New Belgium Dinner
Monk's Cafe
4/10/07
Only Tom Peters could have pulled off an event like this.
What brewery would haul their products over 2000 miles to a place where
they don't distribute? New Belgium is a well-known brewery throughout the
world, but only brews in Colorado and distributes its beer in several surrounding
Western states. They have grown quickly in the last 10 years not only for
their products but for their dedication to being a "green" brewery. They
buy wind power, recycle practically everything in the building and support
organizations of the same bent.
I have had their beers at the GABF in Denver, "Fat Tire"
has become their flagship brew and "La Folie" has become legendary and
extremely sought after on the East Coast.
Lauren and Eric Salazar came out from Fort Collins with
six of their best offerings and Chef Adam Glickman went to work pairing
up culinary delights with them. Lauren and Eric are the "barrel-agers"
of the company. They see that the beers are put into oak and are well-cared
for until they leave the brewery in bottles or kegs.
First up was Springboard Ale, a 6% brew with oats and
wormwood which gave it a dry, earthy flavor with a light fruit finish.
Accompanying this distinctive beer was an Apple Fondue, cheddar dipping
sauce served in a hollowed-out green apple with black bread cubes. It was
so good, we had wished for more.
Their geek-popular La Folie was served next. This outstanding
beer is tart, malty, woody and fruity, all the things we find interesting,
but not the easiest to make. It must be blended to try to keep a consistency
from batch to batch which means lots of labor must be expended to produce
it. The organic greens with fresh berries and warm goat cheese brioche
and a dressing made with La Folie.
Our next course was attended by 2 beers....Abbey and
Le Terroir. The Abbey is in the dubbel style with a big flavor of candi
sugar. Le Terroir was quite woody, tart and fruity. Also a slight medicinal
flavor from the dry hopping with Amarillo hops prevailed. The grilled scallop
topped with Le Terroir hollandaise sauce and braised short rib braised
in Abbey were a perfect complement to these two libations.
The next beer was a real treat. It was actually a beer
that Eric made and cared for and was appropriately named Eric's Ale! It
was a strong golden ale with peaches added. It was tart and had a dry fruit
flavor..certainly not overwhelming. A Peach Granite cleansed the palate
at this point and added to the peachiness of the ale.
Their flagship beer, Fat Tire, came with the Roasted
Pheasant with figs and vegetables. This beer has a nutty, malty profile
and does not offend even the lightest of beer drinkers.
The last beer of the evening was an interesting one.
It was of the Belgian Trippel style but had what we thought to be a briny
flavor in between the candi sugar. Eric responded that it was done on purpose
to enhance the profile a bit....interesting!! This was accompanied by a
Caramel Hazelnut Torte with Chocolate Banana Mousse....a fantastic finish
to another great meal at Monk's!!
Be sure to watch on this site and at Monk's site for
future events.
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