Dinner at the historic Anchor Brewery, hosted by Fritz Maytag and Ken Grossman of Sierra Neveda?  Sign me up!  The mind boggles at such a coming together of minds and brewing talents. The dinner was in honor of the launch of Fritz & Ken’s Ale, a collaborative Imperial Stout that marks the first of serveral forthcoming brews to celebrate Sierra Nevada’s 30th anniversary.

Unfortunately, the excitement and romance of a beer dinner hosted surrounded by copper fermentors has to give way to reality, and the logistical and physical difficulties of serving a dinner in a brewery.  Overall it was an amazing experience – Fritz and Ken told great stories in between courses and special beers were dug out of their respective back catalogs.  The food was decent-to-great, with some variation from course to course, but overall pretty impressive given the catering setup they must have been dealing with. The pairings were frustrating: great beers were constantly mismatched throughout the dinner, and the flavor profiles could have used a little more attention to detail  - these choices were especially frustrating, since an ideal choice was often a course or two before or after.

But enough with the hemming and hawing – let’s get into the good stuff:

Dinner started with a selection of passed appetizers, served with Anchor Steam and Sierra Nevada Pale Ale.

Fritz and Ken made great hosts for the night, acting as story tellers in between courses, regaling a captive audience with stories of starting the breweries, and just how hard it was to find good beer back when they got going.

Jay Brooks was seated closer to action than I was, and caught some of the stories on tape.  You can see his full account of the evening here:

Oh, and there was dinner!

First Course: Crisp Poached Farm Egg, peppered salmon bacon, poached asparagus, meyer lemon.

This dish was OK – the plating left a lot to be desired, but the the asparagus was well cooked, the fried egg oozed perfectly when cut open (not an easy task).  I found the salmon bacon less successful, but someone who like really briny fish might be more of fan.

The first course was paired with Sierra Nevada Weizenbock – a special collaborative brew made with the input of german brewers.  This is a super classic style, and Sierra Nevada adhered to tradition – it has a great clove and banana aroma, and nice wheaty finish.   The pairing worked fine, but wasn’t anything to knock your socks off.  But it’s just the first course, where they had the opportunity to play with more delicate flavors.

Next, we were poured a small taste of Anchor Steam Almost-Beer, fresh from the fermentor. It was still slightly sweet, with just a touch of natural carbonation, and hazy from the suspended yeast.  I loved that they served this to us – it really took advantage of being in the brewery – where else would one try this?

Our next course was my favorite of the night: Malted Barley Cake with ragout of Sonoma duck and morels, pea puree.

A “mountain of morels” would have been a better descriptor.  This dish was an abundance of riches: sweet, smooth pea puree on the bottom, a crispy fried barley cake (think risotto, with barley) and a giant pile of earthy morels to balance the sweetness below.   Texturally and flavor wise, they really knocked it out of the park.  This course was paired with Anchor’s Humming Ale.

I didn’t really care for Humming Ale when it was first released.  Maybe I’ve softened, or maybe the beer has improved a little with age, but I like it more this time than I have in the past.  It has a slightly astringent hop bite, with a long finish.  I don’t find the aroma to be particularly floral or citrus – rather it has a more distinct sharpness to it.   As for a pairing, it was OK – but with a hearty dish like this could have used a dish with a bit more body and malt backbone.  Like for example, the beer we were poured immediately following this course as a in-between courses sipper: Sierra Nevada’s Estate Ale from 2009

The hops have faded since this beer was first released, but not completely, thanks to careful handling at Sierra Nevada.  It has a thick, slightly sweet malt back that reminds me of the balance of a more east coast traditional IPA.  A outstanding beer, aging nicely.

Next up: Beef Shortrib “Carbonnade” with cippolini onions, favas, spring carrots, smoked potato puree.

This deconstructed plate was a bit disjointed, but all was forgiven for a perfectly cooked short rib.  The meat was juicy, and the steak fell apart at the mere suggestion of a for approaching.  The fat from the beef was distributed back into the well-braised meat, and nicely seared to finish.  As for the beers, this was probably the best pairing of the night: Anchor Porter and Sierra Nevada Hoptimum Double IPA.

Serving two beers with a course is dangerous – it leads to inevitably comparing the two, and there being a lesser pairing. Not so here – the two, completely different beers brought out two completely different pairings. The Anchor Porter played to the carmel flavors in the beef, and brought out the sear.  In contrast, the spritely Hoptimum Double IPA contrasted more decidedly against the texture and fat of the meat, and brought out the more herbal notes of the veggies below.  Both went nicely with the caramelized onions.

With with that, we were done with the savory side of the meal. Onto cheese – Fritz’s namesake blue:  Maytag Blue Panna Cotta, Walnut-pepper brittle, and warm cornmeal madeleines.

What a creative, fun course.  The just slightly sweetended panna cotta still packed most of the punch you’d want from the cheese.  The madeleines were warm as advertised, and balanced with the sliced kumquats.  So what to pair?

For the record – Brian Grossman – big fan of this course.

Our servers produced another dual pairing:  Vintage 2000 Anchor Our Special Ale and Sierra Nevada 2005 Bigfoot.  The aged Bigfoot was an outstanding pairing, showcasing barleywine’s natural home with big cheeses. The vintage ale was good, and nicely aged – spices fading, just a hint of oxidation, but neat to try none the less.  Sadly, it couldn’t stand up to the cheese.  I would have loved to have seen the dueling aged barleywines poured here and have Anchor’s Old Foghorn make an appearance.

Actually, Old Foghorn was about to make an appearance… sort of.

Our last course was Warm TCHO Chocolate Old Foghorn Cake with Carmel, Old Foghorn Ice Cream, Raisin Compote.  It was poured with the special beer this whole evening was all about: Fritz & Ken’s Ale, a smokey and rich Imperial Stout.

The cake featured notes pulled from Old Foghorn in both the ice cream and the sauce… perhaps too well.  It screamed for a barleywine pairing.  Luckily, there were a few drops still left from the pervious course in my glass.  This is not to slight the stout at all – it’s aggressively smokey, and just a little rough around the edges – perfect for laying down for a few years to age.  I’m a big fan.  This just wasn’t the course for it.

So – all told, how was the dinner?  As a meal and pairing dinner, it was a bit uneven – some pairings needed work, although you can’t slight them for holding back on fun beers.  As an experience, it was exceptional, and great fun.  Because at the end of it, what everyone (myself included) will remember is listening to Fritz ramble on about the birth of modern brewing, while sipping beers pulled from the back of the cellar.

Tags: Anchor, beer dinner, fritz, ken, Sierra Nevada

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