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Back in January I was lucky enough to represent Flying Dog Brewery at the Big Beers, Belgians and Barleywines festival in Vail. It’s definitely one of the perks of being in the craft beer industry. Friday night was their Brewmasters’ Dinner, and Odell and Lost Abbey beers were featured. I met Tomme Arthur (the man in charge over at Lost Abbey and Pizza Port), and we talked a little bit about the event. I later emailed him and he was kind enough to respond. The menu from the dinner is below, with our email conversation beneath. I shot photos at the event, and you can click on any of them to be directed to a larger image.

Opening Reception - Paired with Odell Double Pilsner and Lost Abbey Lost & Found
Caviar Station
Hot Soup Station
Authentic Rocky Mountain Oysters
Carolina Pulled Pork Sliders

Second Course - paired with Odell IPA and Lost Abbey Ten Commandments

Baja Shrimp Gazpacho with Spicy Tortilla Sticks

Third Course - paired with Odell Imperial Stout and Lost Abbey Veritas 002*

Tenderloin wrapped with Pancetta bacon, served with Star Anise Marinated Quail Breast - served with parsnip puree and chocolate port reduction

*Veritas 002 is blended Sour Ale with Redstone Meadery’s Raspberry Mead

Fourth Course - paired with Odell Extra Special Red and Lost Abbey Veritas 001**

Warm Cambazola cheese in filo with lavender honey and poached pear

** Veritas 001 is blended Strong Ale with cherries

Fifth Course - paired with Odell Doppelbock and Lost Abbey Angel’s Share
Dessert station (chocolate cake, paradiso, chocolate opera torte, tiramisu, white passion, chocolate marquis, ice cream chocolate truffles)

How long did it take to come up with the menu for the beer dinner? How much interaction did you have with each other?

Tomme: We were responsible for selecting beers that we thought would “WOW” the crowd, match the other brewer’s offerings and could work well with food. In this respect, we selected some unique beers that we felt afforded the chefs an excellent opportunity to find matches with our beers. We offered our assistance but as we weren’t at the reviewing of the beers with the chef and Doug Odell, there wasn’t much input from us towards to the food.

Which course/pairing did you think worked best? Why? Are there any changes you would have made in retrospect? I personally thought the pancetta wrapped tenderloin with the chocolate sauce paired wonderfully with the imperial stout and veritas 002, even though they were such different beers. Great to know that the same meal can be paired with a few different styles of beer.

Tomme: I really loved the meal. It was a huge risk reward sort of night. There were so many opportunities to find slam dunks. I really enjoyed the Odell’s Imperial Red Ale with the Phylo. I think the Veritas 002 was great with the Tenderloin. I also think the 001 would have been great with this as well.

It was a large beer dinner (I heard 200 total people) - what were the difficulties in putting something like this together? Was it the largest beer dinner you’ve put on?

Tomme: It was about the biggest dinner I think I have been associated with directly. We have done larger dinners where one of our beers was involved. All in all, it goes down as one of the most ambitious beer dinners I have been associated with. I’d like to thank Chef Mercer for going above the board on this one.