Ommegang Beer Dinner @ Resto

Monday, I had the opportunity to join in on another resto Beer Dinner series…. A delicious four-course dinner by the ever loveable genius, Bobby Hellen…. This time it was with Ommegang.

It was great, I got seated next to Jonah Shaw, who opened a restaurant – Quarter Moon Cafe – with Ommegang. Awesome awesome guy, we talked a lot about food and beer and what was trending, etc.. etc.. etc.. :D Great company. Well on my LEFT was great company, on my RIGHT was a girl who wouldn’t stop giving me the stinkeye and whispering stuff and staring at me to her neighbot [who looked like a blonde Kramer]

ANYWAYS. I first discovered Ommegang during Craft Beer Week! Delicious beer.. and I had a LOT of it that week – hehe – so OBVIOUSLY I had to be at this dinner.

ONWARDS.

“Brewery Ommegang is 3,264 miels from Brussels, but its heart is right in Belgium.  It is a place where brewing is an art and partaking is a passion.  In Ofctober of 1997 ground was broken for what was to become America’s most unique microbrewery.  The beers are based on traditional Belgian farmhouse architecture and set on a former hop farm in upstate New York.  Brewery Ommegang was born with the philosophy that truly unique ales must be built  from the ground up.”

Here’s an Ommegang Rep, Chris Toia, talking about the first beer….

-first course-

charcuterie and cheese

Local Tilsit from Brovettos farm located in Harpersville, NY and a Cumin Gouda from Dysenroth Farm in South Kortright, NY.

The Tilsit was SOOOOO amazingly good. As Jonah described, like a nice crumbly cheddar. It was delicious. I had two huge chunks of it… and the Gouda was just as magical.  So much cumin, you could see it [you can even see it in the dark photo I took of it]… but perfectly balanced with the creamy thinly sliced Gouda.

Delicious crusty bread

This went great with the cheese :D In fact I ended up nibbling on a few pieces…

Pork and cheddar sausage flavored with Ommegang witte, white pepper and coriander.

The sausage actually reminded me of a chinese sausage… but a much creamier, mild version.  The cheddar really made it have almost a creamy texture in the middle… full of great flavor but not overpowering.  The side salad had roasted squash [I believe] whichever way – it was a lot more strong in flavor so it matched the soft sausage’s mildness [well more mild than what I’m used to when I think snau-sage hehe]

Paired with: Ommegang BPA 6.2% ABV

This interpretation of a true Belgian style pale ale is brewed with give speciality malts and hopped with three hops.  Columbus for bittering.  Celeria for aroma, then dry hopped with Cascade.  It is refreshing and well balance.  BPA has citrus aromas, floral notes, and delicious hops without being bitter.

This is a delicious beer. I could drink a lot of it… oh wait, I did. Did I mention I started off with a bottle of Sofie first? I’m forever a Sofie/InEdit girl but then I was pouring an extra glass or two, or three with the cheese :D It went ESPECIALLY well with the Tilsit.

-second course-

shrimp croquette

Served over a Belgian classic, Stoempt, along with a Buerre Blanc.

These were so good….. even the potatoes.. and I’m not even a potato girl [maybe I’m changing lately] I thought the croquettes were a slight but dry [needed a nice sweet/heat sauce to it maybe?] but the flavors were BANGING. B-A-N-G-I-N-G…. you could taste and see the chunks of shrimp in it. BAAAAANGING!

Paired with: Ommegang Hennepin 7.7% ABV

Hennepin is Ommegang’s American example of a fairly obscure saison.  Hennepin is a bright and lively in your mouth with warming mix of spicy gingersnap and citrusy hops.  Enjoy and tell us what you think.

This beer was really light and had a ton of flavors to it. When I had it with the shrimp, it just added so much shazam and crazy extra flavors to it.

-third course-

lamb sheppards pie

Braised in Ommegang’s Three Philosophers, along with carrots and onions.  Layered over mashed potatoes with Chanterelle mushrooms and rosemary.

Yep, Tiffie ate lamb. YEP. Only Bobby could get me to eat this much lamb in one sitting. It was ground and was a nice thick layer on the bottom… Atop were super flavorful potatoes and chanterelles. AMAZING. Absolutely delightful. It wasn’t heavy at all – usually I think of this dish as a heavy more of a wintery, warming dish – Very few people finished all of it – but EVERYONE raved about it.

Paired with: Ommegang Adoration Ale 10% ABV

Ommegang’s first winter ale is brewed in the authentic style of a Belgian Noel Beer.  It is strong, malty and assertively spiced.  This beer is brewed with five spices, including coriander, cumin, mace, cardamom and grains of paradis.

You could definitely taste that it was heavier. Great flavors, harder to drink a lot of [for me] but at 10%… :] And after that many beers.. it went a down down down….

-dessert-

This time it was AJ, another rep, speaking – the one Chris told us to boo at hahaha

beerimisu

Lady fingers soaked in Ommegang  Abbey and Stumptown Espresso.  Layered with marscapone cheese, french vanilla whipped cream, and shaved chocolate.

This was SO freaking good. The beer went SO well with the espresso and chocolate, it was heavy in flavor but soooo light and fluffy in the belly. My only complaint? I wanted more…. needed more, craved more… I licked the glass clean ;D Really…

Paired with: Ommegang Zuur 6% ABV

This limited edition, Flemish sour ale, is the perfect beer to pair with dessert!  Ommegang brewmaster, Phil Leinhart, made several trips to the Belgian sister brewery Leifmans to formulate this brown.  It is aged and blended.  It has noticeable tartness from being spontaneously fermented.  The style differs however in that there is no oak aging involved.  So the flavor of Zuur is more subtle, balanced and refreshing.  The perfect way to end a perfect meal!

This beer took a few sips to get used to. It really IS sour. Sour and bitter, but a great contrast to the sweet dessert.

I’ll be looking for these beers in the stores…. :D AND YOU SHOULD TOO!!!

I’ll be finishing up a lot of my posts in the next week… I’m actually back in Boston for awhile so I’ll be cooking more – making things from my food idea/experimental notebook, doing some videos AND I have a PROJECT in the making that I’m super excited about.

River Horse comes to Resto

So… what IS River Horse? The hippopotamus (Hippopotamus amphibius) or hippo, from the ancient Greek for “river horse”, is a largely mostly herbivorous mammeal in sub-Saharan Africa, and one of only two extant species in the family Hippopotamidae.

AND…. it’s also a brewery RIVER HORSE from Lambertville, NJ – brewing beer on the banks of the Delaware River since 1996.

And last nite they were at Resto [as you guys all know by now, obviously one of my favorite restaurants in NYC] And no they didn’t serve Hippo but Chef Bobby Hellen made a five course veal tasting menu [well four courses, since dessert didn’t have veal in it HEE HEE] and they paired the food with some of River Horse’s classic AND seasonal ales [hhheelllloooo pumpkin!!!]

To be honest, I’m not a huge veal person. I mean it’s delicious.. but the whole poor baby cow thing kinda makes me sad. But then… I will eat pretty much anything Chef Bobby puts in front of me. This man’s a freaking genius. I can’t NOT try his food….

Shall we begin? Yes yes yes….

– Amuse-Bouche –
Veal Tongue Confit

Charred Brussel Sprouts, Garlic

This was fantastic and I wish I had a bigger plate of it. The tongue was just falling apart and soooo tender. The brussel sprouts were shredded and just delicious and perfectly charred. YUM… I love a little burnt in my sprouts. The beer went so great with it. I totally adored the richness yet lightness of it.

Paired with River Horse Hop Hazard

American Pale Ale
Brewing the perfect ale is truly a balancing act…hazardous work you might say. With Hop Hazard our challenge was to hand craft a malt rich base that could counterbalance a combustible five-hop blend and still leave your taste buds with enough room to enjoy a unique, crisp hop finish.

5.5% ABV

– First Course –
Sweet Breads

Veal Ragu, Mache

This tasted like tender tender creamy fried chicken. The veal ragu was to die for. It made me craving some delicious pasta to go along with it :] The beer was light and fruity but I was too busy eating my huge portions of sweetbreads and gobbling up the ragu to fully taste them together – my bad. Both ended up in my stomach and making me intensely happy so in the end all went well :]

Paired with River Horse Double Wit

The Ultimate Brewmaster’s Degustation

I’m a bad friend… one of my friends used to work here at MAS and I never visited :[ it’s not my fault… NYC has soooo many restaurants and this was always on my list. Too bad he doesn’t work here anymore….This is DEFINITELY going to be a frequent favorite.

This was definitely the most unique beer dinner I’ve ever been to. The beers were a-flowing, we had great speakers, familiar faces, and delicious fresh food. The flavors, texture and pairings were right on the mark.

For the beer geek who forays into foodiedom, the Ultimate Brewmaster’s Degustation is a must. Six courses of refined farm-fresh fare will be served alongside an array of impressive brews, in a collaboration between Mas chef and owner Galen Zamarra and Sean Paxton (the “Homebrew Chef”).

We started off with a light beer :] Lagunitas Pils, Czech Style Pilsner – delish!

We didn’t know the menu or the beers planned until we got there.

Victory Brewing Company Beer Dinner at Colicchio & Sons

I’ve been wanting to go to Colicchio & Sons [have you checked out their menu?] but something always came up and we had to cancel the reservations.  …and  as soon as I heard about thist Victory Beer dinner, I knew I had to be there. I’m obsessed with beer pairings, my first official one being Rick Gresh’s, so this was a must-go.  Unfortunately we didn’t get a spot but Patrick, the person to call for reservations, promised to put us on the top of the list at the next beer event.  LUCKILY he called me the afternoon of and said a spot had opened up and HORRAY!!!! we got two spots.

They poured us some Prima Pils to start off with. A great aperitif and it was to be paired with the first course.

Fluffy and almost potatobread-like with a nice chew to the crust, some sea salt and drizzles of butter. So buttery and delightful.