Left Hand Brewery Beer Dinner at the Red Room, Denver
Beers sampled, menus decided and the evening’s speakers finalized, the inaugural Great American Beer Festival Dinner Series, sponsored by DRAFT Magazine, is set to take place in conjunction with the 26th edition of the world-famous beer festival. Left Hand Brewing Company and the Red Room Restaurant & Bar in Denver have joined forces for an amazing evening of unbelievable food and delicious brews.
To be held on Thursday, October 11th, the evening will be highlighted by guest speakers Eric Wallace, President and Co-Founder of Left Hand Brewing Company, and Scott Kerkmans, Beer Director for DRAFT Magazine.
For an all-inclusive $45, diners can expect a spectacular 5-course dinner paired with 5 world-class brews. Executive Chef Christopher Cina, formerly of Fourth Story Restaurant & Bar and an American Culinary Federation Chef of the Year Finalist in 2006, has set the bar for all future beer dinners with the below menu:
Course #1 - Butternut Squash Puree, with ginger scented Kecap Manis sauce. Paired with Juju Ginger Ale, a light ale brewed with organic ginger root to create a spicy aroma and unique flavor.
Course #2 - Altlantic Salmon cured with Haystack Wheat, preserved lemons and red onion Confit. Paired with Haystack Wheat, an unfiltered wheat beer with the classic accents of banana, cloves and nutmeg.
Course #3 - Brown Sugar Roast Pork Loin, Mustard Spaetzle, Walnuts, and Mushroom Jus. Paired with Polestar Pilsner, a zesty German-style pilsner with a dry, crisp finish.
Course #4 - Petite Shoulder Tender, Charred Tomato Ragout, Lentils and Buttered Leeks. Paired with Sawtooth, Left Hand’s amber ale that is the perfect balance between malt and hops.
Course #5 - Mocha Chocolate Pot de Crème, with Candied Orange Zest. Paired with Milk Stout, a sweet stout that is alive with roasted malt and coffee flavors.
Beer & Food lovers can buy tickets for the evening by either visiting www.lefthandbrewing.com and clicking on the Shop link at the site, or by swinging by the Red Room @ 320 E. Colfax Avenue in Denver and purchasing good-old-fashioned paper tickets.
Celebrating fourteen years of brewing a well-balanced portfolio of craft beers, Left Hand Brewing Company is located at 1265 Boston Avenue in Longmont, Colorado. The brewery’s beers are now available in 25 states and select countries throughout Europe. For more info, check out www.lefthandbrewing.com or call the brewery @ 303-772-0258.
The Red Room Restaurant & Bar is one of Denver’s Capitol Hill area’s most progressive restaurants, with a unique and creative vibe all to itself. With its blood-red walls and two-story lounge, the cozy neighborhood restaurant invites you in to enjoy it’s artistic flair, its laid back staff and clientele, and it’s downright tasty fare. For more info, check out www.redroombar.com or call (303) 830-7050.
Having just had its first birthday, DRAFT Magazine is helping educate the American public about the craft beer culture and lifestyle. It is published bi-monthly and can be picked up at Barnes & Nobles and Borders bookstores around the country. Get more details at www.draftmag.com.
This year’s Great American Beer Festival will present over 1800 different beers from over 400 US breweries, running from October 11th – 13th @ the Colorado Convention Center. Get details at www.greatamericanbeerfestival.com.
I need to preface my remarks to this pairing dinner by saying that it coincided with my first trip to the 26th Great American Beer Festival (GABF), October 11th – 12th, 2007 in Denver, which I attended with my son and a good brewing friend.
For the uninitiated, the GABF is the mother ship of all beer festivals held in the United States. It is also a massive event that sold out all of it’s 29,000 plus tickets to the four separate sessions prior to the event.
I found out about the dinner on the Beer Advocate Website, the best website that exists about beer and the publishers of ‘Beer Advocate’, the quintessential magazine about all things beer. I purchased our tickets to the dinner by calling the Left Hand Brewery, which was a pleasant experience as their staff was very knowledge about the diner and promptly returned phone messages! What a great staff to deal with!
I feel fortunate that we were able to attend the Left Hand Pairing Dinner at the Red Room, as it was limited to forty people and we were just plain folks without any beer connections.
The dinner was hosted by Draft Magazine, with Scott Kerkman, the Draft Magazine Beer Director, and Eric Wallace, the President of Left Hand Brewery the scheduled guest speakers. Unfortunately, Scott was dressed in a complete Scottish Kit as he had to run back and forth to the Colorado Convention Center to attend the GABF opening ceremonies, which coincided with the dinner, and had to miss most of the proceedings.
Eric Wallace, President of Left Hand Brewery, was the superstar of the evening as he was personable and friendly and made a point to speak to each person that attended the pairing dinner. He made everyone feel as if the Red Room was his own dinning room and as his guests we were in for a wonderful dining experience. Eric is forever in my debt, as he was also able to teach my son that one never drinks beer straight from the bottle!
Prior to each course, Lucas, a Red Room Mangaer, and the other very capable Red Room Staff members served each person a fresh glass of the next beer course and then both Eric and Christopher Cina, the Red Room Executive Chef, spoke about the beer and then explained the thought and reasoning behind the course selection. Eric also required that at least one person stand and give a toast between courses. That is a really nice icebreaker that I am stealing.
Course #1 - Butternut Squash Puree, with ginger scented Kecap Manis sauce. Paired with Juju Ginger Ale, a light ale brewed with organic ginger root to create a spicy aroma and unique flavor.
The Kecap Manis sauce added a unique dimension to the Butternut Squash Puree and made it soar! I can only hope that when I try to recreate this at my next beer paring dinner that it comes close.
Course #2 - Altlantic Salmon cured with Haystack Wheat, preserved lemons and red onion Confit. Paired with Haystack Wheat, an unfiltered wheat beer with the classic accents of banana, cloves and nutmeg.
This one was the showstopper! My son, the fish hater, really enjoyed this dish and has spoken of both the salmon and the onion confit a few times since the dinner.
Course #3 - Brown Sugar Roast Pork Loin, Mustard Spaetzle, Walnuts, and Mushroom Jus. Paired with Polestar Pilsner, a zesty German-style pilsner with a dry, crisp finish.
Mutard spaetzle…mustard spaetzle …three cheers for mustard spaetzle! The mushroom au jus put the pork loin over the top.
Course #4 - Petite Shoulder Tender, Charred Tomato Ragout, Lentils and Buttered Leeks. Paired with Sawtooth, Left Hand’s amber ale that is the perfect balance between malt and hops.
Sorry I was still thinking about the mustard spaetzle and my son ate my portion while I was speaking with Eric Wallace.
Course #5 - Mocha Chocolate Pot de Crème, with Candied Orange Zest. Paired with Milk Stout, a sweet stout that is alive with roasted malt and coffee flavors.
Stick a fork in me!!! I give up!!! I can now die a very happy man!!! Served in espresso cups the candied orange zest made this one sing! If I had one critique, it would to suggest that Chris replace the powdered sugar with a dusting of cocoa powder or finely ground espresso beans to contrast better with the white plating and whipped cream.
During the dinner, I found that Chef Chris Cina is relatively new to the Red Room. When I return to Denver, I will make a point of stopping by for dinner as I think that the Red Room has a superstar in the back of the house. If one lives in Denver then put the Red Room on your “places to go this year†list.
My only regret was that I was not able to thank Scott Kerkman in person for Draft Magazine’s hosting of the pairing dinner, but he is on my still uncompleted Thank You list
I left the dinner with a much better appreciation of the Left Hand Brewery, as Eric Wallace was able to clearly explain their brewing philosophy and was able to clearly define their simple mission statement of ‘Let’s make some great beer.†Their beers were indeed great at the dinner, and at all other times, and are a superior ingredient to any paring diner.
I will remember this event for years to come and have added this to my list of very special dining experiences.
Respect Beer!
Tom