Saturday, November 7, 2009

Left Hand Beer and Food Pairing (with Slow Food Boulder)

I attended a Beer and Food Pairing event at Left Hand Brewing earlier this week. The event was sponsered by Slow Food Boulder,

Josh, the head bartender at Left Hand, did a great job of walking us through the beer and food pairings and why they were paired up together. I didn't take notes so you will have to call Josh.

All beer was provided by Left Hand and the food was from a Terroir Restaurant , Haystack Mountain, and Belvedere Belgian Chocolate Shop.

Here's what we had:
Bruschetta with Cannellini Bean, Rosemary, Truffle Oil and Haystack Mountain Goat Cheese paired with Left Hand Brewing Polestar Pilsner - South German Style Lager (5.5% ABV)

Haystack Mountain Snowdrop: Cultured, Pasturized Goat Milk Cheese paired with Left Hand Sawtooth Ale: Extra Special Bitter (4.8% ABV)

Haystack Mountain Red Cloud: Washed Rind, Raw Goat Milk Cheese (Aged 60 days) paired with Left Hand Brewing 400 Pound Monkey: English Sytle IPA (6.6% ABV)

Belvedere Raspberry Truffle: Milk Chocolate Filled with Raspberry Flavored Chocolate (34% Cacao) paired with Left Hand Brewing Milk Stout: Sweet Stout (5.9% ABV)

Belvedere Royal Truffle: Dark Chocolate Filled with Cognac Flavored Dark Chocolate Ganache (53% Cacao) paired with Left Hand Brewing Imperial Stout: Russian Imperial Stout (10.4% ABV)

It was all delicious! I was particularly fond of the Bruschetta (fabulous!!), the Snowdrop ( I think I preferred this cheese over the Red Cloud, even though the Red Cloud is more aged and more expensive) and the Dark Chocolate was delicious.

Sunday, November 1, 2009

Ales for Females - October meeting

The October meeting of Ales for Females (put on by Left Hand Brewery) focused on beers with coffee. Actually, the only beer we had was the Terrapin Midnight Project Depth Charge Espresso Milk Stout – a joint venture between Left Hand Brewing and Terrapin. It was sooooo delicious. It tasted like stout with coffee and cream. Personally, I love coffee and I love beer.

They served the beer in a glass and as an ice cream float. Boston Cream Pie was also served and went nicely with our coffee beer.

Our guest speaker was a guy named, Mike, that works for Allegro Coffee. He had us taste coffee brewed three different ways so we could see how not only does the type of coffee matter but also the way it is brewed.

Unfortunately, Left Hand was nearly out of the Expresso Milk Stout so I wasn’t able to buy any.

Today, I bought a few other beers made with coffee:
db double black stout with coffee – a limited release by Redhook Ale Brewery

Péché Mortel(French for mortal sin)– Imperial Coffee Stout by Canadian brewery, Brasserie Dieu Du Ciel!

Coffee Porter by Meantime Brewing (UK)

Stone Collaborations – Kona Coffee, Macadamia, Coconut Porter

I plan on having my own beer with coffee tasting sometime soon. Will keep you posted.