crannog dinner at rogue - part 2

last week i had the pleasure of attending a beer pairing dinner at rogue kitchen and wetbar in vancouver

the beers were from crannog ales

part 2 of 2:

rebecca and brian of crannog were on hand to tell us about the beers
and other fabulous things about their farm
they are members of slow food
and hope to attend terre madre in turin in 2012

course three:  insurrection ipa with duo of spring lamb

the dynamic lamb duo

the amazing tuna they subbed for me

served with spring pea puree, ipa fluid gel and spruce tips
(me, i got seared tuna with saffron threads and mango salsa)
i was too busy being in absolute heaven with my meal to listen to what the meat-eaters had to say about their lamby goodness
seriously, the tuna was melt in your mouth perfect, the mango salsa was the perfect juxtaposition of sweet and hot, the pea puree was like tasting spring itself and saffron threads?  i felt like royalty!
my slightly inebriated notes read:  "my meal is the bestest: mango, jalapenos, red peppers, pea stuff, saffron threads, seared tuna.  dude, i want this as my last meal... or, mebbe i wanna  be buried in it.  i wanted to lick my damned plate... my pairing worked - think it was the jalapenos... bitter was perfect!  damn my mouth tastes good!"

the others felt that the courses and beers should have been switched - the ipa with the curried pork belly and the red branch with their lamb duo

insurrection ipa and back hand of god stout

the insurrection ipa is the crannog 10th anniversary pale ale hopped up to be an ipa

and it was a thing of beauty

i enjoyed it thoroughly

course four:  back hand of god stout with black forest gateau

the coffee gelato on a bed of crunchy chocolate cake bits was perfection

i found the cake itself a bit too dry

but that's okay, i didn't need those calories anyway!

it paired really well with the back hand - chocolate with chocolate, of course it was a perfect pairing!!

bush?  is that you?!

to round out the evening we got a special extra tasting
crannog's village idiot, a half wit beer
a very coriandery little wheat
it will be on cask at the whip next week
i suggest you check it out - crisp and summery!