Beer Dinner at Home

This past Monday, my wife and I had a good friend over to celebrate his birthday. I credit this friend with helping me take 2 major steps in my craft beer evolution, so I wanted to make the evening beer-centric and special. What better way to do that than to serve a five course beer dinner?

This was the second in-home beer dinner that I've done, and it was a lot of fun. Here's the rundown of the five courses, in order:

1. Crusty, crunchy garlic bread topped with Italian-style diced tomatoes, served with Wells Bombardier.
2. Tangy pasta salad with pepperoni, black olives, and red bell peppers, served with Ommegang Hennepin.
3. Spicy boneless buffalo wings, served with Odell IPA.
4. Pan fried bacon and cheddar sliders on buns dipped in extra virgin olive oil, served with Rodenbach Grand Cru.
5. Pepperidge Farm chocolate fudge 3-layer cake, served with Brau Brothers Moo Joos.

Everything was tasty and I thought the pairings worked very well. The most talked about pairing of the evening was the 4th course. I was going for contrast, and that's exactly how the 2 paired. The Rodenbach washed away all the rich greasiness of the sliders, and the next bite of slider quickly tamed the tartness of the beer. My friend was amazed at how 2 flavors could erase each other so thoroughly.

When we finished, we were very full and slightly buzzed. It was a great evening that reinforces my desire to encourage anyone else who loves craft beer to try their own beer dinner at home. It can be a very rewarding experience.

Coborn's Tasting - IPA Battle #1

Tomorrow, Saturday February 18th, I'll be pouring samples at the Hastings Coborn's Liquor. For the last store tasting, I chose a new format and pitted 6 beers against each other in a Stout Battle. It was a lot of fun to have people choose their favorite and see a clear winner emerge.

And the winner of the Stout Battle was...

Buffalo Sweat from Tallgrass Brewing (the clear second place choice was Moo Joos from Brau Brothers, none of the other 4 were even close)

Since the Stout Battle seemed to work out so well, I'm going to do a few more of these types of tastings. Tomorrow will be the first of a few IPA Battles. We have so many IPAs in the store that I'll have to sample them in stages. Then, eventually, I hope to put the winners of each of those tastings into a final battle.

Which beers will be in tomorrow's fight for your tastebuds? I haven't decided yet. I may even let each of my coworkers choose their favorite IPA to submit to the competition. You'll have to stop by the store anytime from 1-4pm to see who the contenders are and cast your vote.

If you love hoppy, bitter beers, you need to pay me a visit tomorrow. I hope to see you there!

Certified Beer Server

I'm happy to say that yesterday, I took my first step towards achieving a new goal. I became a Certified Beer Server with the Cicerone Certification Program.

For the benefit of myself and my business, I've recently felt the desire to further build my legitimacy in the craft beer world with some quantifiable accomplishments. I had been working to show off my beer chops with this blog (which is a fun and worthwhile experience), but I'm not sure that my expertise resonates enough by just calling myself a "Beer Geek" and writing about my own experiences. I want to challenge myself and show my true level of knowledge.

Recently, I was recognized for my brewing ability with a Grand Prize win in the Beer Dabbler home brew contest. I was proud and very thankful to have won such an event, especially after seeing my score and reading the judges' comments. This was definitely an accomplishment that counts towards my brewing knowledge.

Yesterday, the Certified Cicerone Program offered some deals in recognition of a great accomplishment: they had reached 10,000 Certified Beer Servers in their program. One of those deals was a big discount on the price of taking the Certified Beer Server Exam.

Some of you may be wondering, "What the heck is the Certified Cicerone Program?" If you go check out their website, you'll see that the program's goal is "to improve beer quality by certifying the knowledge and tasting skills of those who sell and serve beer." They have 3 levels of certification available, and you have to work through them in order. Certified Beer Server is the first step. To get certified, I had to take a 60 question online exam. I was nervous, but I passed with flying colors!

Now, the big next step will be to tackle the 2nd level: Certified Cicerone. This is the beer equivalent of a Sommelier in the wine world. It's not an easy accomplishment and I know it may be hard work, but if I can become certified, it will all be worth it.

Wish me luck!

Beer Brief #14 - Hoptical Illusion

Before I get this beer brief started, I just want to thank my good friend Mark for providing me with this beer. He travels to Canada frequently for work and made the effort to pack this beer carefully for his return flight home. Let's see how it is...

Brewery - Flying Monkeys Craft Brewery, Barrie, Ontario, Canada

Beer - Hoptical Illusion

Style - Pale Ale

ABV - 5%

Color - Reddish amber with a white head

Aroma - Brown sugar, bread, herbs, slight grapefruit

Flavor - Sweet caramel, hop spice, brief pineapple, strong bitterness, dry finish

Verdict - Well crafted and drinkable pale ale with high perceived bitterness and very dry finish. I know people that would absolutely love this beer, but I prefer my hoppy ales to have a bit more hop aroma and flavor. I would definitely tip a couple of these back, but I don't know that I would revisit it often.

Home Brew Grand Prize

I won the Grand Prize in a home brew contest.

It's been a couple days since I first found this out, and it still seems surreal. Being the huge beer geek that I am, I've always focused on my knowledge about beer. I've learned a lot, and I'm proud of all the beer information I have stored in my cranium. I just didn't know whether that would ever transfer to actual brewing skill.

I've been brewing at home for probably 5 years now, but I haven't attacked it with the vigor of some great home brewers. I'd love to, but that requires more time than I have. For a while, I'd only attempt a home brew supply shop's kit recipe 2 times a year. It wasn't until a year ago that I finally had enough confidence to create my own recipes. That felt great. It was nice to be able to choose my own ingredients and make the beer my personal creation. Freedom had reached my home brewing world.

I first entered a home brew competition this past summer at the Minnesota state fair. I entered 2 beers, one which I really enjoyed, and one that I didn't get to try before I submitted. When I received the scoresheets, I have to admit I was a little disheartened. My scores weren't terrible, but I thought they could be better. I'm definitely my own worst critic.

So when I recently built up enough courage to enter another contest, I chose the Beer Dabbler at the Saint Paul Winter Carnival. Before we get too far into that, let's talk about the beer.

I entered an Imperial Oatmeal Milk Stout that I had named Queen Korova Stout. This beer had been the most problematic that I have brewed so far. I ran into at least five different issues throughout the brewing and fermentation process. It took a long time, too. It was 5 months old when I finally bottled it, and it still had to bottle condition for at least another month. It was all worth it, though. When I poured the first bottle of this beer into a glass and tasted it, I couldn't have been happier with how it turned out. The arduous processes had given me a fantastic beer.

I sampled it out to friends and family, and most were fond of the brew. However, when I poured it for a few great beer minds I knew, I received some negative implications. They thought something tasted off, but they couldn't quite tell what it was. My heart dropped. Even though I had been so excited about this brew, I thought, "Oh well, back to the drawing board."

When I chose to enter a beer into the Beer Dabbler, I realized I had reserved two 12 ounce bottles of Queen Korova for just that purpose. I was conflicted. I didn't know what would happen, but I decided to give it a shot. I honestly felt that I wouldn't win anything. I wasn't eagerly checking for the results.

A week later, I received a text from a friend who had also entered the contest. He told me I had won the Grand Prize. I couldn't believe it. Now, after a few days, I'm very excited. I can't wait to see the scoresheets and hold the medal in my hand. I celebrated with my wife last night by cracking open a bottle of the winning brew. That's when I thought:

I brewed something that won an award. That's pretty cool.

New Type of Coborn's Tasting Tomorrow

That's right, I'm going to mix it up a little bit. Tomorrow, February 4th, I'm taking a different approach with my Coborn's tasting. It will be the first of what I'm going to call the "Battle" series. You're intrigued, aren't you?

In the "Battle" tastings, I will pick 6 beers of a certain theme to pour for your sampling pleasure. Those brews will be duking it out in an attempt to win over your taste buds. You will be the judges of which flavor wins overall. I'm looking for your feedback, so don't be shy. I may even keep track of your votes, so I can post about the champion.

Now, to quote Michael Buffer, let's get ready to rumble!

Stout Battle:

• Bell's Kalamazoo Stout
• Brau Brothers Moo Joos
• Guinness Extra Stout
• Lake Superior Sir Duluth Oatmeal Stout
• Schell's Stout
• Tallgrass Buffalo Sweat

Be sure to stop by the Hastings Coborn's Liquor tomorrow to sample and cast your vote. I'll be pouring stouts from 2 - 6pm. I hope to see you there!