Crazy Mountain Brewery and dish! Restaurant teamed up for a Beer Tasting event held at the brewery. The whole premise was to showcase local foods grown and raised in Eagle County, Colorado. It just so happens they're two of my favorite establishments here in the Vail Valley--we bought our tickets the day they became available (we also got a free pint with each ticket purchase, yay!). The event was a 3 hour, all you can eat, all you can drink, grand fiesta. Needless to say, my diet leading up to 3:00 consisted of fruit and water. Needed to save room for the deliciousness!
My first tasting was the Cara de Luna Black Ale and the chilled chicken mole on a crostini. The ale is a fantastic dark ale--there's chocolaty hints in the background, but the beer (despite its color) is not too heavy and has amazing drinkability. The chicken mole paired perfectly with it--the spice was balanced, and the chile and chocolate flavors shined without being overpowering. Jenna (the owner/executive chef of dish!) later told me she used the Luna in the recipe. No wonder they were perfect together! The chicken was tender and moist, and the crostini gave a great texture balance.
My second tasting was the Mountain Livin Pale Ale and the caramelized walking onion spread on flatbread. The hoppy undertones of the beer paired with the onion spread symbiotically--the spread consisted of caramelized onions, roasted garlic, and boursin cheese--with the hops bringing out the tangy notes of the cheese and the onions complementing the sweet hops in the pale ale. The dish is seemingly simple, but the flavors were wonderful together.
The next tasting holds a special place in my heart. I already love CMB's Scenic Route Kolsch--it just sings summertime. It's light, yet extremely flavorful, with some citrus notes to it. I also, being a girl from the South, love deviled eggs. Jenna's deviled eggs are smooth and rich, with its kick coming from mustard seed and cayenne powder, as well as the standard and delicious paprika. It was topped with radishes, giving the bite sized delicacy some fantastic crunch factor. Again, the pairing was spot on and I may or may not have gone back to the table about 5 times. Just sayin...
The next tasting would've made Elvis one happy camper--Old Soul Strong Belgian Ale and Peanut Butter Caramelized Banana and slab bacon sandwiches. The Old Soul is a great Belgian ale, very crisp, with an equal balance between wheat, hops, malt, and yeast. It almost has a fruity character to it on the finish, which makes it a great pair for the caramelized bananas. This sandwich was amazing--nothing like the boring school lunchbox staple. Except the crust was cut off. A true sign Jenna cooks with love! Just like mom used to do! The bread was slightly toasted, just enough to stand up to the peanut butter and bananas. The bananas were sweet, but not ridiculously so. The saltiness of the crispy bacon balanced the sweetness of the bananas and gave the sandwich a perfect crunch.
Crazy Mountain's namesake Amber Ale is hoppy, but not in the least bit bitter. It's a strong beer with strong (yet not overwhelming) flavors. It's American style, and nothing says "America!" like a nice, medium rare steak! The flank steak was topped with a light salsa verde, which added color, spiciness, and played well with the floral notes of the hops in the ale. Beer + Steak = Yay!
(On a side note, I have no idea why we're all wearing green...)
The next pairing was the Est Rousse and a watermelon salad. The Rousse had some fruity undertones, yet it's still a very hearty beer. The watermelon salad, in contrast, was very light and made with spearmint, salt, watermelon, and paneer cheese made from local dairy.
Although not technically on the pairing menu, Jenna served her amazing truffle popcorn, placing little bowls of joy all around the brewery. This puts movie theater popcorn into eternal hiding of shame--it's just salty enough, with just enough truffles, with just enough amazingness.
My final pairing was the Lava Lake Wit and the gingerbread cake. The Wit beer is brewed with chamomile, orange peel, coriander, and grains of paradise, giving the beer a spicier flavor and citrus undertones. It's a filtered wheat beer, and it's flavorful yet not overwhelming. The gingerbread cake was phenomenal--gingerbread is something I associate with wintertime, but there was nothing winter-ish about this cake--the gingerbread was light and not dense in the least bit, very moist, and didn't feel like a pit in your stomach. The frosting is a coriander (works perfectly with the beer!) buttercream with rhubarb pearls on top to cut the sweetness. Such an amazing cake--if Jenna made it daily I'd order it for my birthday cake! Who knew such crazy flavors would meld together so perfectly?
And so we have the Farm to Brewery Beer Tasting. The beer was cold and delicious, the food spectacular, and the people awesome. It's definitely worth the $35 for the ticket, and then some!
