Iron Abbey celebrated Belgium’s Independence by having nothing other than a kick ass Belgian Beer Dinner.  It was a great 5 course dinner made by their chef, Jonathan Lee,and hosted by Brendan Johns of Latis.   Here is the menu and a little bit about what I thought of the beers and the dishes.

• First Course the beer was Brugse Zot 6%ABV and the food was a Foie Gras Sandwich with battered brioche, pancetta and raspberry syrup.
  Brugse Zot is the only beer that is actually brewed and lagered in Brugge.  This is one of those hard to find beers and if you find it, it’s one to pick up.  Lemon and citrus hit the nose first with a fluffy white head.  The first taste started with spice, moved to some orangey lemon and ended with a nice malty finish.  This beer was an excellent choice to pair with the first course.  They really went hand in hand with the way the foie and pancetta paired with the lemony maltiness of the beer.  If there was a way to order more sandwiches I would of.  The sandwich reminded me of  bacon, egg and cheese, without the egg or the cheese.  The first course was a nice eye opener and it really got your taste buds excited for the rest of the dinner.
• Second Course beer was Hoevebrouwers Toria Tripel 8.6%ABV and the food was Endive and candied walnuts with aged blue cheese, arugula, white asparagus, and roasted beet dressing.
  We all know how arugula can be really peppery and spicy, right???  Well, this longed name beer meaning “The Farm Brewery” we had last night knew exactly how to take care of that.  Let’s get back on track and talk about the beer some more.  Right away you smell honeysuckle and you taste honeysuckle.  For a beer with a moderately high ABV, the alcohol was nicely hidden.  It’s a very nice drinkable summer time beer that pairs well with light food.  This is one of those beers you are going to be nice to, you can drink a lot but it will come back to haunt you.  With everything going on in the salad palate wise (peppery arugula, sweet walnuts, creamy blue, and roasted beets) the beer stood its ground nice and played nicely with the salad.
• Third Course beer was Gouden Carolus Cuvee Van De Keizer 11%ABV, phew, and the food was Currywurst and frites which was a Bratwurst with curry ketchup and homemade fries.
  You could of given me just this dish for the night and I would of gone home very happy.  French fries, everyone loves fries, but when you personally homemake the fries they are even better.  The curry ketchup was awesome, I could of drank a glass of that and the grilled Bratwurst, give me 10 links and a liter of beer and I’ll see ya later!  This was a very simple dish, but it was one of my favorites.  Now, let’s talk about this beer.  For me, personally, it was a hard one.  It had the smell and a light taste of whiskey with some cherry and plum hiding in there.  The alcohol took over from start to finish, but you could taste some carmel notes along with plums.  I felt like it overpowered the food if you drank it after you ate, but if you reversed rolls and drank the beer THEN ate, the food seemed to calm the alcohol down and you could pick up more of the beer’s characters.  This was a tricky one to tackle for me.
• Fourth Course beer was De Dochter Van De Korenaar Noblesse 5.5%ABV and the food to go along with it was Rabbit Stew, a traditional Belgian dish braised in amber lager.
  Chef Lee braised the rabbit for 3 hours in beer which is always nothing to complain about and served it in a bread bowl.  The stew was rock solid awesome!  People get nervous when they hear rabbit, but this was a nice way to introduce it to those people.  It was a nice tight stew with very little liquid, the rabbit had a nice flavor as did the stew itself.  The best part was after the stew was gone, you still had the bread bowl to eat which has been sitting soaking up the stew!  It was never ending goodness!  How could I forget the beer!  De Dochter Van De Korenaar Noblesse had a nice creamy, malty nose.  A nice smooth, somewhat herbal and bitter hop finish on the taste paired well with the stew.  Having such a hearty stew, the beer came through with a nice clean finish.
• Fifth Course beer was Boon Framboise 5%ABV paired with Belgian Waffle and Ice Cream, it also had poached fruit and chantilly cream.
  I’m used to the Lindeman’s Framboise which has sweetness added, but this beer has no extra sugars added and is all natural.  Boon Framboise is definitely different, it is more sour and less sweet, highly carbonated and very crisp. This beer turned out to be a nice palate cleaner for the whole meal.  The dessert was nice and light and paired well with the beer.  Both excited the palate and cleaned it for the finish.  There isn’t much to say about the dessert, Belgian Waffle and Ice Cream, how could you get that wrong?!?!?

Overall I had a great time.  As always the company was great and so was the food and beer.  If you haven’t been to one of Iron Abbey’s Beer Dinners, I would recommend anyone going who is into the beer scene.

• Swift Half Pub in Northern Liberties was an awesome place and they are right in the Piazza, with outdoor seating available.  I went for the Cigar City afternoon, Stone Brewery night, Coronado Brewery afternoon, and the Brooklyn Brewery night.

Cigar City has really amazing beers. I had the Jai Alai firkin and the Maduro Brown Ale.  The Jai Alai was like smelling a freshly rolled cigar right out of the humidor. It has a flavor complexity of apricots and peaches with a nice carmel note in between.  This beer is full of hops from beginning to end, but is also a nice well rounded, full of flavor IPA.  Maduro Brown Ale on the other hand has a smooth, roasted, buttery, and chocolate profile that is completely different than the Jai Alai.  A very complex beer, but also easily drinkable even during the hot summer months.  If you can find a Cigar City brew during your next visit to the store, I highly suggest picking one up.

Stone Brewery, not much I need to say about them except that the beers they have are amazing and the ones at Swift Half were even better.  For the Stone night they had Ruination on firkin brewed with Centennial Hops, on tap they had a Double Dry Hopped IPA which apparently there were only 3 kegs in the state of PA, Double Hopped Bastard, and Saison Du Buff.  Okay, real quick, the Ruination was so loaded with hops it smelled like really super sticky marijuana and that’s all I can say about that.  The Double Dry Hopped IPA was good, again loaded with hops because it’s Stone and the color was a deep red, almost brown.  The taste was hoppy, floral, piney, citrusy, and it seemed to have some carmel notes.  The Double Hopped Bastard was also good. It is an Arrogant Bastard double hopped and it was a big one.  Now, for my favorite of the night, the Saison Du Buff.  It was a beautiful beer with a nice amber color and the smell of garden and herbs came racing out. It gave me a bright feeling like the sun just came out on a summers day.  The flavor was also bright with parsley at first, and then sage, rosemary, and citrus.  For such a lighter color beer, the flavor lasted for decent amount of time.  This was a really nice saison and I had to made sure I left Swift Half before 10pm so I could run across the street to The Foodery and pick me up some bottles.

Coronado and Brooklyn Brewery were quick visits.  I did have the firkin of Coronado IPA while chatting with a really cool person next to me and for Brooklyn Brewery I had the Savoir Faire.

The food at Swift Half was outstanding!  I had the burger with Sheep’s Milk Cheese one night, the Rueben another night, the freshly made Soft Pretzel bites, and the Peanut Butter and Bacon Brittle twice.  If your in to good food and good beer, you have to check this place out.

• Next up on the list is Kraftwork in Fishtown.  It was Lost Abbey and Port Brewery night. It was an event not to miss.  I got to exchange a few words with Tomme Arthur, the owner of Lost Abbey, while sipping on some Angel’s Share and letting him know how much I enjoyed his creations.  Kraftwork is fairly new to the Fishtown area and offers a great little menu with outdoor seating also.  Along side Lost Abbey and Port Brewery they had Southern Tier on tap. I didn’t get a chance to taste any of the Southern Tier due to the fact that there were some Lost Abbey beers I knew I may never try again in the near future.  I got a chance to try the Angel’s Share, Mongo IPA, Carnevale, and  Red Barn by Lost Abbey and then 4th Anniversary, Shark Attack, and Hot Rocks by Port Brewing.  I did enjoy all of the beers and not sure how I made it home that night, but apparently Tomme Arthur was going on a bar crawl!  Anyways, I did eat at Kraftwork also, the food was very good.  I ended up having the Crispy Pork Croquettes and the Burger with aged Cheddar and bacon onion jam.  The  brioche bun, nicely cooked burger, onion jam and cheddar made for a fantastic meal along with those garlic and herb fries.

• The Sidecar Bar and Grille in Graduate Hospital was the first place I stopped at during beer week.  I love neighborhood spots that pop where you least expect it and turn out to be a really cool place to check out.  It seemed they have specials all the time on different days of the week.  The afternoon I went there were 9 delicious taps of Ommegang for beer week.  My sister and I ended up trying Belgian Pale Ale, Triple Perfection, Rare VOS, Abbey Ale, and Hennepin.  After having a few Ommegang’s and eating some pork carnitas, pretzel crusted chicken fingers, and a rueben with homemade corned beef we both knew we had to come back and try some of the specials they offer.  Also, after a few Ommegang’s too many, I knew I had to go take a trip to Cooperstown NY and check out Ommegang Brewery.  Sidecar Bar and Grille is definitely a place to check out on a nice day when you can sit outside and enjoy a tasty beverage.

• The Abbaye at 637 N. 3rd St. in Northern Liberties was another really nice place. On the night that I went they had Duck-Rabbit Brewery on tap for beer week.  Again, another place that had outdoor seating.  It’s funny how you go through the city not seeing any of the LadeDa places offering anything outdoors and then you hit the neighborhood places and they all seem to offer some type of outdoor seating which is great for warm summer nights.  Even if the place looks rough on the outside, you would most likely be surprised.  Back to beer talk, Duck-Rabbit is a brewery from Farmville, North Carolina that opened 6 years ago by a guy named Paul Philippone who was a college philosophy teacher.  He got away from that former life and start a brewery and thank God he did.  I happen to come across one of these beers in my local bottle shop a few months ago and absolutely loved it.  After seeing that he was coming up for beer week I planned to hit two of his many events.  I got to meet with Paul at The Abbaye and thank him for his amazing dark beers.  I would usually look at a dark beer and think right away that I would not like it, but his beers changed my perspective after the first sip.  I got to try his Milk Stout which was a creamy goodness, the Brown Ale with loads of hops and malty goodness, Rabid Duck which was a Russian Imperial Stout that delicious coffee, chocolate, and malt flavor that hid the 10%ABV very well, and the Duck Rabbit Barleywine.  The Barleywine was not my favorite at the first sip as it punched me in the face and beat me up at first.  After I looked at it and thought about what I was drinking, I tried again, this time savoring the flavor.  It was awesome. The smell of sweet cherries, candy apple, carmel, currants came through.  The taste of malt, brown sugar, and finished with some lemon and sour notes also surfaced.  I’m not big into these type of beers, but I think I may have to pick one up now and then to give it a shot.

• Standard Tap was the next place I remember I went.  They had Dogfish Head 75min on firkin and I wasn’t going to miss that one.  I thought it started at 4, but it was 5, soooooo I hung out and had some other beers.  One of which was Dogfish Indian Brown Ale. It had the smell of malt, caramel, chocolate and oatmeal and the taste of malt, hops, chocolate, coffee and caramel.  The flavors of this beer played nice together sip after sip.  Troegs had Nugget Nectar on a hand pump, a completely different taste then what comes out of the bottle or tap.  All I have to say about this one is that it tasted like apple juice and it was delicious.  Time for the firkin of 75min!!!!  Mmmmmm, could  not get any better than this.  You can not take half 60min and half 90min to make this beer, really, its cask conditioned.  Very low carbonation, cloudy in appearance with smells of pine tree and grapefruit.  Taste like a dream. It was not too much of an overpowering hop flavor, but a nice combination of hops and malt with the citrusy background.

• The Grey Lodge, a Northeast Philly Bar located on 6235 Frankford turned out to be a really cool place.  It was a Duck-Rabbit night and Paul Philippone, the Master Brewer, had a Short Rib dinner in the works.  After checking the place out and reading their great tap list I had to go with a Duck-Rabbit Brown Ale and the Short Ribs.  It was a good night, really friendly people, a neighborhood type bar with locals who all knew eachother.  The Short Ribs turned out to be really good and so did the Cuban Sandwich.  This is a nice bar to check out if you want to go out, but do not feel like worrying about city parking and traffic.

• How could you not go to Monk’s for beer week?  The night I went they had Sierra Nevada, with a special brew from the Beer Camp Crew.  Here is the list of beer I had and if I ended up explaining it all you would quit reading.  Sierra Nevada ExPorter-chocolate, vanilla and hops, very nice; Sierra Nevada Charlie Fred and Ken Imperial Helles Lager-malty, moderate sweetness and clean floral hops; Sierra Nevada Southern Hemisphere Harvest-fresh hops picked from the southern hemisphere (read the link for more info); Limb & Life-this is the beer made from the residual sugars after Life & Limb comes out.  It is a nice, drinkable beer with a maple syrup flavor, definitely one to try; Life & Limb-this is a big beer with big flavor. This is the Daddy of Limb & Life. It has the blend of yeast strains from both Sierra Nevada and Dogfish Head with birch syrup fresh from Alaska.  Take your time on this one it comes in at 10%ABV.

• Last but not least was Russian River Brewery day.  Hulmeville Inn had it on the first Sunday of beer week and Local 44 had it on the last Sunday of beer week.  This brewery is one of my favorites in California. The hops stand out but they aren’t too over powering where they hide the rest of the beers flavor.  My favorite beer is Pliney the Elder and Consecration, just because thats all PA laws allow us to have.  I had a few this week they I will not see again unless laws change OR some places decide to sneak in a few without the PLCB finding them.  One of those few was Russian River Resurrection. It had a strong apricot smell and taste along side the large amount of hops in there.  I do not know where it came from, but it sure was a treat for the last day of beer week.

This beer week was definitely one to remember for awhile.  With over 1000 events and close to 200 places participating, I wish had more days, more money AND a stronger liver to do more in those 11 days.  I am sure if you turned around next week to have another beer week, all Philadelphians would be out drinking again. I mean we are the best drinking city in the USA  and I know the bar owners and bar backs would hate that.

I would like to thank all the great people I met along the way and also to all the brewers and bar owners.  I will continue my work through Philadelphia and get more people on board the TapHunter site to make this the place to check out when looking for your favorite beer in Philly.  Hope to see you all soon.

One thing that was lacking was organization.  For example, the Belgian Beers were all over the place.  A few were located between Ballast Point and Coronado Brewery and then go down further in the line and you had more Belgian Beers mixed in between other countries. Piraat was on the list and unfortunately I could not find them anywhere.  I think the countries could have been a little more organized so  you didn’t have to spend your time searching for the beers you were looking for rather than having a chance to try them all.

Overall the event was good, and I would definitely attend then next one if held in the Philadelphia Area.  I got the chance to try a few different beers that I would not of even looked at and a few changed my mind on Dark Belgian Beers and Imperial Stouts.

Food came from Percy St BBQ. and Tommy Gunn’s.  Both of which are in Philadelphia.  Percy St. had an awesome BBQ Brisket sandwich and Vegetarian Chili with Jalapeno Cornbread. Those went really well with my Stoudt’s smoked brew right from the cask.  Outside was another story, where you had amateur BBQ experts going head to head in a cook off.  Smoke ham, ribs, pork, brisket, and even smoked lemonade. Yes, smoked lemonade! I am going to guess that they smoked the water and then made the lemonade? Whatever it was that the Zombie BBQ crew did, it was completely different and really good.

Outside was also more beer!  After a few Stoudt’s smoked beers, Flying Dog Dog Schwarz Smoked Double Lager, and Victory Smokin’ Oats Porter smoked beers I had to start laying low.  Four straight days of drinking in 90 degree heat, along with all the strong beers and BBQ, finally started to catch up with me.  I knew I had 7 more days of events to go, so I started taking it easy.  Water came into play and I actually stopped drinking beer.  Sorry to my fellow readers, but this is where the story ends.  The live music was great, the crowd was fun, the beer was delicious, and the food was excellent.  It’s the second year the Yards Brewing Company had this event and hopefully, if they do this one again, I’ll be right there in a heartbeat maybe cooking up my own BBQ!

Tom Kehoe himself…its just the Straub shirt!

Yards Brewing Company
901 N. Delaware Avenue
Philadelphia, PA 19123

I had a really difficult time trying to decide what I was going to order because everything on the menu looked awesome.  For the 1st course you could either have a Cheesesteak Spring Roll with pale ale spiked chili sauce paired with Furthermore Knot Stock American Pale Ale; BLT Slider with fresh mozzarella, confit pork belly and garlic aioli paired with Troegs Hopback Amber Ale; Buffalo Chicken Wings with celery root puree and blue cheese cream sauce paired with Breckenridge Agave Wheat.  I ended up ordering the BLT Slider which was unreal.  Not only was the pork belly cooked perfectly but it paired extremely well with the Troegs brew, the beer cut the fat nicely and left you with a clean mouthfeel.  I made no mistake in ordering this course because it was a bright plate with big flavors. I highly recommend it.

The 2nd Course gave you four options.  Braised Short Ribs with goat cheese and scallion smashed potatoes, broccoli and porter jus paired with Eel River Organic Porter; Grilled St. Louis Ribs with braised red cabbage and hoppy baked beans paired with Bear Republic Red Rocket Red Ale; Beer Battered Mahi-Mahi with sweet potato fries, carolina slaw and spicy remoulade paired with Southampton Double White Ale; Bock and Bourbon Glazed Burger with fried shallots, bacon, smoked goudo and burnt orange aioli paired with Lakefront Big Easy Imperial Maibock.  For this course I ordered the Short Ribs with the Organic Porter.  Short ribs usually are about 6-8inches long and have a mix between meat and fat.  The short ribs that they have at Smokin’ Betty’s are about 10 inches long and are loaded with meat.  I don’t know where they found short ribs like this, but they were monsters.  No need to use a knife either, again, just like the pork belly, the meat was cooked right on.  As I went to move the bone to the side of my plate the meat just fell off the bone.  It was so juicy and tender that I don’t think I put my fork down through this whole course. I don’t even think I picked my head up either to look around.  The porter jus and the Eel River Porter with its dark, roasted coffee flavor along with the slow cooked short rib was perfectly matched.

For the final course I had four options to choose from for dessert.  As I am not a huge fan of dessert, since by this time in the meal I am usually too full for it. However, this time I had to dive on in and order something, and oh what a shame it was.  You could choose from Apple Fritters with carmel dipping sauce paired with Original Sin Apple Cider; Betty’s S’mores with black bier marshmallows, bittersweet chocolate and graham crackers paired with Dark Horse Reserve Special Black Bier Ale; Creme Brulle Cheesecake with balsamic strawberries paired with Lancaster Strawberry Wheat; Deep Fried Oreo’s with homemade raspberry framboise and double chocolate stout ice cream paired with Lefthand Milk Stout.  For me it was a toss up between the S’mores and the Fried Oreos, and in the end, I picked the S’mores.  What came out to me, what not expected.  It was such a beautifully presented plate that in a way, that I did not want to touch it.  The marshmallow which was gooey and warm, the shaved chocolate, the graham cracker and the beer all paired so nicely that again, something changed my mind about dessert in a good way.  The heavy malt and deep dark roasted notes in the beer really played well together.

Everything I ordered was amazing and everything paired very well with the beer that was offered with it.  You get a full 12oz. bottle of beer with every course you order, not just a small 4 oz. sampling of it.  If I ended up going back again, I would keep the BLT Slider, change to the Bourbon Glazed Burger, and go for the Oreo’s for dessert.  The only reason being is that when I was looking around at other peoples tables to see what they ordered, everything seemed to look so good.  I would love to go back and try out more of the menu before it ends.

Smokin’ Betty’s Restaurant is right across from Jefferson Hospital.  They have been open for almost a year and are doing very well.  Their normal everyday menu has plenty of options to choose from and all the food on that looks great also.  Smokin’ Betty’s offers 16 beers on tap ranging from local brews, east coast and west coast beers, and even some ciders.  I also want to thank Emily the Manager for letting me come in an attend this dinner and also to Jill my server, she was the best!

Smokin’ Betty’s Restaurant
116 South 11th Street
Philadelphia, PA 19107-4801
(215) 922-6500

Before I even get into the food and beer, I have to mention these two guys at the dinner last night.  One was dressed like Raoul Duke and the other like Dr. Gonzo.  For those fans of Flying Dog, I am sure  you know that understanding between Flying Dog and the artwork on the bottles.  If not, you have some research to do on the Flying Dog’s website.  Anyway, the guys were nuts. From going up on stage with the megaphone showing their one of a kind humor, they played the parts well and I’ve never met anyone that insane.

I am going to do my best to remember the beer and the food pairings since we all had some time to hang out, talk and drink a Firkin of Snake Bite before dinner started.

• The first part of a two course appetizer was Fried Plantain Chips with fresh guacamole, salsa fresca, and Shiitake mushroom tapenade.  It was paired with Flying Dog’s Tire Bite.  It was a killer appetizer, especially the mushrooms, and it paired really well with the Tire Bite.  Flying Dog Tire Bite is one of their lightest beers.  Very light in color and in flavor, but it had tartness towards the end.  This is a beer for one of those super hot days that when you want a beer, this is what you have.  It paired nicely with the Plantains and assortment of salsas.  I could also see this going well with fish and seafood.  HEY, as a matter of fact, guess what the second part of the course was…..Grilled colossal lemon shrimp and spicy tomato basil rice salad topped with micro greens.  This also paired very nicely with the Tire Bite.  Shrimp was cooked perfectly and the rice was awesome.
• The next course was  shredded roasted chicken on grilled naan bread with grated Canadian sharp cheddar.  This was paired with Doggie Style Pale Ale.  This was a very nice pairing.  The cheddar on the Naan Flatbread Sandwich had a nice mouthfeel with the Flying Dog Doggie Style.
• Third course was Filet Mignon skewers in a Thai peanut butter marinade with blue cheese cream and mini Yukon gold potatoes.  I could of sat there all night and ate them.  The flavor of the meat was so good and cooked just right.  This was paired with Raging Bitch Belgian-Style IPA.  Oh what a beer it was, it definitely is a Raging Bitch!  So many different things were going on in this beer I really couldn’t get a grip on it.  A must try for all you Hoppy Beer Lovers.  The beer paired very well with the Thai peanut butter and blue cheese cream, it seemed to tone down the beer just enough so you could pull out the flavor and enjoy it.
• The last course of the night at my table was dessert.  I’m not much of a dessert type of person but this may have changed my mind about that.  The dessert was Flying Dog’s Gonzo Porter Ice Cream and the drinks were the hard to get Flying Dog Coffee Porter and a shot of Stranahan’s Colorado Whiskey.  These Stranahan Whiskey barrels are the ones used to age the Raging Bitch.  It was nice to try the whiskey that comes out of the barrels before they are used for aging Raging Bitch.  Everything paired together so well in this course it was an orgasm of flavors in my mouth.  Everyone started to get the awesome idea of taking the ice cream and putting it in the Coffee Porter.  That was a great mistake because it made everything come together even more that the orgasm became an orgy!

Overall the night was a blast, everyone there had a great time.  It was such an intimate setting with all the people from Flying Dog and Two Guys on Beer that you had the chance to walk around during the course of the night and ask questions about anything you wanted.  No one felt rushed and it was very nice casual night.  Again, I would highly recommend this place to anyone out there.  I am going to have to go back and check out the regular menu when Philly Beer Week is all said and done.

National Mechanics
22 South 3rd Street
Philadelphia, PA 19106
(215) 701-4883

Philadelphia will also be holding the International Great Beer Expo during Philly Beer Week.  Beers from Japan, Columbia, Scotland, Jamaica, Peru, Israel, Nicaragua, Spain, and of course Belgium and the United States will all be here.  Over 50 brewers and 100+ Beers will be on hand with a special designated bottle shop area for those rarities.  Tickets are still available for both sessions at the Great Beer Expo website.

Iron Abbey in itself is a pretty amazing place.  They offer 36 Taps of amazing beer, anyone at any given time, beer fan or not, can find something here that they are going to enjoy.  The menu seems to be outstanding as well, I didn’t get to try anything last night since the Beer Dinner was Prix Fixe and in a completely different room that I had no idea even existed.  The place itself was packed, Iron Abbey takes you out of Horsham and makes you feel as though you just traveled over to Europe for a few beers, too bad you have to leave at some point.  Overall, I would go back in a heartbeat if anyone asked to join them for a beer or two or three.

Now, let’s move onto the beer, shall we?  Unibroue is located in Chambly, Canada located about 19 miles east outside of Montreal.  It is the first type of brewery in North America to have bottle-refermented beers.  For 25 years, Unibroue has been harvesting it’s own yeast strands, which you can pick out easily when tasting their beers.  All of Unibroue’s beers have at least two, even up to four yeast strands for every brew.  Fresh yeast and pure sugar is added just before bottling which adds to the cloudy appearance, strong smell and that smooth welcoming mouthfeel.  Before serving your beer till the cork down to about the 5 o’clock position and spin the bottle 4-5 times.  This will loosen the yeast at the bottom of the bottle and evenly spread it throughout every pour.  Enjoy!

Here is the Beer Dinner that I got to enjoy with some little add on’s of my own.

First Course: Marinated Pork Tenderloin, Green Papaya and Oni on Slaw and Calavados Herb Sauce

Paired with Unibroue Ephemere- a White ale made with Granny Smith apple juice (NOT cider), nutmeg and cinnamon

The Pork Tenderloin was cooked well, nice and tender, not too overdone like most people like there pork.  The Green Papaya and Oni slaw was killer, it paired really well with the Ephemere.  The crispness and lightness of the beer paired well the whole dish.

Second Course: Tuna and Salmon Timbale Peppercorn, avocado cream and spicy tomato coulis

Paired with Unibroue Chambly Noire- a dark roasted, smokey, and chocolaty beer.  FYI….this beer is having a name change.  For proper French lingo they are going to be calling it Noire de Chambly.  So stock up on the old bottles before the name change, they may be worth something later on.

This is the course that blew us all away.  Having a dark roasted beer pair with a fresh fish dish.  It really changed my perspective on things.  The dish itself was awesome.  The avocado cream was super light but left a film of flavor on your tongue that the Chambly Noire took care of.  After every bite of food I found myself taking a little taste of beer to clean my palate.  It was a really fun dish to play around with.

Third Course: Seared Halibut, patty pan squash, parsnip and truffle puree, with potato and caviar sauce

Paired with Unibroue La Fin Du Monde- balanced flavor of malt, hops, and spice.  This is one of Unibroue’s number one sellers.

This course had a lot going on in general, then add in the truffles and caviar along and you had a whole bunch of flavors coming together.  Luckily, you were able to taste the La Fin Du Monde through all of this.  This was another one of those pairings that surprised me, everything came together and worked out nicely.

Fourth Course: Filet of Elk Loin, braised leeks, and Asian pear compote

Paired with Unibroue Maudite- big malty beer that has a good spice note counterbalanced with a nice crisp hop finish

This was a winner in my book.  The Elk was done rare, for some it was a little too rare.  It’s one of those meats that if it gets cooked over a certain point, the flavor and texture go downhill pretty quickly.  As for the braised leeks and Asian Pear compote, the flavors of those were spot on.  There was nothing on that dish that I didn’t like, you can even ask the people around me.  As fast as they put that plate in front of me, it had no chance of hanging around.  Oh yea, how could I forget, the beer did pair well with this.  How could malty beer NOT pair well with a game meat and braised leeks.  It’s complex flavors really stood out well with the dish.

Fifth Course: Southern Style Strawberry and Raspberry Short Cake made with Sweet Biscuits

Paired with Unibroue Terrible- a deep, rich well balanced beer with hints of cherry and fig complemented by Madeira Wine notes

Everyone’s favorite, dessert!  I was kinda bumming because I knew it was all going to be coming to a quick end soon.  But, the dessert was pretty tasty.  Nice fluffy Short Cake and the sweet, tart berries made for a great pairing.  Again, another dark beer pairing with fruit, but the fig and cherry flavor played a nice part in this one.  Not too sweet of a beer, more of an alcohol flavor due to the big 10.5%ABV

Sixth Course: Aged ash covered Chevre with house made marmalade and rosemary crostini

Paired with Unibroue Quelque Chose- a beer only made every four years meant to be served WARM.  Complex aromatics and a deep mahogany color.

This one the one I was waiting for the whole night, Unibroue Quelque Chose.  A beer served warm in a cordial glass.  I did not know what to expect from this one and it was something completely different than what I ever had tasted beer wise.  The flavors of this beer were strong with cherries and wine notes.  It was warmed just right and seemed to have a cider/champagne bubbly feel in the mouth.  This cleaned the palate well with the cheese course and the 10.5%ABV was hardly even noticeable.  Go find yourself a few bottles of this one, have one now and save the rest for later.  You WILL NOT see this one around till 2014 and only 6100 cases are out there this time due to Kriek Cherry shortages.  Get it before it’s gone if it isn’t already.  This one can age for sometime.

I want to thank Diana Vilares from Iron Abbey for inviting me to this great dinner and hanging out with me during it.  ALSO, to the table, you guys were awesome, I look forward in joining you for the next beer dinner I attend in the future.

Now let’s talk about the beer…they have 60 taps, all of which are very good choices.  They range from all over the beer spectrum and have plenty of choices for any type of beer lover.  And yes, you can bring your un-educated beer friend along, they have choices for him also.

Overall a very nice, organized place.  I will have more info up in the near future with an Grand Opening Party and a talk with the Beer Steward himself, Andy Farrell.

City Tap House

3925 Walnut Street

Philadelphia, PA 19104