But I swear that they used to be called “Tandy Takes” when I was a kid (can anybody corroborate that?). Safeway carried them briefly in the Bay Area a decade ago, but then abruptly dropped them. You can also buy them online, which I confess I’ve done. They’re that good. Their tagline used to be “all the good things wrapped up in one.” Too true. Damn, now I’m hungry.

 

Cheesed Off

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Tuesday night the Bistro in Hayward, California, held one of the most unique and fun cheese pairing events I’ve ever attended. It was called The Bistro’s North County Cheese-Off. What owner Vic Krajl did was pick five cheeses and then asked five breweries from north of San Francisco — Bear Republic, Lagunitas, Marin, North Coast and Russian River — to pick the beer they made that they felt was the best pairing with each cheese.

So it was essentially five flights. At our table we’d get a generous portion of a cheese and then five beer samples, one from each brewery. They were unmarked so we did not know which beers we were being served, only the cheese. So, in turn, you’d take a bit of cheese and then try a beer. Then another nibble and the next beer, and so on. So our job was not to find the best beer, but which one complemented or contrasted the cheese best. It’s good they gave us a lot of each cheese, because you’d keep going back and forth, eliminating here and there, but then often struggling with your two favorites trying to determine which one you liked the most. It was a very illuminating and educational way to approach pairing cheese and beer. Someone from each brewery was also there, and it was interesting to get their thoughts after the event. I’d definitely try this again, as it made the experience much richer and you left feeling not only satiated, but like you learned something, too.


Bistro proprietor Vic Krajl cutting the cheese.


The North County Cheese-Off was a sold-out event and even filled up the bar, too.


Our third cheese, Tomme De Brebis, a sheep cheese.


Rich Norgrove, from bear Republic.


The final cheese, Humboldt Fog, a goat cheese.


After choosing our favorite from each round, we handed in our scorecards and they tallied up the results to determine which pairings were the most popular. A prize was awarded to whoever correctly predicted the most popular choices. Only one person, this gentlemen, chose all five most popular. While I’d argue that most popular doesn’t necessarily mean best, especially since people’s tastes and palates vary widely, it was still a fund way to wrap up the evening and determine at least what a majority of people thought about the choices. Below is a list of each of the cheeses along with the beer pairings chosen by each brewery and then what was determined to be the most popular. The beer in bold was chosen as most popular and italics indicates my personal choice, in case you’re interested.
 

Cheese No. 1: Manchego (sheep)

  1. Bear Republic: Peter Brown Tribute Ale
  2. Lagunitas: Pale Ale
  3. Marin: Albion Amber
  4. North Coast: Brother Thelonius
  5. Russian River: Salvation

Cheese No. 2: Fromager D’Affinois (cow)

  1. Bear Republic: Heritage Ale
  2. Lagunitas: Pilsner
  3. Marin: Hefeweiss
  4. North Coast: Old Rasputin
  5. Russian River: Blind Pig

Cheese No. 3: Tomme De Brebis (sheep)

  1. Bear Republic: Raver 5
  2. Lagunitas: Brown Shugga
  3. Marin: Left End Unfiltered Pale Ale
  4. North Coast: Acme Pale Ale
  5. Russian River: Damnation (4 yr. old)

Cheese No. 4: Cahill Porter (cow) [Tie]

  1. Bear Republic: Red Rocket
  2. Lagunitas: The Hairy Eyeball
  3. Marin: Pt. Reyes Porter
  4. North Coast: Old Plowshare Stout
  5. Russian River: Supplication

Cheese No. 5: Humboldt Fog (goat)

  1. Bear Republic: Bubba
  2. Lagunitas: Ruben & the Jets
  3. Marin: Witty Monk
  4. North Coast: Le Merle Saison
  5. Russian River: Beatification

Hat’s off to Vic for coming up with such a simple yet effective new way to approach cheese and beer pairings. What fun. I hope to see more of this type of event in the future.

More Beer Cake

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Alan Sprints, who owns the wonderful Hair of the Dog Brewery in Portland, Oregon, was inspired by the recently posted beer cake recipe to share his mother’s amazing beer cake, which she made for FredFest. According to Alan, “it [was] not made with Beer, but it tasted great with Beer.” Although there’s no recipe, he did share the secret of its construction. “It was made out of 20 chocolate and lemon cakes stacked over a wooden dowel.” Yum. Thanks, Alan.

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Belgian Blunch at the Toronado

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On Sunday, beginning at 11:30 a.m., I sat down with 80 or so beer lovers at the Toronado in San Francisco for a Belgian beer lunch, a blunch? The Toronado has been putting on this mostly word-of-mouth event, which sells out every time, for a number of years, but this was the first year the food was done by Sean Paxton, the Homebrew Chef. The blunch lasted almost six hours through a total of eleven separate courses and at least sixteen Belgian beers (plus a few more American ones). We all agreed that Sean Paxton is a mad man, a culinary alchemist. Read the description of the blunch in the photo gallery and see if you don’t agree.

The blunch was hosted by Toronado owner Dave Keene and the food was done by Sean Paxton.

Vinnie and Natalie Cilurzo, from Russian River Brewing, among the Belgian beer and cheese plate.

 

For many more photos from the Toronado Belgian Blunch, visit the photo gallery.

Costco Beers

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In related Costco news, Miller’s Brew Blog is reporting that the big box store chain will be creating three private label beer brands under the Kirkland name: a hefeweizen, amber ale and pale ale. The Gordon Biersch production brewery in San Jose, California — who also makes competitor Trader Joe’s private label beers — will be brewing the beer for Costco. Private label products tend to have higher profit margins than regular brands, so undoubtedly that’s the motivation here, as well. Given that most Costco stores carry only a very few beers, and even fewer craft beers, this strikes me at first blush as another bad omen for better beer. I doubt they’ll be increasing the number of beer skus each store will carry but more likely will shove less well-established local brands out the door to make room for these.

 

 

New Boscos Labels

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To continue the impromptu beer label theme to today’s posts, here are the mock-ups for new labels for five of Boscos regular beers, which I got last week along with the new brewery pictures my friend Chuck sent me. I think they’re pretty cool looking. I like the simple retro look to them. They remind me of vintage travel posters from the 1920-30s. What do you think?

 

 

Beer Dinner du Pelican

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January 18th was the first of the Beer Chef’s beer dinners for 2008, and featured the beers of Pelican Pub & Brewery in Pacific City, Oregon. Brewmaster Darron Welch was on hand to talk about his beers. Three times Pelican Pub & Brewery has been named brewpub of the year at the Great American Beer Festival.

Pelican Pub brewmaster Darron Welch with the beer chef Bruce Paton.
 

For more photos from the Pelican Pub Beer Dinner, visit the photo gallery.
 

Great Food and Beer on the Horizons

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Last night I attended a lovely little beer dinner in my neck of the woods, at the beautifully situated Horizons restaurant in Sausalito. It was a four course affair, plus hors d’ouerves, paired with five Lagunitas beers. The night was clear and we had a fantastic view across the bay of the twinkling lights of the San Francisco night skyline. The food and pairings were terrific, too.

Ron Lindenbusch, from Lagunitas Brewing, with Dean Biersch (on right) with Lynn, the chef at Hopmonk Tavern, his new venture in Sebastopol which is slated to open this spring.

Also, there will be another Lagunitas beer dinner, next Wednesday, January 23. That one will take place at the Pleasanton Hotel and will begin at 7:00 p.m. This dinner will be five courses and the cost will be $50 per person.

For more photos from the Lagunitas beer dinner at Horizon’s, visit the photo gallery.