Brews and Such

Six Burner, formerly Firefly, just had their first beer pairing dinner. This place has been one of my brunch standbys for a long time. The Six Burner incarnation has switched from lighter bistro fare to comfort food, but it is as good as ever. Comfort food was definitely the name of the game at this beer pairing dinner. Let’s talk food!

Mac & Cheese with Caramelized Onions paired with Sam Adams Boston Ale

This pairing shows that they mean business. The pair works on several fronts. The sweet malts in the beer and the caramelized onion in the mac & cheese are similar flavors that complement each other nicely, while the hops in the beer provide the right contrast to emphasize the softer cheese flavors. Great.

Chicken Sausage with Fig and Orange Marmalade and Polenta paired with Sam Adams Honey Porter

The most unique offering of the night. I love figs, and they’re a classic complement to the honey in the porter. The heavier maltiness of the porter adds some depth underneath this relatively lighter dish. There is some spiciness in the polenta that brings the whole thing together. Great.

Beef Brisket Shepherd’s Pie paired with Sam Adams Black Lager

A tasty execution of a classic. It has a spiciness that I’m not used to in shepherd’s pie, but it works. The black lager’s roasty notes complement the dish but it is light enough in body to not weigh down the whole thing. Great.

Apple Crisp paired with Sam Adams Cream Stout

I’m assuming that the idea here is that the tartness of the apples matches the sweetness in the stout. Honestly the Sam Adams Cream Stout is a little light in flavor and body for my preference in the style. The dessert itself is good though, and stands out by itself as the highlight of this course. Good.

I had the chance to talk to the owner while I was there. She is planning on doing beer pairing dinners every month, with Peak Organic (meh), Long Trail (could be good), and, at my suggestion, Allagash (yay!) as a maybe. I will definitely be back, since overall, this dinner was Great!

Though I’m not going to Extreme Beer Fest this weekend, the pre-party sounded too good to pass up. It was held at Lord Hobo; this was my third visit to this sprightly newcomer to the Boston/Cambridge craft beer scene.

The night was amazing! I showed up early, which worked out well, as there was already a long wait when my girlfriend showed up less than an hour later. Folks from Dogfish Head, Russian River, Birrificio Le Baladin, and Birra del Borgo were there to give a talk and provide tastings of some of their beers.

Since the special beers started at 7, and I showed up before 5:30, I had some time to try a couple other things. The night prior Lord Hobo had advertised 20 Stone beers on tap, and some amazing offerings were still available. At this point I sat at the bar and chatted with the other friendly beer geeks. At 7 the special guests gave a great talk, and the special beers were offered in 6 oz. pours. I had my name in for a table, and soon we sat down and had some dinner along with our many great beers. Some of the tables at Lord Hobo are more private, but we ended up at a larger table, which was ideal for socializing. I finished the night off with a great German beer off their usual menu. What a night!

It is hard to write a full review for any beer I had due to the sensory overload, but here are some initial thoughts / mini-reviews for what I had last night. Some of these were shared, and some were small tasting pours, so no, I did not actually drink 10 full beers last night!

Stone Double Dry Hopped Double Bastard. Insanity. Very aggressive dry hopping, very fresh. The drier bitterness from the standard Double Bastard still cuts through. The body still manages to hold it up. I was afraid I’d be unable to taste the later beers properly after this, but some water cleared it up. Great.

Stone 2005 Vintage Double Bastard. Closer to the more recently-brewed version than I expected. Maybe more mellow. Still has plenty of the vigorous Stone hop profile, with that less carbonated thick mouthfeel. Some sweet flavors in the malt. Do I taste mandarin orange in there somewhere? Want to explore it further, but who knows if I’ll ever taste this again! Great.

Dogfish Head Palo Santo Marron. Aged in tanks handmade from Paraguayan Palo Santo wood. This is supposedly a brown, but I was thinking imperial porter when I drank it. A nice full-bodied roasty and dark malt affair, a little sweet and plenty thick. The wood flavor is unique and imparts a more natural flavor than oak. Beer aged in oak don’t taste like tree, but this does, and I like it. Incredible.

Dogfish Head Red and White. A Belgian-style wheat beer that is 15% Pinot Noir juice. Smooth, nicely spiced. Wine flavors fit right in: you get some nuanced dry grape and oak. More breweries need to try the wine grape thing. A little citrus flavor in here too. Tastes like you could session it, but surprisingly it’s 10% abv. Great.

Russian River Pliny the Elder. I had a lot of this when I visited San Francisco last fall. This may be the most yearned-for IPA in the world. I was focusing more on beers I hadn’t tried, but I couldn’t resist a sip. Big grapefruit, juniper, and resiny hop flavor. Similar to Green Flash West Coast IPA, but less on the resin, more on the fruit. Maybe some pineapple in there. Bready malt is present, but this is all about the hops. Incredible.

Russian River Redemption. A Belgian-style blond ale. The most easygoing Russian River beer I’ve tasted. Simple, smooth, sweet, and balanced. A little sweet malt, a little yeasty sweetness, a little clean citrus, a touch of honey, a touch of hops. Only 5% abv, which would be ideal if I had a whole bottle of this! Great.

Russian River Consecration. Back to the insane beers. I’ve had this recently, but I don’t remember it as being this good. It’s a wild ale, and the sourness is very aggressive. Mostly sour fruit, but also a touch of funk. It’s balanced out with an extremely generous quantity of oak flavor, which brings the smooth and full wood and faint vanilla flavors. Lots going on here. Deserves a full review when I have more time to analyze it. Great.

Birra Del Borgo Re Ale Extra. Italian beer! The Italian craft beer scene is relatively new, but some great beer is making its way into the states from over there. This was described as being brewed with orange peel and coriander. First sip shows that this is the perfect way to describe it. The orange peel tastes extremely fresh. I’d call this a spice beer more than anything else. Great.

Dogfish Head Burton Baton. 90 minute IPA blended with English strong ale. This was on my list to try if it was available. Tastes like an American double IPA: big pine flavor, grapefruit. Enough malt body to back it up. Most unique is the oak aspect, which adds the mellow wood flavor you’d expect. Nothing surprising, but a winning combination for sure. Great.

Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier Märzen. Bacon. So much bacon. Along with smokey and woody flavors. Backed by caramel and roasty malt. Despite the extremeness of the bacon and smoke, this has all the drinkability you would expect in a German beer. Great.