Stein's Beer Garden: Mountain View Gastro Pub

We dined at this new gastro pub, Stein's Beer Garden, last night, very excited to see them finally open! Those of you that follow me on twitter will remember when I went to bat for the owners at the Mountain View City Council meeting last July.

It's a good start, but there's still room for improvement.

When we arrived and checked in with the hostess, we were told it would be a 10-15 minute wait. No problem. Another party of 2 came in about 5 minutes after us... and were seated before us.  Then another hostess asked if we'd been helped, yet (10 minutes into our wait). Apparently my name wasn't on the wait list.  Thus, we restarted our wait of 10-15 minutes. I wish they would just take reservations, or hand out pagers or something. Some places in SF (21st Amendment comes to mind) take your mobile number and page you. That would work, too.

There is an extensive beer menu, which is awesome, but too heavy a lean on some great breweries like the Bruery who only specialize in strong beers. If you're an IPA, amber or lager fan, you'll be hard pressed to find anything under 7.5% ABV (many more over 8 or 9% and even 11%!). The fruit beers were closer to 5%, but if you don't like fruit  flavor in your beer you'll be at a loss. There were also a few porter and stouts at the lower ABV, but not much overall choice (and there are 31 taps, so there should be a wider range  of styles/ABV). I had the Saison Extra, and it was excellent. The menu described it as the saisoniest saison - and they were right. Delicious. As it was a strong beer, I didn't have a second.

I ordered the grilled cheese sandwich and tomato soup - very yummy, though the bread was a bit greasy.  I can manage to make non greasy grilled cheese at home, so this should be possible to do here, too.  The bread itself was wonderful (made in house) so should be left to shine!

My husband got the homemade pastrami. The pastrami itself was very fatty, so it probably didn't need the cheese. The menu also said the sandwich would be served on toasted rye bread, but for unknown reasons, this sandwich was also grilled. The last thing you need on a sandwich with fatty meat is butter! It was too greasy for my husband to finish.

This makes me think that in general, the cooks should be trained to use less butter/grease. Reading other reviews, I see other similar comments. Great menu ideas, but not quite executed correctly.

Service was great, though like some other Yelp! reviews, we noted that the acoustics were terrible.  The ambiance is simply gorgeous, but something needs to be done about the noise.  In Paris, we saw a few restaurants and bars that put acoustic foam on the ceilings to deaden the noise. I'd highly recommend something similar.

I will be back. I hope the beer menu gets more balance soon - yes, do stock some "heavy hitters", but have some more 4-6%  ABV beers for those of us that like to have more than one beer with dinner.

Update:  I went again on Friday night. The beer list had changed quite a bit in those 5 days, and there were quite a few lower ABV beers than on Sunday, and a better mix - though I loved that Saison Extra so much, I had it again.  This time, the hostess took my cell phone number and name when we checked it in and wrote it on a clipboard.  Still an outrageous wait (1 hour 45 minutes), but good to know we were on the list.

My husband and I both ordered the "Pork and Beans" dinner, and it was just delicious.  Our other 3 friends ordered burgers. One ordered his rare with blue cheese. Another ordered his plain and well done.  The well done burger had the blue cheese on it. We also had to ask multiple people for cutlery after our food was delivered so that we could actually eat it.  Ketchup for the fries was slow coming as well.  So, still some service glitches but I'm happy to report improvements all around.

Beer Tasting with Friends: Picks and Pans

This weekend, a few of us were staying at a friend's cabin near Bear Valley, and we all brought some unusual beers around for a tasting.  The scores were interesting - see what you think.  The beers were scored from 1 (Yuck) to 5 (Superb), with some things pulling voters in opposite directions.

We whet our whistles with local Snowshoe Brewing Co.'s Lodgepole IPA from a growler  - too hop forward for me, but still a very drinkable beer.  Mark, an admitted IPA nut, loved it.

The first beer in our tasting line up was the collaboration between Sierra Nevada Brewing and the monks at Abbey of New Clairvaux, Ovila.  This was a delightful saison (one of my favorite types of beer), with hints of cardamom and other spices. A bit too strong and the cloudiness threatens a nasty hangover if you drink too much, but I was a huge fan all the same. Others really liked it, or just felt it was average.

Next we went to La Chouffe's Golden Ale. Coming in at 8%, it was not going to be our strongest beer of the evening.  It had a bit of a tinny, lager taste to me and CB, though everyone else found it nice and refreshing.  This round introduced our first, but not last, decimal vote, with G giving it a 3.9.

The Double Barrel Aged IPA from Firestone Walker was just too strong (9.5% ABV) and too hoppy. I don't like my beers to bite me, and this one did.  Only Mark rated this one highly, but he cannot get enough hops in his brews.  I love their Double Barrel Ale (DBA), so was disappointed that I just didn't like this beer.

I was excited to try AleSmith Brewing Company's Nut Brown Ale, as I love brown beers. Alas, it had the malt that I love, but was much too tangy for me. I've never encountered such tang in a non-fruit related beer. Two in our group, it turns out, hate malty beers, so the Nut Brown did not fair well overall. In my opinion, it was a decent beer. I did like that it was only 5% ABV, so it won't knock you on your butt unexpectedly.

One of my favorite breweries, The Bruery, popped up with two beers in a row! First up was Rugbrød, a rye beer that also had a lot of delightful malty flavors. This one would go down very easily, though at 8% ABV, you'd best be careful with it.  Then we moved onto Mischief. It was a very active pour, very fizzy (though we'd probably over chilled it), but once it calmed down I found a nice beer. Again, too strong (8% ABV).

The only bad thing I can say, in general, about the Bruery beers - they are nigh impossible to ask for in beer stores and restaurants. Everyone thinks you're making a dumb joke.

After dinner of home made buffalo meat sliders with just backed buns, we moved onto more mellow flavors.  Beers that went really well with dessert (crepes with Nutella).

One of my all time favorites, Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ale, came up first - a bottle brought back from a friend who recently visited Kentucky. As always, this has the perfect balance of malt and caramel, you can taste the bourbon but it does not overpower. This was the favorite beer of the night. (8.1% ABV).

Our next dessert beer, Black Xantos by Nectar Ales (a Firestone Walker company), had wonderful overtones of chocolate and coffee, a perfect pairing with my crepe.  BUT, at a whopping 11% ABV, the only way to drink this bottle is shared with a large group of friends.  I would've rated this beer a 5, but the outrageously high ABV brought it down a full point.

Beer	CB	K	G	CV	P	Val	M	Total
Sierra Nevada's Ovila	4	3	3	4	3	5	3	25
La Chouffe	2	3	3.9	3	4	2	4	21.9
Firestone Walker's Double Barrel Aged IPA	3	2	4	3	2	2	5	21
AleSmith's Nut Brown	1	1	4	3	4.5	3	4	20.5
Bruery's Rugbrød	2	2.5	4	4	4.5	5	4.5	26.5
Bruery's Mischief	2	3	3	3	3	4	4	22
Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ale	4	4	5	4	5	5	4	31
Nectar Ales' Black Xantos	3	3	5	4	4	4	4	27

We finished up with an unrated Snowshoe Brewing Company's Pitch Black Porter. I loved the beer, but again, it was too strong.  I do wish more brewers would make a tasty, malty beer that was in the 5-6% ABV. I cannot wait for this stupid trend of super strong beers to end. Speaking of which ... it's strong beer month in SF. Who's going?

Support the Ada Initiative and Drink Beer!

Two of my favorite things to talk about, all in one place! The Ada Initiative, which supports and encourages women participating in Open Technology, is holding a meetup tonight, Wednesday August 1st, at the Tied House in Mountain View, CA (which now has 14 beers on tap!) so we can all learn more about what the Ada Initiative is up to and socialize while drinking beer!

So, if you're curious about open technology, women in open tech, or just want to support this great organization, come on by!

Check out the Ada Initiative's event registration page for more details.

See you there!

Scratch: Lagunitas Beer Dinner

I've got a huge backlog of beer related blog posts, so many that it's a bit overwhelming. So, instead of starting many months back, I'm going to restart with some recent brew dinners and hopefully get the others picked up in a retrospective of sorts.

A new restaurant in Mountain View recently opened up called Scratch. They feature upscale American "comfort food" and have recently begun doing beer dinners. This is very appealing to me, because I can walk there, which beats the myriad of trains and late nights it takes to get to the Monk's Kettle (but, wow, are the Monk's dinners good).

The featured brewery on July 7, 2011, was Lagunitas Brewing Company, based in Petaluma, California. I've been to a Lagunitas beer dinner before up at the Monk's, so I was very excited they were coming down to Mountain View. You've probably all seen their IPA in the grocery store, but don't let that fool you - Lagunitas does a lot more than just IPAs.

The first course, prepared by Executive Chef Sean Eastwood, was an ahi tuna "gazpacho". With a name like that, I was expecting a sort of soup, but what we got was a lovely, thick piece of raw tuna topped with a sweet gelee, served with an heirloom tomato confit, almond and avocado puree. This was paired with Lagunitas classic IPA, coming in at the evening low of 6.5% ABV. The IPA is their standard hop forward American style IPA, which was softened nicely with the food. An excellent pairing.



While waiting for the next course, we got to try the Wilco Tango Foxtrot (available in the 22oz section of many local groceries - yay!), a wonderful brown ale with 7.8% ABV. Jack Alger, in charge of Ales and Marketing at Lagunitas, told us a bit about this beers origins: While most browns are low in alcohol and typically a session beer, that's just not what Lagunitas makes - yes, this beer was mild in flavor, with the slight nuttiness you'd expect from a brown, but an extra sweetness made this even easier to drink and reminiscent of a bourbon barrel ale. Approach with caution, as a 7.8% ABV beer will bite you on the butt if you're not careful!



The next course was sweetbreads. Not something often eaten anymore stateside, but something my husband, a Brit, had had more than enough of growing up. Scratch and the chef were awesome and prepared my darling husband some sweet pea ravioli as an alternate course.



He absolutely loved the course and in particular the thinly sliced fried zucchini.

The rest of us at the table got the sweetbreads. I'll let you read the wikipedia entry to see what exactly sweetbreads may be (hint: all kinds of things qualified as offal), so as diners, we were left to our imagination to guess what exactly we were eating. The black lentils were delicious, but the citrus (grapefruit?) was a bit too tart for the beer and the rest of the dish. The sweetbread itself (which was later identified as the thymus gland) was very fatty, and tasted a bit like chicken livers with the texture of frog legs. I think it could've been much better prepared if it were in a bread sausage like form, where the bread could've helped to soak up some of the fat. The fried giant capers, though, were a nice touch.



Next came out the Lagunitas Hop Stoopid. With a name like that, I was worried - I like a hop flavor in my beers, but not "attack hops" - you know the kind, so bitter they make your tongue curl? Well, it was a bit like that... but, my husband and the other Brit at the table love their beers like that, and so the ABV 8.0% brew did not go to waste.

This was paired with the "Bone Marrow, Two Ways" course. As should be obvious from the picture, the first way was right in the bone. The second way was fried - a bit like a tater tot. This came with a wonderful salad, again with grapefruit, that was very delicious. I spread my bone marrow right onto the crunchy crostini, but even then it was still a bit too rich. I'm not sure how the fried quail egg fit into the picture, other than making for quite a beautifully plated dish.



Finally, the Lagunitas folks brought out one of my favorite styles: a red! The Lucky 13, coming in at a hefty 8.3% ABV, was a much more mellow beer than the Hop Stoopid, with toasted malts being the prevailing flavor. This paired wonderfully with the lamb ravioli served with sweet peas, pickled artichokes, mint syrup, pea and mint puree all on top of... cassoulet lamb shank! This was a meat lover's delight. The ravioli was fork tender, and the lamb simply melted in your mouth. The beer positively opened up with this course, the best course and the best pairing of the night... well, until dessert.



Lagunitas delighted us with the next beer, Little Sumpin' Sumpin' at 7.5% ABV. This was their version of a Belgian Wit beer, made with Belgian yeast, yet filtered (which seems, at least for me, to lower the hangover factor). While it was hop forward, the beer was still delicate and sweet, with a slight hint of peach to it, which means it paired absolutely perfectly with the Peach Buttercake. The cake, similar to an upside down pineapple cake - just with peaches, was moist and bold enough to stand up to the beer. The lavender caramel made it all just like a spa experience. I was in heaven.



That was supposed to be our last course, but Jack had something else up his sleeve, a Cappuccino Stout (8.8% ABV). This beer, which smelled just like chocolate covered espresso beans, was actually made with a special blend from Hardcore Espresso in Sebastopol.



I was actually thinking at the time that I would've liked some more of that ice cream from the previous course so I could make my self a beer float. Fortunately, the chefs wanted to surprise us as well and they brought out a bonus dessert of chocolates! Splendid!



Overall, a magnificent dinner right here in Mountain View. The staff was friendly and accommodating. I loved having someone from the brewery present to tell us all about the beers, and the pace of the food was perfect. For future dinners, though, I would recommend the chef try to balance the super rich and a bit strange courses more with the rest of the menu. The only bad surprise came at the end when there was a 22% gratuity added on top of the total bill (that is, food plus tax). I didn't expect that for our group of four, and only mention it so that if you join a future dinner, you can be prepared.

Now the question, do you like the picture of the course before I talk about the course, or after (as is done in this post).

This post syndicated from Thoughts on security, beer, theater and biking!

Bourbon Barrel Beer, hard to find!

After my trip to Kentucky in 2009, I've fallen in love with beer that has been aged in bourbon barrels.  While I'm not a huge fan of bourbon straight up, I do like bourbon sauces, bourbon balls, and other bourbon treats - like beer!

Being aged in a barrel softens most beers, and being aged in a bourbon barrel gives hints of the bourbon, along with accenting the natural malt flavor of beer.

My favorite bourbon aged beer is made by Kentucky Ale, both an ale and a stout are available. Unfortunately, it is not available outside of the tri-state area, so I can only get my hands on it by either visiting Kentucky, or begging a friend visiting the area to bring me back a four pack. [hint: if you're planning a visit to KY soon, please leave room for some of this beer for me :-) ]

Fortunately for me, aging in bourbon barrels is becoming more trendy, so I can get some out here on the west coast.

I recently got my hands on a couple of bourbon beers and did a sampling with some friends, who also contributed a nice Firestone Walker porter to share.

We started with the Dogfather's Bourbon Barrel stout - a strong beer. Unfortunately for this batch, it wasn't hints of bourbon, but more like someone had added a shot of bourbon to the bottle before the cap went on. The bourbon aroma overpowered the coffee overtones in the beer and it was a bit too strong for my liking. It was still a really good beer, and so close to being great. We should've had this heavy beer last. (11% ABV)

Next up was the Widmer Brother's Reserve Barrel-Aged Brrrbon, which was just a nice regular amber brew that had spent a perfect amount of time in a bourbon barrel.  I originally mistook this for a stout because it seems that out here on the west coast, brewers only make bourbon barrel stouts. Lucky for us, this was a very drinkable beer with hints of caramel and bourbon. I'll have to get a couple more bottles of this!  (9.4% ABV)

We finished with the Firestone Walker's Reserve porter, which was dark in colour, yet surprisingly light tasting - we could've actually started with that one! I love all Firestone Walker's beers - always tasty, unique and full flavored. (ABV 5.9%)

I know Full Sail just released a bourbon barrel stout, which I still need to get my hands on. Any of you have a favorite bourbon barrel beer? and where can I get them? :-)

Beers (and Bears) of Yosemite

I had the great fortune of making it up to Yosemite 3 times this summer.  Yosemite is the most beautiful place I've ever been, and you can't beat a campground within walking distance to a bar!

Yosemite bars serve Mammoth Brewing Company brews on tap, and you can also purchase them in every grocery store we checked (okay, that was just the one in Curry Village...).  I haven't seen Mammoth beers out here in the bay area, so was excited to try them the first weekend we were out.  I ordered myself a Double Nut Brown and my husband an Epic IPA.   The brown was a nice typical brown (which just might be my new favorite style of beer), rich, nutty, slightly sweet without being syrupy, with an incredibly smooth finish.  The Epic was much too bitter for me, typical of American brewers pushing for stronger & stronger flavored IPAs (as opposed to, in my opinion, nice flavors).  Much like its flavor, the beer itself was very strong. Of course, American bars so rarely list the ABV, so we didn't know 'til my poor husband woke up the next morning with a terrible hangover.

When we asked the barmaid on our next visit about the ABV, she believed the brown was close to 5 or 5.5% and the IPA, being EPIC, was closer to 8 or 9%.  Yikes, a warning would've been nice!

On another stay, we also tried the Mammoth Brewing Company Amber - lots of flavor in this one, a bit of honey,  caramel, hops and lots more carbonation (not necessarily a good thing when you are at altitude).

I didn't get to see any bears in their natural habitat this year, but did have the misfortune of camping at a site with a loose bear locker.  This black bear had obviously learned that if he banged on this locker, he could often get the food out. We had it padlocked, so that method didn't work, but didn't stop him from knocking on the locker. Fortunately, our neighbors chased him out of the site (we were in our tent).  The next night he came back, and this time I got to help with the chasing!  On the last day of that trip, the rangers treed that bear and we had a quiet night of sleep. This is when I'm glad we don't camp in grizzly country! *whew*

Faultline Brewery

Had a work lunch at Faultline in Sunnyvale yesterday, which meant I didn't really have an opportunity to try all of their beers... but I did get to enjoy the cask conditioned Pale Ale. Unlike many Pales lurking in the marketplace right now, this brew had lively hops without overwhelming bitterness. It came in at a nice 5% ABV and the pint glass was even nearly full. It paired well with the daily special of blackened cod served over penne pasta with alfredo sauce, peas and bits of real bacon. The beer balanced out the spice of the dish and made for a very tasty lunch. Service was superb, especially for such a large group.

I did get to try the Belgian Abby style beer as well that a friend was drinking. Lots of citrus and a fine finish. I definitely want to go back so I can have a full pint of that.

This delightful Pale Ale brings up a great point: if you're a local brewer, you really need to invest in a beer engine (or two) to serve up cask conditioned beers. The natural carbonation and cellar temperature cannot be beat for enjoying a pint.

Monk's Kettle Ninkasi Beer Dinner

I was so happy to be able to participate in the San Francisco Bay Area debut of the draft beers of this delightful Eugene, Oregon brewer, Ninkasi, back in March.

Ninkasi, a relatively young brewing company, is named after the Sumerian Goddess of Fermentation and they have played around with some of the first recorded beer recipes while doing their brewing. Happily for us, they sent their primary brewer, Jamie Floyd, to teach us about each of the beers we tasted.

The Monk's Kettle has started a new tradition of giving the diners a welcome beer - and I can't think of anything more welcoming than a gratis beer! We were welcomed with Spring Reign, a seasonal American Pale Ale coming in at 6.0% ABV. The beer had gentle hops and a crisp flavor that, unlike many pale ales, mellowed and really grew on me as I sipped it while chatting with my friends, BJ, Rod, Cory & Mark, awaiting the first course. This was what Jamie referred to as a "session beer", and I could definitely see that. Easy to drink at 35 IBUs and not *too* strong.

The wait was well worth it, as we were served the most delicious cream of mushroom soup any of us had ever eaten in our entire lives. The soup, made from locally grown organic portobello muhrooms, was garnished with fried truffle shallots, with a tarragon reduction - simply amazing. Each of us agreed that we would've been happy if the soup was served for each course :)

The best part about this soup? It completely changed the complexion of the beer - bringing out a before hidden essence of peaches.

Chef Kevin Kroger really outdid himself with this course and we were certain we'd be let down by everything else that followed - wow, we were wrong!

The next course, coconut curry with Ocean Garden shrimp served over a Thai basil rice cake was seasoned with fresh ginger, Thai basil and mint. I found the curry lightly spiced and creamy, the shrimp was amazingly tender - perfectly cooked! Perfectly matched as well with the Total Domination American India Pale Ale (6.7% ABV), which was soft, citrusy, light and very drinkable. I swore I tasted lemon grass in the beer, too. I was surprised I enjoyed this beer so much, as it came in at 65 IBUs, and I tend to not like "bitter" beers, but this beer was very drinkable... perhaps another session beer? I can see why this beer is the #1 selling 22oz bottle in Eugene, OR. I've been keeping my eyes peeled at my local bottle shop for it myself.

Jamie Floyd took a moment here to share his IPA philosophy with us, which I find lines up perfectly with my taste preference. He realizes that hops operate on a logarithmic scale and you have to be able to find the correct balance of bitter, flavor and drinkability. Lots of brewers can make an IPA that tastes great in a 6oz pour, but Jamie only sells in 22 ounce bottle so he has to brew beers that will taste as good on your last sip as they did on their first.

And this is when true joy began - our next beer, Tricerahops Double IPA (American Imperial India Pale Ale - 8.8% ABV). This beer had an amazing hoppy flavor without the bitterness I've come to associate with hops. It can be done! It was smooth and a pleasure to drink, though at 8.8% ABV, it is better to be enjoyed in small quantities.

How could things get any better? Our waiter brought out the next course - cumin rubbed pork tenderloin, goat cheese mashed potatoes and grilled asparagus. The pork, like the shrimp, was cooked to perfection - tender and juicy, with a rosemary-orange glaze. Again, this course was cooked with tarragon - an herb I believe I've been greatly under estimating! The beer was paired well and the food and the beer accentuated one another.

Our fourth beer was Believer Double Red (American Red Ale, 6.9% ABV), which was inspired by one of my favorites - Deschutes' Jubelale. Apparently Jamie and his crew had been working on the recipe for this beer longer than anything else in their lineup, and it was their first winter seasonal. I found this beer to be more of a brown than a red, with hints of dates and a smooth easy taste. The Believer Double Red was paired with Igor Novara Dolce Gorgonzola with roasted garlic cloves and an Italian and Thai basil reduction, with toasted cashews and Metropolis bigio bread. Always a fan of blue cheeses and roasted garlic, I could not have been more delighted by this course. The flavors blended together nicely and brought out the date flavor of the beer. Another course I wouldn't have minded being repeated ;)

The fifth, and final, beer was the one I had been most looking forward to: the Oatis Oatmeal Stout (7.5% ABV, 50 IBUs). I am a huge fan of oatmeal stouts, regularly drinking some at the Tied House in Mountain View. Actually, it may just be that I'm a huge fan of oatmeal, which I eat nearly every morning and have since I was a kid.

Ah, but back to the beer! It was a creamy brew, with coffee tones and a distinct nutty flavor (I could've sworn it tasted like cashews, but that was probably the last course still lingering). The Oatis Oatmeal Stout was originally their second winter seasonal, but the beer became so popular it is now a permanent fixture in their lineup. Jamie and the gang do like a clear beer, but they try to avoid filtering as it can take out some of the lovely flavors, so they have been experimenting with using a centrifuge on this beer. I do have to say I loved the results.

Chef Kroger paired this beautifully with a tarragon chocolate chip cookie and vanilla ice cream sandwich with an Oatis Oatmeal Stout infused chocolate sauce. I don't think you can ever go wrong with an ice cream sandwich, but I would've never thought of putting tarragon into cookie mix. This was surprisingly tasty. It was a bit like tarragon was the "secret ingredient" in this beer dinner, as it popped up so often and is usually a neglected herb - but it really worked and helped accentuate the bear flavors.

All in all, another palate enticing affair! Can't wait til the next one - oh, that's tonight! :-)

Monk's Kettle does it again - and cabs?!

A full write up will come later, but suffice it to say that Monk's Kettle pulled out all the stops last night for their Lagunitas Beer Pairing dinner. The hops were ever present and well balanced by the delicious food.

Dinner was a bit slower paced than normal, which meant we had to rush out to catch a cab. It took us forever to find one that wasn't occupied, but then the driver we got DIDN'T KNOW WHERE CALTRAIN WAS! How can you be a cab driver in San Francisco and not know where the Caltrain stations are? There are only two....by the time we got out of that cab, it was no longer possible for us to make our 10:45PM train, so we had to wait it out 'til the midnight train.

Sayer made sure our wait was bearable, though, by bringing us out some of the leftover dessert chocolate and some beer - YUM!

So, is there a good way to find a cabbie in SF that actually knows where the train stations are? Any recommendations? Or do I just need to print out a directions and take them with me?

First Firkin Friday at the Tied House!

I was given the very cool honor of getting to tap the firkin (a small barrel of Real Ale) this past Friday at the Tied House, for being such an avid Tied House fan on Twitter, Facebook and my blog. I was very nervous when I discovered this was a good ol' fashioned type of tapping - with a pointy tap and a mallet! I'd heard the last person to do this got sprayed in beer - and I did *not* want to waste fine beer!

Carolyn and the gang walked me through it, and with one (okay... two) swift swings, the firkin was tapped!



This month's beer was a fine Mai Bock from Peter Licht and Ron Manabe. While I've complained in the past that the firkins can suffer from too much yeast (most likely from not sitting long enough before being tapped), this Mai Bock had no issues there. The *imperial* sized pints were filled nearly to the brim by the happy bartenders, and the beer went down smooth. At one point I heard the ABV was 7%, so we all tried to be careful with the quantities, but the beer was so yummy that I think there were a lot of hang overs on Saturday (don't worry, most of us walked there!)

I don't have much experience with Mai Bocks, but this one reminded me of all the things I love about a hefeweisen, and none of the things I don't. It was light and crisp, with a slight citrus flavor. It was a bit cloudy, but like I noted before, was not yeasty.

I think our group made a pretty good dent on the firkin :-)

I don't know what the special beer for next Month will be, but I can tell you this: if you go to the Tied House in Mountain View on the first Friday of every month about 5PM, you won't be disappointed.


(in interest of full disclosure, I did get a free pint for my tapping efforts, but if this wasn't a good beer, I wouldn't have bothered discussing the taste :-)

Monk's Kettle: Shelton Brothers Beer Dinner

Okay, so I'm behind on writing up the beer dinner's I've attended... This one, which was fabulous, was on December 2, 2009 at the Monk's Kettle. While these dinners usually feature a specific brewer, which makes for an interesting challenge for the chef to pair to a limited set of beers, this one was coordinated with an importer, Shelton Brothers, so we got to "tour" the world at Monk's Kettle that evening.

We started out with a delightful visit to Germany with Weissenohe Monk's Fest, which featured a slightly hoppy caramel flavored Marzen style beer. This paired amazingly well with our starting course: chicken liver braunschweiger with pickled shallots on a crostini. I don't know about you, but I love braunschweiger and feel that it is a type of mystery meat that has been largely neglected by the American masses over the last few years. I was glad to see it back and with such a nice beer.

A short jaunt over to Belgium for De Ranke XX Bitter (Belgian IPA). This was an abbey style "farm ale", which I found was a little too hoppy for me to start with, but once I tried it with the mussels in fresh herbs and tomatoes, WOW! This pairing completely changed the flavor of the beer in the most amazing way. My notes say: "made it very yummy" :) And none of us, excepting the one that doesn't eat shell fish, could not get enough of these mussels and broth! Of course, they were served with amazing Belgian style pommes frites. This was the course I could've eaten over & over again.

Onto the Netherlands - land of tall and very polite people, and amazing beer. We were treated with Christoffel Nobel (Imperial Pilsner), apparently the first Trappist brewery to open in the Netherlands. We felt for certain that this could easily be a terrible hangover beer, due to the fact that it was remarkably delicious and 8.7% ABV. My friend, Julie, and I both tasted Bing cherries and mandarins in this beer, and it was again another amazing pairing! Served with house-cured gravlax with a hovmastarsas sauce, capers, shaved red onion and toasted Metropolis Bigio.

Then, surprisingly, we came back to America for a Michigan brewed beer. I guess Michigan is like another country to those of us that live out in California, but more importantly, it was a good cask ale - specially made just for the Monk's Kettle! This was an odd beer, with an odd name: Jolly Pumpkin Barn Noire, which tasted sweet with hints of cinnamon and orange peel. Chef Kevin Kroger felt that such a strange beer deserved a strange course, and for the first time in my life I had lamb tartare, served with house made crackers. I found the lamb so tender and tasty. I wasn't sure I'd be a fan of raw ground lamb, but Chef Kroger worked magic and made an amazing pairing (and was super nice and provided Mark with some roasted goat cheese, as he just couldn't tolerate the thought of eating raw meat).

Now for our cooked lamb course, a delicious lamb stew, we went to Norway for Nøgne-Ø Porter (American Style Porter). Like many porters, this one tasted heavily of chocolate and espresso and ... pure yumminess. Another friend at the table stated that he loved this beer more than anything, and yes, "I want to marry it". His review of the stew: "Like being wrapped in a snuggie". The lamb stew, with onions, carrots, celery, turnips, Bay leaves and fennel, paired so well with this beer, it really showed how well Chef Kroger can match up entrees when given a wider selection of beers.

At this point, I can't lie, we were getting a little tipsy. While it's not like each of these beers is coming in a pint glass, they do keep coming. Fortunately, the staff at the Monk's Kettle is well prepared for happy beer drinkers and kept all of our water glasses full and kept quickly bringing out the food :-)

Our next stop on our international tour was in Denmark for Mikkeller Christmas Chokladbollar, served with a "traditional dessert" of chocolate balls rolled with oats and covered in coconut. I definitely got apricots on the nose of this one, but on the palate a different beast arose: nutmeg, cinnamon, chocolate - well, to me & Julie, this beer tasted exactly like Toll House chocolate chip cookies. To Phil, it was "Christmas in the mouth". Okay, at 11% ABV, we were more than tipsy, but did all love this beer and the chocolate balls that came along with it!

The dinner ended with a Belgium Redux: Struise Pannepøt (Quadrupel) at 10%. We all loved this beer. Julie thought it tasted like "a great espresso that you have with a dash of nutmeg". Sirena said simply, "This is good".

Chef Kevin Kroger has grown by leaps and bounds. This dinner was amazing, the pairings were intriguing, and the service was phenomenal. I really enjoy hearing directly from the importers and hearing various stories about the beers and the brewers.

Soon I'll be writing up the March dinner :-)

Monk's Kettle: November Beer Pairing Dinner!

I can't think of a better reason to take the train up to San Francisco than the Monk's Kettle's Beer Pairing dinner. My second (or was it third?) beer dinner there was the November 4th event hosted by Firestone Walker Brewing Company. We all got comfortable and finished our happy hour beers (note to self: happy hour beer not necessary when dinner comes with 6 beers) in our seats along the kitchen. It took me awhile to write this up, as I left my notes there and had to return again to retrieve them (for December's dinner). :)

Our host welcomed us and quickly told us, "No driving. The training wheels are off. These are real beers," and beer service began! All of these beers were barrel aged and got their primary fermentation in oak barrels, and they got stronger as the night went on.

We started with a nice English style pale ale poured from the cask, Double Barrel Ale. It was light and fruity, coming in at a nice 5%. This was paired with a delightful crostini with white bean puree and olive tapenade. YUM! This small amuse-bouche was delicious and a great way to start.

The salad course was served with a saison, Lil' Opal. We learned that this beer was actually an accident when it was created when a batch of Big Opal ended up too much sugar. I love happy little surprises like this! We all loved this beer, for its lemony and sweet flavor, with just a touch of hoppiness. My friend Lucas said, "It tastes like when doves cry". An unexpected and apt 80s references. but... then the salad came. The salad itself (red Belgian endives, baby letuces, shaved red onion, pomegranate seeds and feta) was delicious, but the "Lil' Opal Vinaigrette" did not pair well with the beer, changing the flavor to a distinctly PBR taste. Not terrible, but nowhere near as good as the beer tasted without the food. In the future, I hope that Chef Kevin stays away from vinegar in these dinners.

My favorite course was the house-cured bacon stuffed dates drizzled with a balsamic reduction and topped with pickled shallots, served with house made cheddar bread. They came with Walker's Reserve, a very robust porter. Four pounds of oatmeal go into each barrel, along with chocolate malt and cascade hops. The beer I could've repeated this course several times - delicious!

(Yes, I know Balsamic is a vinegar, but in this reduction, it was sweet and not acidic.)

The main course was "A Drunken Lamb, A Rare Bird" - the lamb leg had been marinated in the beer that was paired with the course, Black Xantus, and came out very tender and the match was made in heaven. The Black Xantus was a Russian Imperial Stout, made with Mexican coffee which made for a slightly bitter, but very nice, flavor. This is a beer that can really get you in trouble, coming in at 11% ABV!

For dessert, the scrumptious chocolate fondant cake was served hot with a side of Chantilly cream and mint. There were also some "drunken Fuyu persimmons", but they had been left in the "cheap" bourbon a bit too long and we couldn't really eat them.

The bonus? Dessert came with two beers! Yay! Abucus, which was an American Barleywine coming in at 12% ABV, paired wonderfully with the chocolate cake, with its own dark cherry and chocolate flavors soaring when enjoyed together with the cake. I also enjoyed the Firestone Twelve (which had been cellared for one year), another 12% ABV. The Twelve had been aged in bourbon and brandy barrels, and then blended.

I really enjoy these dinners, as there is no rush, service is outstanding, and you get to hear directly from the brewers so you fall in love with the beer as much as they have. And while the event is not rushed, the staff is aware that we've all come via public transport and we always finish with time to pay the bill and get to the Caltrain station. :)

Firkin Friday!

We finally made it to the Tied House's First Friday Firkin last week. In case you don't know, "firkin" refers to the size of the barrel the beer is made in. These once a month pleasures are made in the style of Real Ale - all the carbonation is a natural by product of the fermentation process with no CO2 added. This month's firkin was a nice, light, brown ale. Low in alcohol (3.8% ABV) and high in flavor. It was smooth, with only a slight hint of hops and served in proper pint sized glasses to boot!

The only downsides, really, were that the pints were not always full (illegal in Britain!) and the firkin was rolled in right before tapping, so each glass ended up with yeast in the bottom. I don't like to drink the yeast, because I'll end up with a headache.

Buyer beware, as expected, the firkin pints were not subject to normal happy hour pricing. No complaints on that, though, as the beer was worth every penny!

Monk's Kettle Beer Pairing Dinner

Made it up to San Francisco this week to the Monk's Kettle's once a month beer pairing dinner. This month featured the brews from the Bruery. The food was delicious, service was great and the company was fantastic, what could possibly make this a better night out? Oh, that's right, the amazing beers!

I was glad my friend Phil had warned me about the size of the meal, so we just had a very light salad for lunch, no afternoon snacks and I avoided the tempting bread basket at the table when we arrived.

The founder of the Bruery, Patrick Rue, was in attendance and introduced us to each beer as it was served. It was cool hearing about their humble roots as a home brewer and how they've developed so many new recipes as well as attempting to bring back old styles. The Bruery is just over a year old, and I haven't had much luck finding them here in the south bay (quoth the BevMo employee, "I'm sorry, *which* brewery are you looking for?").

The first course was organic bibb lettuce with fresh tarragon, chervil, parsley and fried capers, paired with Hottenroth Berliner Weisse. The salad was delicious, but a bit of work to cut into and a bit too much for the plate it was served on, as we all had trouble with flying lettuce and splashing dressing :) The beer, at a light 3.1% ABV, was super refreshing with a delightful lemon flavor. It reminded me of what I think Mike's Hard Lemonade should taste like (hint: not like syrup ...). It was delicious and I could easily see myself sipping on that on a lazy summer afternoon. (speaking of fried capers - they tasted almost like bacon! they were so good, and seemingly no semblance of vinegar on them)

For the second course, we had pan seared local halibut, crayfish risotto cake, a Sausalito Springs watercress salad and an organic pesto beurre blanc. When I looked at the menu in advance, I was not particularly excited by this course, not being a huge halibut fan, but was surprised when the fish came perfectly cooked (neither dry nor gooey) and loved the sauce! This was paired with the Trade Winds Tripel (8.1% ABV), which is apparently made with Thai Basil. You could catch the basil on the nose, but the taste was much lighter.

The third course was Blue de Sassenage, fresh slices of pear, spiced almonds, organic honey and toasted bread. I'm always a fan of a cheese course, so no complaints here! We all wished the "spices" used on the almonds were listed, as they were quite tasty. We were guessing paprika and brown sugar. This was paired with Humulus Lager (India Pale Lager, 7.2% ABV). This was much lighter than a pale ale, and apparently made with rice to make it an American style lager. Patrick assured us, though, that rice is not a cheep beer making ingredient, as it is often referred to, as it costs him more than his hops. I'm not a big fan of hoppy beers, but Mark was more than happy to finish the last half of my beer.

The fourth course was what we'd all been waiting for: 'Black Orchard' marinated short ribs, roasted garlic potato puree, haricot vert, and a 'Black Orchard' demi glace. This was all paired with the Black Orchard beer from the Bruery (5.7% ABV). These ribs had been marinated in the Black Orchard beer with bay leaves and garlic for 24 hours, before being braised for 5 hours (with a mixture made of Black Orchard beer, chicken stock and brown sugar). These spare ribs were phenomenal! The Black Orchard beer (yes, that Orchard, as in Apple Orchard, not Orchid) was my favorite one of the evening. A nice brown ale, soft and smooth, slightly sweet, and a crisp after taste.

Dessert was house made ice cream sandwiches with a 'Papier' chocolate sauce. This was served with two beers: Papier (first anniversary old style ale, 17.5% ABV) and Black Tuesday (bourbon aged imperial stout - 19.5%). Both beers were really good, though I would have to say that I loved the chocolaty flavor of the Black Tuesday the best. And who wouldn't like a beer named after the start of the Great Depression that sells for $30/bottle? ;-)

Anyone else make it up here for the event? I can't wait for the next one! This is a great way to discover how beer can make food better and to discover small craft breweries.