TAG Brewery Dinner #4

Tonight was the fourth brewery dinner at TAG, featuring Avery Brewing Company and game birds presented by Strasburg Game Birds. Unlike previous dinners, it took awhile to release menu to the public, and we were guessing until close to the dinner about what was expecting us this time. Menu didn't disappoint, and moreover it included a twist - instead of a single beer with each course, we were presented with "a daring invitation to challenge your palate" with two beers with each course. For the first time, brewery dinner was sold out.

Dinner started with a PowerPoint presentation by Bob Porter representing Strasburg Game Birds. Yes, PowerPoint presentation. Strasburg Game Birds is actually a hunting enterprise - they have grounds with game birds and you can come and hunt there, they also offer dog training. Unfortunately, this is not the point of the dinner, and both I and Shyam found ourselves not caring much for this presentation (here is a picture of pheasant, here is another picture of pheasant, here is a hunting dog, another one, etc) - it just wasn't the right time and place for this. And we felt very bad for not really caring about it, but we really came for food and beer. If we were hunters, this might have been interesting, but we are not. And I doubt anyone in the room was.

Then beers started pouring, and food was not far behind...

Course 1

First up - White Rascal Belgian ale and an IPA from Year Round Ales Series.

We have tried both before, both beers are what you expect from them. White Rascal is an unfiltered Belgian ale - malty and pleasant. IPA is pleasantly hoppy at 69 IBUs. Both are not high in alcohol (that was my main concern during previous brewery dinner - we were served all high-alcoholic beers) at just about 5-6% ABV - so far, so good.

First course was fish tartare with some fruit and vegetable and blood orange gastrique - it was very tasty. Both I and Shyam liked White Rascal with it much more than IPA. But that is not to say that IPA is not at all good with this course, it is just a different kind of pairing that is not as expected.

Course 2

The next two beers come from Seasonal Series - Karma Belgian Pale Ale and New World Porter.

Karma was again a very good Belgian Ale - typically malty. Between the two beers though I liked the porter more. But it could be because we already had a Belgian ale earlier. Both beers are excellent. Porter has very toasty, chocolate/coffee-like notes, which I love.

Second course was a game bird - quail. Before even tasting it, the smell of this dish as it was served around the room was divine. Each serving included two halves of a semi-boned quail, quail egg, white asparagus, tomatillo sauce and a slice of melon and chorizo crumbles - yumm! Both beers went great with this meal. I didn't care for the melon much, but having a bite with melon, porter was a better pairing of the two.

Course 3

Next up - Holy Trinity Series: Hog Heaven Dry-Hopped Barleywine Style Ale and The Reverend Belgian Quadruple Ale.

Both of these are excellent beers. A little bit heavier on alcohol, but still reasonable. Hog Heaven was definitely hoppy (in a good way, at least for a hop-head like me), The Reverend was sweet and very balanced and everyone at our table liked it most.

Third course was actually a seafood course - soft-shelled crab (delicious!), but it did contain some of the game(-like) bird - duck proscuitto. Crab was served on grilled pineapple with radish and very tasty sriracha cherry glaze. Again, both beers worked very well with this course.

Course 4

This was the killer course, in the best possible sense of the word. In retrospect, the previous three courses were building up to this out of this world course. It was amazing on many levels. First, we were served the beer - Demons of Ale Series: The Beast Grand Cru Ale and Mephistopheles Stout.

 
We thought it was a joke when we were told beers were 16% ABV, but then we looked at the labels:

Wow, just wow. After picking my jaw off the table, I tasted the beer, and it was absolutely amazing. Both are audacious (and delicious) drinks, although I would not call them beers. It is more like a dessert wine - sweet, pleasant and very drinkable to the point where you drink a bit too much without realizing how drunk you get - that good!

Food was just as impressive as the beers. Ostrich with a mix of vegetables with peasant confit (back to game birds), some charred ramps (wild leeks) on top and smoked corn puree. Everything on this plate was amazing. I wanted seconds, I might have even asked the waiter (I don't recall after those high-"wattage" beers), but that wish went unfulfilled.

Both beers went well with the food, but it was an unusual pairing. Both I and Shyam agreed that these two beers are much more suited to be dessert accompaniment, but the Avery representative, "ale ambassador", Darin McGregor told us that he prefers unexpected pairings, so here we are - a dessert beer with main course, and it actually worked.

The title of this series is Demons of Ale Series, and this cannot be more appropriate - these beers are evil, absolutely demonic and totally amazing!

Course 5

What could possibly top course 4? Course 4 did remain "untoppable". But course 5 was a perfect ending, a perfect wind-down, to this dinner.

The beers came from the Dictators Series - The Czar Imperial Stout and The Maharaja Imprerial IPA (whether a czar and a maharaja can be considered dictators is a debate for another time - both Shyam and I definitely disagree with this label).

We have had Maharaja before - it is an excellent IPA indeed, and Czar Stout was wonderful too, but I like stouts in general just as much as IPAs.

"Sweet and sexy" dessert was simple - cheesecake (TAG sure knows how to make a good one!) with strawberry-rhubarb sorbet and some rhubarb on the side with a "sparkle" - light popping feeling in the mouth as you hold it on your tongue. We asked, and ends up, pastry chef used Pop Rocks candy - what an absolute genius!

Last thoughts

This dinner was certainly different from the previous three. Two beers per serving was definitely an interesting experiment. However, except for the first course, I did not have a preferred beer to go with the food and I found myself going between the two in a bit of unfocused manner. It certainly was great tasting 10 beers instead of five, but when there is only one pairing with each course, it just seems a bit more focused.

Scorecard so far

Beer	Food
1. Avery (April)	1. March dinner
1. Great Divide (March)	2. April dinner
3. Tommyknocker (January)	2. January dinner
4. Left Hand (February)	4. February dinner

Shyam puts Avery at #2, but for me Avery was actually most enjoyable so far, therefore I am giving it a tie for #1 with Great Divide. And the food this time ties with January's event.

Thank you, TAG, for another wonderful event - great food, great beers and great company (brewery dinners are a lovely communal event and we enjoy great conversations with our fellow diners each time we come to these events).

Unfortunately, it seems that there won't be a May brewery dinner due to many other events (TAG's birthday - both of the restaurant and the chef - are in May), and no definite word on which brewery will be featured in June - currently Odell and Oscar Blues are considered, and Dry Dock may be a July feature.

Cheers!