But enough about my 8th grade math class. We’re here to talk about the five-course food and beer marathon that is the Coalhouse Beer Dinner. This past Monday, FPB scooted on down to Coalhouse for a beer dinner featuring the handcrafted libations of Oskar Blues Brewery – also known as “those beers that come in a can.”
(Note: To read a full review of the 5 Oskar Blues offerings we sampled at the dinner, check out Kyle’s post (coming shortly) where he tries to guess what kind of hops they use in each beer. I’m just going to go over everything quickly because there’s a lot going on during one of these events. K? K.)
As we settled in we were greeted by Gerard, his business partner James, and the smell of deliciousness permeating through the air. (That was probably the food, and not Gerard or James).
Out came the warmup round – Sweet potato and Beet chips with homemade Tzatziki sauce (Yes, I had to look up how to spell Tzatziki.) The chips were crunchy, salty and delicious, and the Tzatazktizkaitkzi was a perfect complement. A fine start.
Next up was the first course to be paired with a beer – a Spring Fennel Salad and Oskar Blues’ Mama’s Little Yella Pils. Kyle and I normally stay far away from vegetables, but the salad was quite good – particularly the roasted red peppers. The beer was our least favorite of the night, but hey, it’s a Pilsner. It is what it is.
Next came the Pea Soup and G’Knight Imperial Red Double IPA. Just sounds like a beer that’ll kick your ass, doesn’t it? Or at least joust you in the chest. This was my personal favorite beer of the knight (I wrote that “k” by accident, but I think I’ll leave it), paired with a great-tasting soup with nice big chunks of ham and fresh crackers made with beer.
Next, though, may have been my favorite round of all. The brewery’s flagship, Dale’s Pale Ale, was accompanied by a goat cheese, honey truffle oil, red onion, pistachio and asparagus pizza. Just awesome. The sweetness of the oil set against the tartness of the goat cheese almost made me forget about bacon. (Almost.) And the Dale’s came through mightily despite having a tough act to follow.
The goat cheese pizza wasn't baaaaaaad. See what I did there?
Yes, that’s right, we’re still eating. It’s just like long-distance running…you just have to eat through the pain. Next came lamb tenderloin on a bed of assorted veggies, accompanied by Old Chub Scottish Ale. The lamb was tasty and well-cooked, and I enjoyed the beer despite not knowing much about the style. Also, it was fun to be able to say “Old Chub” a lot.
And what is an insanely decadent meal without dessert? We finished with the mammoth TenFIDY Imperial Stout, one of the most highly regarded beers in the world of beer-dorkery, as well as ice cream made with TenFIDY on a homemade cookie. The ice cream was incredible – the brewery representative went on to tell us that they make their own ice cream from TenFIDY, but that Coalhouse’s version was even better. Suffice to say, I was a clean-plater.
This is what beer looks like.
It was a great time, with excellent food and drink, and I’m still full. I don’t think Coalhouse OR Oskar Blues has seen the last of me.
Until next time,
Ryan
P.S. Oh yeah - We got to take home pint glasses and beer coozies from the brewery! Gotta love that swag!
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