the menu |
charles and rose ann finkel, steve case of pike |
naughty nellie golden artisan ale |
course one:
the naughty nellie is crisp and refreshing with mild fruity esters and soft malt character
it faired really nicely with the fruity and soft crab and apple
the arugula emulsion was almost too overpowering, but the toasted brioche was buttery goodness!
dungeness crab salad arugula emulsion, toasted brioche, green apple |
course two:
tandem double ale which is rich, round and comples with flavors of fruit, freshly baked bread and teacle
it is a very bready beer in the belgian tradition, seasoned with coriander, which made for an excellent pairing with the coriander crusted pork belly
coriander crusted pork belly mango, crisp yam, malt gastrique |
i had tuna in lieu of pork belly – the spicy sear on the outsdie paired really well with the beer
pescatarian option: spiced tuna tataki |
course three:
kiltlifter scotch ruby ale which has layers of rich malt with subtle smokiness
smoke with smoke made for a great pairing
i skipped the mushrooms and gave away my ricotta gnudi, but hear that they went really well too
cedar smoked salmon ricotta gnudi, roasted mushroom, brown butter sauce |
we got a bonus beer to sample!
the double trouble ipa – this nicely balanced beer was a very welcome addition to my meal!
8% and 80 ibus, it is not readily available yet, but will be available in canada eventually
we were supposed to get a sample of the post alley porter as well
but the mini keg the finkels brought was not pouring, alas
stout chocolate cookies make good googly eyes |
course four:
xxxxx stout has a full bodied velvety malt texture with hints of chocolate licorice and espresso
we were given vanilla ice cream in a taster glass and encouraged to pour the stout over the ice cream and eat it on the stout chocolate cookies
it was a make your own float affair!
and an excellent pairing on which to end the evening
stout float french vanilla ice cream, stout chocolate cookies |
in order to get the last vestiges out of the tall skinny glasses turn upside down and wait for gravity to do its thing! |
pike swag for chef cory chapman and rogue staff |
me and alison happy campers! |