In the third of three events held on consecutive nights at various locations around the Twin Cities, Summit Brewing Company celebrated the release of India Rye Ale, the newest of the Unchained Series beers last Friday at Tracy’s Saloon in Seward. Summit Founder Mark Stutrud and India Rye Ale brewer Mike Lundell were on hand along with a small coterie of other Summit representatives. Tracy’s offered two-for-one Summit pints and $4 house-cured Tasso ham sandwiches all night long and a lucky few got to partake of a delicious six-course tasting menu paired with Summit beers prepared by Chef Joseph Madigow and Sous Chefs Robyn Carley and Sean McDonald. It was a loud night at Tracy’s and everyone seemed to be having a good time. I observed several pints of the new beer being consumed.

There was a loose theme of rye and cured meat running through the six-course tasting menu, appropriate for the release of the new rye ale. The variety and complexity of the menu was far more than I expected from Tracy’s, which I usually associate with good bar food. The best dishes and most successful pairings in my view were the first two. The meal started with a bouillabaisse crudo of bluenose and opah fish on rye flatbread with a rouille sauce. Paired with India Rye Ale, the flatbread was a perfect complement to the rye toast flavors in the beer while the spicy sauce and the light meatiness of the fish added contrasting flavors and textures. The second course offered rabbit meatballs with eggplant vermicelli in a roasted red pepper vinaigrette paired with Summit Pilsner. The meatballs were a bit tough, but the eggplant was outstanding and paired nicely with the pilsner.

The next three courses included a soup trio that was the most interesting presentation of the night, a potato stuffed ham hock on a bed of rye with a rich parsley and garlic butter sauce, and a baked oyster topped with a Summit IPA Sabayon. These were paired with Summit Horizon Red Ale. An octopus carbonade made with Summit Pilsner was the hit of the soup trio, with little bacon-like bits of grilled octopus floating in a smokey, Dijon mustard flavored broth that smacked of cured meat. It was tasty, but also salty, a trend that continued for the rest of the meal. While I expected the ham hock to be salty, the saltiness of the sabayon on the oyster overpowered the sweetness of the oyster meat and the tarragon in the sauce. I found myself craving a Summit IPA to accompany these dishes.

A most intriguing pre-desert plate consisted of tiny bites of house-cured pork fatback and aspic with a streak of tart cranberry sauce. The aspic had a nicely sweet floral green tea flavor and the combination of the fatback with the cranberry sauce was to die for. Summit Great Northern Porter ended the meal paired with a rye éclair filled with hazelnut cream and topped with a porter ganache.

Following the dinner I led a Q&A session with Mike Lundell and Mark Stutrud. It was interesting to me to learn just how brewer-centered the Unchained Series is. It originated from a suggestion by the brewers and they have total control over it, with neither Stutrud nor the sales department having veto power over the beers that they create. As Lundell said of the process, “I was totally on my own.” Lundell has been working at Summit for thirteen years. He started as a bottler and worked his way up to brewer. He reported that he spent a lot of time tasting ingredients during the recipe formulation process, but said, “In the end I really didn’t know what it was going to taste like. I tasted it every couple days and then all of a sudden at about six weeks I tasted brown sugar. I ran around telling everyone, ‘I taste brown sugar. I taste molasses.’” In answer to the question “why rye?” he answered, “Rye not?” Lundell said that he is thrilled to have his beer celebrated at these release events, but gestured to those in attendance as he added, “It’s not really my beer. It’s all of theirs. I made it for all of them.”

[EDIT] Also check out Alli Wade’s write-up of the event on the Heavy Table with additional photos and menu descriptions.