Friday, August 27, 2010

Dogfish Head Brewery Dinner at Bluegrass Tavern


Last week, Bluegrass Tavern and Chef Patrick Morrow hosted a dinner with beer pairings supplied by Delaware's Dogfish Head Brewery. It was my first time having a dinner with beer pairings. My friend Coprock from LA was in town and he came along. It was his first exposure to beers by Dogfish Head.
Our first course, paired with Midas Touch, was a North Carolina Shrimp Presse with a kimchee puree. Chef Patrick described it as "salami" because of it's appearance.

Course 2 might have been the most perfect pairing of food and drink. We tried the Sah'tea, a brew with strong flavors of juniper and black tea. The food item was a generous piece of foie gras tourchon that was cured in the Sah'tea served with plum sorbet and a pecan praline. The spicy flavor of the beer went perfectly with the fatty goodness of the foie.




The third course was a beautifully cooked duck breast with duck fat fried potatoes and a rhubarb pudding. We drank with this course, the Raison D'Etre, a Belgian style brown ale.
The fourth course came with Dogfish's Palo Santo Marron, a rich brew that takes a lot of flavor from the resinous Palo Santo wood it is aged in. The flavor is reminiscent of Guinness, but with an ABV of 12%. Chef Patrick prepared a sous vide hanger steak with Anson Mills cheddar grits and a veal Bordelaise sauce. It was an amazing course.

We finished with Dogfish's famous 90 Minute IPA, and a piece of blue cheesecake with a little bacon jam.
It was a great meal and I was happy to see the versatility of these beers with fine dining.

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