April Sour Beer Dinner Brings the Best Pairings via Discover Chocolate’s Clay Gordon

If you haven’t purchased your ticket for Monday night’s April Sours Prix Fixe dinner, you might want to get that on the top of your “to do” list. Clay Gordon (author of Discover Chocolate) was in the kitchen with our chefs going over the final details on his menu which pairs some of the world’s best sour beer. We were salivating just reading the descriptions and hearing Clay talk about the ingredients.

Menu and pairings will be:

First Course – Amuse: Sour cherry soup topped with creme fraiche chantilly infused with cherry lambic. (Pairing: Hanssens Oude Kriek.)

Second Course – Salad:Roasted heirloom beets on a bed of mixed greens, endive, and arugula, sprinkled chopped hazelnuts pan-fried in cocoa butter and dusted with cocoa powder, with a mock-Champagne vinaigrette made using sour beer instead of vinegar. (Pairing: Cantillon Gueze)

Third Course – Small plate: Southern cornbread muffin topped with braised collards and red chard with bacalao, spiced with chipotles in adobo. (Pairing: Wild Yeast Beer – TBD.)

Fourth Course – Mains: Flank steak rollatini – dry-rubbed butterflied flank steak stuffed with goat cheese and radicchio. Side: Yukon Gold garlic smashed potatoes. (Pairing: Flemish Red – TBD.)

Fifth Course – Dessert:  Milk chocolate caramel sauce over vanilla ice cream with roasted apple “confitti.” (Pairing Lindeman Faro Lambic)

Get your tickets here, for what may be the best beer pairing dinner we’ve had to date (and that’s truly saying something)!

Who’s Your Firkin? Bad King John At Today’s Thursday Tap™

Today’s Thursday Tap™ is an interesting and unusual beer courtesy of the U.K’s Ridgeway Brewing. We managed to score on getting a firkin of Bad King John, a 6% ABV traditional English stout. Also known as a “black bitter” in the U.K., this beer from the Oxfordshire region of England comes from a brewery best known for its “Bad Elf” beers.

We hope you’ll join us for a pint (or two). As always, Jimmy taps at 5 p.m. and it’s available while supplies last. Regular bar/restaurant/oyster service also available.

Big News This Week: Green Flash Beer And Food Pairing Primer

One of the most dynamic things about craft beer is how it pairs to various foods. What dish matches well to an IPA v. a sour geuze? Well, when you’ve got great beer such as they make at San Diego’s Green Flash Brewing Co., the challenge isn’t that difficult. But you can learn yourself, first hand, when the brewery’s Tasting Room manager Dave Adams comes to Jimmy’s No. 43 this weekend for an intimate guided “Beer 101” and food pairing seminar. You’ll drink some amazing Green Flash beers and learn (and sample) which foods pair well with each of them.

Modeled after our Bacon & Belgians, the Green Flash Food and Beer Experience will take place this Saturday, April 13 from noon-3 p.m.

Dave will introduce his beer and food pairing theory with the following options (subject to change):

  • Rayon Vert with Prosciutto
  • Hop Head Red with Goat Cheese. Something creamy and earthy
  • Palate Wrecker with a Super Aged Gouda.
  • Barleywine with Shropshire Blue Cheese and a fig compote.
  • Additional TBA.

If you want to join Dave, you’ll need a ticket, which can be purchased online here.

Thursday Tap™ – Great Divide’s Yeti Espresso

Today’s Thursday Tap™ is weather appropriate. Because nothing says, “Where the heck is spring?” like a Yeti! All the way from Denver and just to chase the winter blues away, we have Great Divide Brewing Company’s amazing Espresso Oak Aged Imperial Stout. Infused with Pablo’s espresso, this 9.5% ABV beer is complex with a vanilla oak character, intense roasty maltiness, and a bold hop profile. The brewer likes to say, “You can now have Yeti with breakfast,” but we’ll be tapping this highly rated (95-100) beer at 5 p.m.

As always, while supplies last and regular bar/restaurant/oyster service is available.

Brian Strumke to Co-Host Stillwater Beer Dinner Featuring Hudson Valley Duck Farm Pairings

Photo courtesy of FoodGPS.com.

Next Monday (April 8th at 7 p.m.) will be the first of three new Prix Fixe Beer Dinners this month when Stillwater Artisanal Ale’s Brian Strumke joins Jimmy’s No. 43 for a curated “Magic Potions and Gourmet Larder” prix fixe dinner.  The “gypsy” brewer—who recently relocated to Brooklyn—will pair his beers with Hudson Valley Duck Farm menu options. The Magic Potions Dinner will feature the following pairings (subject to change):

  • Cellar Door (6.6% Saison brewed with White Sage) paired with House-Cured Duck Breast on Toast
  • Existent (7.5% Black Saison) served with Beer Cheddar Duck Prosciutto Soup
  • Sensory Series v. 1 – Lower Dens (6% Saison brewed with Hibiscus) paired with Duck Confit and Farro Risotto
  • Of Love & Regret (7% Saison brewed with Heather, Chamomile, Lavender, & Dandelion) paired with Crispy Duck Skin and Wild Dandelion Salad
  • Saison Darkly (8% Dark Saison) paired with Duck-Fat Crust Apple Tart
  • Plus an additional collaboration pour: Stillwater/Thiriez – French Connection Blonde (7% Blonde Ale with French Hops and Violets)

We caught up with Brian at last week’s CBC, and the self-proclaimed “cult leader” at Stillwater Artisanal answered some of our “burning questions” in anticipation of next week’s dinner.

what is your current position and company you work for? cult leader at Stillwater Artisanal

How many years have you attended the CBC, and what are the highlights thus far for CBC13?

This is my third year. I think what I’ve noted most this year is that craft beer now seems to the hip thing these days. The expo floor was great this year.

DC is quickly becoming a craft beer destination. What are your favorite breweries in the greater DC area?

DC Brau, Union Craft, and Devils Backbone.

What are your favorite beer hang-outs when in DC?

Churchkey, Granville Moore’s, Pizza Paradisio, Meridian Pint.. There are so many cool spots in DC.

What are your favorite new beers you’ve had at CBC13?

There were lots. I finally had a run with Devils Backbone… killer lagers!

Tickets for next week’s beer dinner with Brian Strumke are available here.