Korbinian and lunch

Being a devotee to Weihenstephaner I surprised myself I've never tried their Korbinian or Vitus after all these years. I picked both up while at BevMo yesterday and decided to pop open the Korbinian to have with my lunch of steak, balsamic carmelized onions, mushrooms, and provolone paninis and a simple spinach salad with a dijon and garlic white balsamic vinaigrette.

The beer poured with a light beige head and had a moderate roasty malt flavor with quite a bit of sweetness that had a bit of dried fruit element to it. The texture was creamy smooth with a light carbonation. This is a tad bit more bitter and roasty than their standard dunkel, but not overwhelmingly so. Overall this was an easy drinker that won't create too much damage at 7.4% and also paired well with the rich and earthy flavor of the panini.

Beer and Wine Paired Valentine's Dinner

In the wife and I’s quest to make the most use out of our dining room table and to experiment with my cooking on others, we decided to invite a few of our coupled friends for a Valentine’s dinner to avoid the ridiculousness that is Valentine’s day restaurant dining. After we developed the menu for the dinner, I started thinking that the dishes would pair well with certain beers in addition to the usual wine. The planned out pairings also made it a bit easier to assign appropriate beers or wines for each couple to bring (as well as for our friends to share in the cost of putting together a dinner). Below is the menu with pairings.

Brie en Croute with Apricot Marmalade
The Bruery Saison Rue and Chardonnay

Roasted Butternut Squash Soup with Parmesan Crisp
Mirror Pond Pale ale and Gewurztraminer

Mushroom Ravioli in an Allagash Dubbel Smoked Gouda Sauce
Franziskaner Hefe-Weisse Dunkel and Pinot Noir

Mixed Greens Salad with Pear, Goat Cheese, and Apple Cider Vinaigrette
Weihensthephaner Kristall Weissbier and Rose

Gluten Free Chocolate Cake
Stone Smoked Porter and Port





All in all the meal was great and we all had a great time (that is until the post dinner game of catchphrase got out of hand). The beer parings went extremely well with their respective dishes. The sweet yeasty Saison Rue blended well with the ooey gooey cheese and sweet marmalade. The pale ale gave a bold counter to the sweet and a little spicy soup. The dunkelweis’ earthiness matched well with the mushrooms and creamy sauce. The kristallweis’ light effervescence played well with the sweet pears, creamy goat cheese, bitter greens, and tart dressing. The smoked porter helped add more depth to the rich, dense cake. I think I need to make paired dinners a regular thing.

A Relaxed Weekend Lunch

With the wife gone this weekend, I've been completely on my own schedule to get done what I want, when I want. So, I decided after working in the yard in the morning to make up a quick lunch to complement a bottle of The Bruery Orchard White I picked up a couple of weeks ago.  I was a big fan of a bottle of their Saison Rue that I had at Father's Office, so I figured I'd try one of their lighter brews and one of my favorite styles of beer.

I decided to utilize some of my leftover homemade smoked bbq pork to make a few mini pulled pork sandwiches along with a small salad of spinach, white balsamic vinagrette, and crumbled goat cheese.  The Orchard White pours with an extra white tall head that diminishes slowly.  The color is light golden.  The aroma is light but with a definite yeasty factor typical for white ale.  The taste, much like the aroma, is very light but with noticeable sweet lemon and coriander notes. I don't know much about the hint of lavendar that the bottle mentions. Although, I am sometimes slow to pick up on hints. I'm sure my wife can attest to that.  Carbonation is extremely high which helps add to the tingly citrus taste.  Overall, it is very light in taste for a white ale, but it makes it an easy drinker. I know, since I polished off the 750ml bottle easily on my own.  Despite the light taste, there was just enough to stand up to the smokey-sweetness of the pork and the tangy-saltiness of the salad.


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