Beer Week 2009 Super Blog Pt 5

Day Seven


It was one of the most anticipated days during the Beer Week for Aiiyah and the Doctor Professor Princess since we were to dine in one of our most favorite restaurants with one of Aiiyah's favorite beers.

Capogiro

Getting into the spirit, Capogiro made several special beer flavored gelatos for its two stores during the Beer Week.

The Monk’s Single-Barrel Cantillon Kriek gelato was made with the namesake Lambac that is specially brewed for Monk’s Café by Cantillon Brewery in Belgium. The second gelato was made with the Chocolate Stout from Rogue Brewery in Oregon.

The Chocolate Stout gelato was spot on! Capogiro had captured the essence of this stout perfectly, just sweeter. I really enjoyed this gelato very much. I did not like the Cantillon Friek at all.


Value wise, I think Capogiro has been getting quite expensive. At $4.82 for a small cup of gelato, you get a much better deal drinking the real thing.






The Swan Lounge at the Four Seasons Hotel

When I found out that a beer dinner was being held at the restaurant featuring Anchor beers, it took me no time to make a reservation. This was the only Anchor event during the entire Beer Week. The most impressive part was the sole appearance of Fritz Maytag, the owner of Anchor. He’s “The Man”. He’s the granddaddy of craft beer in America who bought a run-down brewery and started a new industry. He was so ahead of his time.

I have been drinking Anchor beers since the mid 1980’s. Tourist Tree and I even had made a special pilgrimage to the brewery when we traveled west a few years ago.

Beside the beers, Anchor has also expended into making high-end gin, whiskeys, and wines.

If you are wondering, Fritz is the great-grandson of the founder of the Maytag Corporation of the washing machine fame; and also the son of the man who produced the Maytag cheese.

Checking out the trove of Anchor beers. We also got to talk to one of the main organizers of the Beer Week, Bruce Nichols, during the cocktail hour. In attendance was also old time Phillies announcer Andy Wusser who worked as an Anchor Ambassador.

Fritz autographs one of Aiiyah’s vintage Anchor beer bottles.

 A 1990 Christmas Seasonal.

L: An out of production Wheat Beer from the mid 1980’s.

R:The Christmas Seasonal features a unique art label and flavor each year.

L: No detail is left out for this dinner.

R: Liquid gold, a small glass of Anchor Small.

Fritz speaking about his beers and some tales of his brewing career and the Anchor Brewery.

Jumbo Sea Scallop, Paddlefish Caviar, “Junipero” Cream. Anchor Small Beer.

A generous scoop of American paddlefish caviar on top of a perfectly seared plump jumbo sized scallop. The sauce was made with the Junipero Gin, a dry small batch gin also produced by Anchor. This dish was paired with the Anchor Small, a lighter 3.3% ABV beer in the style of a Bitter. It was produced from the second running of the mash first used in making the Old Foghorn Barleywine. We were all slightly surprised by the size of the scallop. The Junipero cream sauce went very well with the saltiness and sweetness of the caviar.

Aged Sirloin “Carpaccio”, Holland Leek Salad, Quail Egg, Foie Gras, Minus 8 Gelée. Anchor Steam Beer.

The surprise for this dish was the pastry pocket that sat on top of the carpaccio. It contained the foie gras and the quail egg! Cutting open the pocket released the egg and the foie gras on the carpaccio which was only seasoned with sea salt and pepper. The mixture of egg yoke, foie gras, leek, and the taste and texture of the meat was a pure pleasure in the mouth!

Everybody was fascinated by the gelée (little red cubes on the plate) that was made with the much sought after and elusive Minus 8 vinegar. It was just so ingeniously done! And it provided such an interesting dimension to the dish. Much kudos to the creativity of Chef Santiago. This dish was paired with one of my favorite easy drinking beers, Anchor Steam.

Duet of Lamb “Lollipop”, Braised Shank, Mushroom, Scarlet Runner Beans, Salsify Mousseline. Anchor Bock.

We enjoyed the presentation. Black sea salt sat on top of the tagine shaped container which we could use to season the braised shank meat inside. A generous portion lamb chop “lollipop” sat on top of the salsify mousseline to the left with a piece of salsify wrapped around its bone. The chop was wonderfully prepared and the braised meat with the beans and mushroom was fantastic. The intense flavor of this dish was just captivating. My only concern was that the lamb chop could be a bit warmer. I enjoyed the pairing of this seasonal Bock beer which is only available in the Spring. Fritz informed us that the Bock is basically the latest Christmas ale without the spice and the flavoring. Interesting.

Maytag Blue Cheese, Apple “Short Stack”, Mâche Greens, Vanilla Maple Bliss. Anchor Liberty Ale.

It would only be fitting to serve a cheese that was named after the family. We all loved the silver dollar size short stack pancakes. They were so fluffy and delicious yet they were so miniature in size. They tasted so wonderfully with the excellent apple compote on top and were such an interesting opposite compliment to the blue cheese. The razor thin slice of toasted green apple on top of the cheese served hardly just as a decoration. It carried a bit of tartness with some sweetness and was quite tasty.

Fritz told us that the Liberty Ale was first produced in 1975 to commemorate the upcoming Bicentennial. It was made in different variations until it became a permanent product. The current version is identical to the 1983 Christmas Ale.

Chocolate Molten Cake, Ice Cream. Anchor Porter.

The ice cream was made with the Anchor Porter! It went so great with the molten cake. The whole combination was totally delicious and we enjoyed every single bite of it.

I was completely wild about people making ice cream with beer this week. I hope this was the start of a new trend.

The Porter was the perfect beer to end with this ideal meal. This porter would also make a great candidate for a “Aiiyah Special Beer Float”!

For me, this was definitely one of the highlights for the Beer Week. Besides being at the only Anchor Beer event at the Beer Week, I also had the chance to meet the legendary Fritz Maytag, plus got to enjoy some fine dining in a civilized setting. It was a nice change of pace after several days of bar hopping and constantly on the go for another unique brew. Unfortunately, we couldn’t make the other beer dinners at the Swan on the previous two nights. One was hosted by Yards and the other hosted by Victory which Tourist Tree absolutely loves. Looking back, it was a wise decision to miss those dinners and save up for the best one.


The best part of the night was something that Fritz Maytag said, “Because of the hops, malts, and the barleys, beer don’t harbor disease organism.”

Day Seven beer tally: Anchor Small, Steam, Bock, Liberty Ale, Porter.