holy food & beer: red rock beer pairings dinner

Posted by pen&palates on 12.11.2010. · 2 Comments 

i cannot express how much i love enjoying food and challenging my palate. so, naturally going to a local beer pairings dinner was a great mid-week thing to do here in little utah. honestly, i think a lot of people would be surprised at the amazing food that does exist here—and it’s only getting better!

the wonderful red rock brewery hosted their inaugural beer pairing dinner at their park city pub location on wednesday. i think i was mostly enticed by their food menu but who doesn’t like beer paired with it, too? here’s my rundown of what was had—and thoroughly enjoyed.

first course
pumpkin bisque — with an herb & garlic crostini and crispy sage
paired with griswald’s big holiday

talk about a running start. this first course was loaded with flavor, including the griswald’s big holiday seasonal that they paired with it. i love pumpkin in soups in general since it’s not as sweet of a squash as some others like, say, butternut. the bisque had lovely flavors of sage and clove, among other spices. of course the crostini was a perfect addition for look and soaking up what was left of my bisque that my spoon couldn’t get to.

the griswald was a great beer to start with since it was loaded with flavor and spices that, to experience them all, you needed a clean palate. this 8.5% abv seasonal was loaded with spice: cinnamon, coriander (definitely could taste that!), ginger, orange peel and cloves. just packed with flavor.

second course
beet & goat cheese ravioli — with micro greens, toasted pine nuts & a balsamic reduction
paired with honey wheat

this was a palate cleanser and a beautiful one at that (i definitely could’ve eaten more of this!). instead of using pasta for the skin of the ravioli, it was actually beet with the goat cheese tucked inside. this gave the presentation beautiful color and the flavor was delicious. i’m not sure i’ve seen ravioli constructed in such a way before but i welcome it completely.

paired with this was their honey wheat golden ale which is light and refreshing—perfect for palate cleansing. this is their most popular beer but i find it almost too light for my liking. surely i’d enjoy this more in the summer, but it was cleansing and crisp nonetheless.

third course
rosemary & peppercorn grilled venison chop — with a chanterelle demi-glace, chestnut cherry pilaf & grilled asparagus
paired with elephant double ipa

yum. yum. yum. although my venison chop was not cooked to my liking (more overdone than i like), thankfully there were others at my table that were more rare and friends were willing to trade/share. i haven’t had venison in a while so i was eager to enjoy it the right way. the chefs didn’t over season the meat, just enough salt and pepper, and the chanterelle demi-glace was great and didn’t overwhelm to mask the venison flavor. the chestnut cherry pilaf had great texture and enough sweetness to contrast the meat. of course the asparagus was grilled beautifully and added color to my plate.

this main was paired with the elephant double ipa which is absolutely a giant in flavor. red rock uses six different hop varieties with the finest malts and double dry-hopped for “a massive sensory overload”, as they called it. this lent to great contrast with this course.

fourth course
a bittersweet trio (a pistachio crusted truffle, a macaroon and a chocolate covered strawberry) resting in a pool of spiced ganache
paired with oatmeal stout—nitro poured

omg. so, my favorite part of this course was the spiced ganache—i think we were all half tempted to lick our plates clean. i love, love food like this.  you really didn’t get the surprise spicy kick until the end and it lingered, too (and not in a bad way). it was the perfect balance, really. not too much spice but plenty to enjoy. the pistachio crusted truffle was a second favorite to this and the macaroon and chocolate covered strawberry were good, but nothing mind-blowing. again, spiced ganache all the way. i think if they have this next time, i will ask for just a bowl of this…and something to soak it up at the end so i don’t have to resort to licking up every drop.

not to forget the beer! as with most chocolate desserts, this oatmeal stout was a great compliment to it. of course, with it being nitro poured, it was deliciously smooth on the lips and a nice medium-full body. their oatmeal stout is full of roasted flavor and malty. hints of chocolate and coffee notes, it paired perfectly with the dessert. i’m still drooling over the ganache though…did i mentioned the ganache was good?

in the unfortunate case that you missed this or would like to attend the next, keep your eyes peeled, as red rock will be hosting more of these through the holiday, and you know i’ll be there. cheers!

Filed under Beer, Food, Taste · Tagged with beer, beer pairing, food, red rock brewery, utah