DrFermento.Net

Okay Fans of Fermented Wares…..

Last night’s gig at Tap Root was a ton o’ fun. I always love it when the homebrewers commandeer their own table and take over the joint. It’s good to show our combined support. I think my favorite was the Meantime IPA. For a six-beer tasting with at LEAST four “bonus” beers, I was feeling no pain when it was all said and done.

On Monday, June 25, Café Amsterdam will host a tasting featuring Belgian-style ales. Eight beers will be featured along with four food courses. Here’s the armada:

Hennepin, Rare Vos and CAVE AGED Ommegang Abbey by Ommegang out of Cooperstown, New York. I haven’t pulled a bottle in a while, but does anyone know if the Hennepin is still being produced in Belgium due to shortages here in the U.S.? For the curious, check on the label (down on the side) where it says where the beer is brewed. Some bottles will say Cooperstown, others will sport the Mootgart moniker indicating that the beer was made in Belgium and shipped to the US under the Ommegang label. Too cool! Belgian ale at U.S. Prices. How cool is THAT?

Maredsous 8 and 10

Duvel (a permanent fixture in Dr. F’s Desert Island Six Pack)

Rodenbach Redbach and Grand Cru.

Oh, and there’s some “language” floating about concerning Three Philosophers….perhaps a mystery beer???

Pajak stabilized the menu as follows:

Meet and Greet cracker, cheese and meat tray

First Course: Potato Leek Soup

Second Course: Proscuitto wrapped scallops with a raspberry glaze

Third Course: Herb crusted or walnut crusted boneless pork chops on a bed of sautéed red cabbage and apples

Fourth Course: Strawberry Rhubarb Cobbler on a graham cracker crust with a dollop of ice cream

This is a hell of a gastro-blaster for a Monday night, but I’ll be there. Tickets are $50.00 and you’d better get ‘em in advance because these gigs sell out quick.

Here’s a little historical snippet. Does anyone remember way back to Humpy’s early days when tastings in Anchorage were all the rage? We’d pack the joint with homebrewers and beer lovers and the volume was off the chart. I recall very close to the first Humpy’s tasting and certainly the first Midnight Sun Brewing Company tasting. Everyone was new at the game and they served eight FULL PINTS of beer and virtually full plates of food. This was on a “school night” too. And, who was I drinking with? None other than the venerable Doug Simpson. We pre-loaded with two pints at the bar before the tasting. Doug kept shouting “Show me some LOVE.” Because Ms. Fermento and Ms. Simpson are slow sippers, Doug and I managed to consume their beer that night as well. On that historical eve, I managed to throttle down 18 pints of beer and I STILL made it to work the next day at my normal zero-dark-thirty time. Doug didn’t fare so well. Oh, the humanity!

BNC Fermento