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Winterfest 2011 Recap

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Photo by Mark Roberts

The bagpipes blared at precisely 7:00 on Friday night, signaling the start of Winterfest 2011 at the Minnesota History Center. The doors opened and the crowd of 700 local beer fans, some of whom had been waiting in line for an hour or more, flooded into the hall. Because I was doing educational sessions at the event, I had arrived early to set up. I got to witness the opening rush from the inside for the first time.

I attend trade shows for the college campus-activities market. There is a novelty attraction in the college circuit called Wax Hands, which consists of students dipping their hands into vats of hot wax and ending up with brightly colored molds of the “hang-loose” sign, “peace” sign, or some other such sign. As soon as the doors of the exhibit hall open, students make a frenzied dash to be the first in line for Wax Hands. I happened to be standing at the Surly booth Friday night when the doors opened. Surly Brewing Company is the Wax Hands of the local beer world. It was fascinating to watch as the line went from nothing to a long snake down the hall in a matter of seconds.

Photo by Mark Roberts

In fairness to Omar, Todd, and crew, Surly did have some interesting beers for sampling. Molé Smoke took their smoked Baltic porter south of the border with cinnamon, cocoa, and chili peppers. It had a slight tingling bite, but the chili heat wasn’t over the top. I wouldn’t have wanted a pint of it, but I enjoyed the sample. Pentagram, the single-barrel version of what will become Five, a multi-barrel, blended, sour beer brewed for their fifth anniversary, was very tasty and took the Great Snowshoe award as the crowd favorite.

But Surly’s weren’t the only intriguing beers on the floor. Looking at the program the day before the event made my taste buds tingle with barrel-aged Belgians, smoked beers, infused beers, fruited beers, and even some plain-old beers. There were three brand new breweries to check out. It was an awesome lineup as the members of the Minnesota Craft Brewers Guild brought their best to the fest. With so many beers on offer, I didn’t get to try everything I wanted to, but I did sample more than a few and found some standouts.

Photo by Mark Roberts

Superior from Fitger’s Brewhouse was perhaps my personal favorite. This was a strong version of a German Schwarzweizen or black wheat beer. At 9% ABV, it had a kick, but was still delightfully easy to drink. Chocolate flavors blended with doughy wheat malt and the unique banana and clove of the German wheat beer yeast. Brewmaster Dave Hoops first tasted the style on one of his annual trips to Germany and immediately wanted to make one. He said that this first attempt hadn’t quite hit the mark he was aiming for, but that he is continuing to dial-in the recipe. If this one missed the mark, I can’t wait to try it when he thinks he’s gotten it right. Fitger’s also got my vote for most attractive table display (see photo below).

Photo by Mark Roberts

Another standout for me was Port Odin from Town Hall, a traditional Baltic Porter that was aged for 18 months in French-oak, port-wine barrels. This one was rich and dark with deep roasted-malt flavors and hints of sourness beginning to peek around the edges. Complex and mysterious, Port Odin joined Surly’s Pentagram and Fitger’s Superior as my top three picks for the festival.

Other favorites for me included Dark Knight from Barley John’s, Flat Earth’s Winter Warlock, Fallen Angel Abbey Ale from Rock Bottom, and Vulcanus Rex cherrywood smoked scotch ale from Great Waters. I was very excited to see and sample beers from three new Minnesota breweries, Harriet Brewing, Big Wood Brewing, and Carmody Brewpub. Harriet’s Devine Oculust was very nice, as was the Scanlon IPA from Carmody. Unfortunately I didn’t get to Big Wood’s booth until the very end, when my palate and mind were both blown. The beers seemed tasty, but I’ll have to pay the guys a visit to make a more appropriate assessment.

Once again the festival was an intimate and well organized affair. Traffic flowed smoothly in the crowded halls of the History Center. The food was delicious and plentiful. The attendees seemed genuinely interested in sampling the beers and talking to the brewers. Cudos go out to Laura Mullen who put the festival together. Winterfest remains for me the best beer festival of the year.

Photo by Mark Roberts

MN Craft Brewers Guild Wants You to Have Winterfest Tickets

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Winterfest tickets sold out in under a minute. Hard to believe, but true. It was a serious online crush to snap them up.

Didn’t get tickets? Well the MN Craft Brewers Guild, sponsors of the event that is probably the best beer fest in the Twin Cities, feels bad for you. They want to give you a chance to win tickets in the Minnesota Craft Beer Heritage Contest. Pen your most purple prose explaining why you are the ultimate Minnesota Craft Beer fan and you could win not only tickets to the event, but also early entry and a meet & greet with the brewers. A Mr and a Ms Minnesota Beer will be named, each taking home the coveted prize.

Interested? Here are the details from the website.

Prove Your Minnesota Beer Heritage
The Minnesota Craft Brewer’s Guild wants you to share why you are a true Minnesota craft beer lover. Have you toured every brewery in the state? Do you brew a unique beer for every season? Did you introduce your 80-year old grandmother to the state’s best IPAs? Or do you just have a love affair with the great beers of Minnesota, unmatched by any of your friends? In 200 words or less, tell us your qualifications and heritage when it comes to Minnesota craft beer. Please visit the www.mncraftbrew.org or email minnesotabrewers@gmail.com to submit your entry. The Brewer’s Guild will select two separate winners Mr. Minnesota Craft Beer and Ms. Minnesota Craft Beer. We want to celebrate thou who prove to be the most devoted Minnesota craft beer enthusiast. And please note the winners do not have to be affiliated.

The winners will be awarded four tickets to Winterfest, the Minnesota Craft Brewer’s Guild winter showcase on Friday, February 4. The winners will also get a private meet-and-greet with some Minnesota brewers and early access to Winterfest.

The deadline for submissions is 10pm CST on Monday, Jan 31.

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Cozy Comforts Beer & Wine Pairing Dinner at Cooks of Crocus Hill

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Last night the tastebud-teasing trio of Sommelier Leslee Miller, Chef Mike Shannon, and Cicerone Michael Agnew (that’s me) came together at Cooks of Crocus Hill in St. Paul for another beer, wine, and food pairing experience. This one, called Cozy Comforts, focused on the kind of foods that Minnesotans need to help them through January’s deep-freeze. As temperatures routinely drop well below zero, we crave rich and wholesome foods like pot roast and mac & cheese; the kind of food that your grandma used to make (only a lot fancier). During the three-hour class, guests tasted their way through five courses, each paired with a beer, a wine, or both.

I started the night off with a welcome beer, Schell’s Snowstorm. Snowstorm is the annual winter seasonal release from New Ulm’s August Schell Brewing. Every year it is brewed to a different style. This year’s version is a dark wheat doppelbock (just try saying that three times fast). This is a fantastic beer to warm the soul, combining the familiar banana and clove flavors of a German Hefeweizen with the rich, sweet, caramel maltiness of a doppelbock. Several people told me that they typically don’t like wheat beers, but that this one made them reconsider.

The first course was braised winter greens with bacon. Imagine kale (I love kale) braised in cider and topped off with cranberries and bacon; bitter, sweet, tart, and salty/savory all in one place. Leslee paired this with Helfrich Riesling from Alsace. The wine had earthy aromas of wet stone and a bright acidic tartness. It really spoke to the cranberries in the dish and made them absolutely pop.

For the second course Chef Mike whipped up four-cheese macaroni and cheese with gruyere, white cheddar, parmesan, and just a touch of gorgonzola. I paired this with Isolation Ale from Odell Brewing Company in Fort Collins, Colorado. Isolation Ale is a traditional English winter warmer, malt-forward with a bit of bitterness to balance and light orangey citrus notes. It paired well, but I think I could have gone even maltier with something like an English barleywine.

Next on the menu was ginger orange Cornish hens with sweet potatoes and green apples. Leslee made an unexpected pairing to this dish, choosing a bigger Spanish red, Caliza Syrah from Marqués de Griñón. The wine had strong peppery flavors that spoke to the ginger in the dish, while the citrusy sauce and sweet potato/apple side-dish pulled out nice fruity notes from the wine.

The pairings with the fourth and fifth courses were the best of the night. The fourth course was a very traditional pot roast with carrots and shallots. Leslee focused on the sweetness of the carrots and onions, choosing Root: 1 Carmenere, a red from Chile. It featured juicy plum and berry flavors with light tannins on the finish. The wine went perfectly with the veggies and also pulled some sweetness from the meat. I went with Meantime London Porter, a medium-bodied, moderately-roasty porter from England. The roastiness of the beer was perfect with the meat and the light caramel sweetness also spoke to the carrots and onions.

Desert was S ‘more Pot De Crème, an original creation of Chef Mike. Rich chocolate custard was topped with crumbled graham-cracker and torch-toasted marshmallow cream. The drink pairings offered a lesson in both complementary and contrasting flavors. I chose Rogue Chocolate Stout, rich, sweet, and chocolaty. I was going for chocolate overload. The flavors melded perfectly as one disappeared into the other. Leslee went with Astoria Lounge Sweet a tasty sparkling wine from Italy. It’s deep honeycomb and fruit flavors countered the rich chocolate/marshmallow of the desert and the light sparkle cleansed the palate for the next bite. It reminded me of the way a tart raspberry sauce enhances a dark chocolate cake.

Our next Cooks of Crocus Hill beer/wine pairing event is on April 15th. The theme is “the Big Thaw”; food, beer, and wine to bring us out of hibernation.

Upcoming Beer Classes at Cooks of Crocus Hill

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I have a couple of beer classes upcoming at Cooks of Crocus Hill. Check these out.

ABCs of Beer
Monday, December 20th, 6-8 PM
Cost: $55
What’s the difference between ale and lager? What’s the best glass for my favorite beer? Which beers can I cellar and which ones should I drink young? Join Certified Cicerone (the beer expert equivalent of a sommelier) Michael Agnew as he shows you all the basics and then some. You’ll learn how to taste, select and care for beers of all types and styles. Includes a selection of Craft Beers from around the world representing basic styles and light snacks.

Cozy Comforts Wine & Beer Pairing Dinner
With Sommelier Leslee Miller and Chef Mike Shannon
Thursday, January 6th, 6-9 PM
Cost: $75
The weather outside is still frightful, but the wine, beer and tasty comfort food at Cooks are totally delightful! Snuggle up with Sommelier Leslee, Cicerone Michael and Chef Mike for a fun-filled new take on Minnesotan winter comforts.
Menu: Braised Winter Greens; Four-Cheese Macaroni and Cheese; Cornish Hens with Ginger-Apple Sweet Potatoes, Smore Pot de Creme.

Ray Daniels, Lead Cicerone at the 2010 GABF

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It was bad service of good beer that motivated Ray Daniels to start the Cicerone Certification Program a couple of years ago. In the first year of the program 17 people passed the Certified Cicerone exam. I was one of them, and the first in Minnesota. Now there are over 100 Certified Cicerones throughout the country. I think there are now five in Minnesota.

The goal of the program is to provide beer service training and credentialing to people in the beer industry. There are three levels of certification. The Certified Beer Server level is intended for front of house staff like servers and bartender. The Certified Cicerone Level is geared toward those with greater involvement with beer, including distributor sales reps, foodservice beer specialists and retail beer buyers. The Master Cicerone level is, according to the website, “for those who demonstrate the highest level of expertise with regard to beer.”

I interviewed Ray at the Great American Beer Festival in September. Here’s the interview:

Check out other videos on the Perfect Pint You Tube Channel.

Fitger’s Brewhouse at the GABF 2010

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Fitger’s Brewhouse in Duluth is a multi-faceted brewpub/restaurant/musical-entertainment venue located in the original 1881 brewhouse of the old A. Fitger and Company Lake Superior Brewery.  With three different concepts under one roof (the Brewhouse Grille, Red Star Lounge, and Burrito Union), Brewmaster Dave Hoops has his hands full keeping over 20 beers on tap at any given time. And good beers they are, too.

I caught up with Dave during the Saturday afternoon session of the Great American Beer Festival. Here’s the interview.

Check out more videos at the Perfect Pint You Tube Channel.

Summit Brewing Company at the GABF 2010

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We shot a lot of video interviews with local and not-so-local brewers at the Great American Beer Festival last month. I am just now finding the time to pull those videos into the computer and edit them. Look for a few of these to go up in the next week or two.

The first interview is with Eric Harper and Eric Blomquist, brewers at Summit Brewing Company. Just a bit before the interview was conducted, they had been on stage accepting the Silver Medal for Summit EPA. Congratulations again to Summit!

You can check out all of the videos from A Perfect Pint on the Perfect Pint You Tube channel.

Gulpdown Showdown I – Beer vs. Wine in St. Louis

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Friday night, July 23rd saw the first Gulpdown Showdown, an epic battle of food pairing savy pitting beer against wine in a seven course exercise of gustatory excess. The combatants: Cicerone Michael Agnew and Chef Erik Jacobs, old friends, but bitter rivals in the realm of fermented refreshments.

Eight people gathered at Chef Erik’s home in Clayton, Missouri. Eight people ate. Eight people drank. Eight people voted for the best pairing with each course. In the end, ballots were never counted and most disappeared with the celebrants. Surreptitious glances through the evening suggested to me that the results may have been a draw. But who really cares. The food was incredible, the beverages were fantastic, and everyone had a great time.

Because we never tabulated ballots, I can only report here on my own and Erik’s clearly biased pairing preferences.

First Course: Thai Crispy Prawn Cakes with Sweet Chili Sauce
My Pairing – Schlafly Pilsner, St. Louis Brewry
Erik’s Pairing – 2009 Rudesheimer Magdalenkreuz Spatlese:  Leitz

My Pick – Wine
Erik’s Pick – Beer

Comments: I misjudged the sweetness of the chili sauce. The wine matched it much better in my view. Erik liked the way the beer cleansed the palate.

Second Course: Sopa de Pomodoro Crudo – Brunoise Tomato, Bocconcini, Basil Infused Extra Virgin Olive Oil
My Pairing – Old Scratch Amber Lager, Flying Dog Brewery
Erik’s Pairing – NV Cava Rose:  Segura Viudas

My Pick – Beer
Erik’s Pick – Wine

Comments: The soup was very acidic. The wine was very acidic. They were too similar in my view. The toasty malt sweetness of the beer offered a balancing contrast.

Third Course: Causa de Cangrejo – Peruvian Potato, Avocado and Crab Salad
My Pairing – Weihenstephaner Hefeweissbier
Erik’s Pairing – 2008 Chardonnay:  Foxglove

My Pick – Beer
Erik’s Pick – Wine

Comments: I found Erik’s chardonnay to be too heavy for the dish. It overpowered. The lighter beer matched the weight of the food. The flavors of the herbal potatoes and shellfish flowed seamlessly into the spicy flavors in the beer. This was the best pairing if the evening for me.

Fourth Course: Duck Confit with Sweet Corn and Summer Vegetable Salad
My Pairing – Westmalle Tripel
Erik’s Pairing – 2006 Pinot Noir:  Harmonia

My Pick – Beer with the duck. Wine with the veggies. If I were to choose an overall pairing it would be the beer.
Erik’s Pick – Wine

Comments: I found that the Westmalle blended brilliantly with the saltiness of the duck. However it overpowered the veggies a bit. I was surprised by the concordance of the wine with the veggies, as I expected the pinot to overwhelm them. This was a close one.

Fifth Course: Meditterranean Grilled Lamb “Lollipops” – Mint Pesto, Truffled Pommes Anna, Spinach
My Pairing – Traquair House Jacobite Scotch Ale with Coriander
Erik’s Pairing – 2005 Shiraz “Testament”:  Killikanoon

My Pick – I declared this one a draw, but if forced to choose I would go with the beer. This was my second choice beer. My first choice, a brown or amber Biére de Garde, would have knocked it out of the ballpark. I couldn’t find one.
Erik’s Pick – Wine

Comments: The rich, earthy, and lightly funky flavors of the wine worked very well with the gamey flavors of the lamb and the mushroomy truffled Pommes. But the silky sweet caramel and subtle peaty flavors of the beer were equal to the task. The light floral/spicy character of the coriander brought out similar flavors in the dish.

Sixth Course: Honey Lavender Panna Cotta with Berries and Stone Fruits
My Pairing – Fuller’s Vintage Ale 2008
Erik’s Pairing – 2009 Moscato “Brilliant Disguise”:  Two Hands

My Pick – Wine
Erik’s Pick – Wine

Comments: I completely misjudged the nature of this desert. I was expecting something more like Crème Brule. The Vintage Ale, though brilliant, completely missed the mark. A Lindeman’s Peach Lambic would have rocked it though.

Seventh Course: Assiette des Fromages
My Pairings – Boulevard Tank 7 Saison & Samuel Smith India Ale
Erik’s Pairing – NV Tawny Port “Grandfather”:  Penfolds

My Pick – Wine
Erik’s Pick – Wine

Comments: By this point the competition no longer mattered. The beer was opened and never touched, even by me. It’s hard to compete with a really good port.

We were going for excess, and we got excess in abundance. No one went home hungry and there was enough great beer and wine poured to insure a rough morning for many of us. We are already planning the next event, to take place in Minneapolis. Perhaps we’ll keep it to five courses next time.

Many thanks to Erik and his wife Melissa for hosting. The food was absolutely brilliant.

Beers of the British Isles (take two)

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The July Meeting of the Twin Cities Perfect Pint Beer Club

When: Friday, July 30, 2010
Cost: $25
You must be a member of the club to attend. Go to the Twin Cities Perfect Pint Beer Club to join and RSVP.

Great Britain has a long and storied beer history. Its brewers invented porter and then made it the first mass produced industrial beer. It is the origin of IPA. Baltic Porter and Imperial Stout were both born here, as were Irish stout, milk stout, and oatmeal stout. And what would life be like without the traditional Bitters? And its beer culture is still going strong today in pubs across Britain, where real ale is still pumped from casks the old-fashioned way.

English ales were the original inspiration for the American craft beer movement and the reason many a craft brewer on this side of the ocean began brewing in the first place. Most of them still include at least one traditional English style beer in their line-ups.

For this meeting we’ll sample our way through the beers of the British Isles from subtle bitters to big imperial stouts. We’ll taste the wares of brewers from over there and from over here. We might even do a blind tasting or two to see who does it best.

2010 St. Paul Summer Beer Fest Recap

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So what’s the deal with beer, kilts, and bagpipes? I have never quite understood this. While I love a good Scottish ale as much as the next guy, I don’t consider Scotland to be a world beer Mecca. And yet, at any beer event in the country you will see more kilts per square foot than perhaps any place else in the US. And bagpipes are the traditional starting bell of nearly every festival. I remain bemusedly baffled.

And so it was at the second annual St. Paul summer beer fest. At precisely noon the pipers piped to signal the start for those lucky enough to have snagged early entry VIP tickets. This year’s fest was bigger than last year, making it perhaps the largest beer festival in the Twin Cities, if not the state. Once again it was well managed and just crowded enough to be exciting but remain comfortable in the large expanse of the Midway Stadium parking lot. I only wish I had remembered sunblock. Last year I got burned to a crisp as well. You would think I might have learned.

And that brings me to one of the better beers at the event, Minnesota Tan from Lift Bridge Brewery. Minnesota Tan aptly demonstrates that an easy-drinking summer beer doesn’t necessarily have to be a small beer. This Belgian Tripel style ale is light and refreshing with lively tartness from the fermented lingonberries. First released last year, this year’s version is better balanced and less pink. It goes down easy. Almost too easy, because at 9% ABV it won’t take too many of these to mess you up under the hot summer sun.

San Francisco’s 21st Amendment was pouring two versions of their Hell or High Watermelon Wheat from watermelons. The first was the straight-up watermelon wheat. I have always enjoyed this beer, but soaking it in a watermelon upped the fruity flavors, making it a great summery ale that reminded me of seed spitting fights as a kid. The other version was infused further with cucumber and jalapeño. I am not a chili beer fan, so I was hesitant. The watermelon and cucumber gave this one a wet coolness that was followed by a gentle pepper burn on the way down. I liked it.

I had a great time sampling experimental IPAs with Aran Madden, the brewer at Furthermore Beer. He was in town a while back for a Brew with the Brewmaster event at Vine Park that I wrote about in an earlier post. At the fest we tasted four of six India influenced IPAs that were brewed that day. Very unique. Think English style IPA with curry. None were bad, some were better than others. You can expect more about these beers in a future post.

I finally had the opportunity to taste Flying Dog’s Raging Bitch Belgian IPA. It has been around for a while, I know. I just never got around to trying it. I’m not normally such a fan of the Belgian IPAs. The Belgian yeast phenolics clash with the high level of hops on my palate. I didn’t really mind this one though. It seemed well balanced and didn’t strike me with the same harshness that others tend toward. Or maybe I was getting delirious under the hot St. Paul sun.

My long conversation with the young guys from Tall Grass Brewing Company out of Manhattan, Kansas was a highlight of the day for me. Only four years old, the brewery is growing fast with an output of nearly 5000 barrels a year. Their brewery currently shares space with a limo service garage, so you might say that they are brewing in the underbelly of luxury. I particularly liked their Oasis Double ESB. Nice English style malts with bracing and sharp bitterness in a 7% ale. A good one for sipping of the patio as the cooling of a Minnesota evening starts to set in. Tall Grass beers will be showing up in Minnesota stores in the next couple of months.

I sampled a number of other very nice beers, including Goose Island’s Pepe Nero black pepper dark saison, and Geary’s Hampshire Ale and London Porter. The winner of the people’s choice best-of-fest beer was Great Lakes Nosferatu Imperial Red Ale. Unfortunately I did not try this one, so I have no comment.

Once again Juno, Mark, and crew did a great job putting this one together. The St. Paul Summer Beer Fest is a fantastic addition to the Twin Cities beer scene.

All Photos by Mark Roberts.
For more on the fest and the National Homebrewers Conference that also happened this weekend check out my Hoppress Blog.