Chocolate...and Beer?
By Fred Eckhardt
It was 1988. People were talking about a great new idea: wine and chocolate. Experience had told me that it was a waste of time, but what about beer and chocolate? It would be fun to play with chocolate and craft beer combinations, write about it and thus earn the right to take some chocolate expenses off my taxes. Yes! And all I had to do was keep careful notes. If it didn't work, who'd care, aside from the IRS? What fun! I was delightfully surprised to find that some beers really were compatible with some chocolate, and the IRS could doggone well live with my expense sheet. I planned a tasting at the Dublin Pub, for Valentine's Day 1989, but I was a bit fearful that no one would be willing to try my combinations. I called as many chefs and brewers as I could, to get their choices. I didn't want to take all the blame. BridgePort's Karl Ockert picked chocolate chip cookies for his ale. Kurt Widmer chose Hershey's bittersweet for his Festbier. And so it went. Fred Bowman of Portland Brewing, chef George Posen and the late Jim Kennedy from Columbia Distributing all had suggestions, but the most remarkable idea was that of Greg Higgins, then Heathman Hotel executive chef, who suggested a Guinness ice cream float! This has become a national favorite, and a stout float has been a fixture at all of my tastings across the country and about the world (London and Tokyo) since that time. You can try it, too, at the Rogue Public House (1339 N.W. Flanders St.) at 6 p.m. Feb. 14 for our 18th annual tasting. Tickets are $30 at the door and $25 in advance and can be purchased at the pub or by calling 503-222-5910.
Beer News:
Mark you calendars for Saturday, February 18. The notorious Battle of the Belt rages at McMenamins Hillsdale Brewery & Public House during its 13th Annual Hillsdale Brewfest. The day-long event features eighteen delicious brews, tasty food, family fun and a competition for the Belt - an honor that includes the right to represent McMenamins at this year's Oregon Brewers Festival. McMenamins brewers present 18 beers in the infamous "Battle of the Belt".
And the beer contestants(Brewer's name) are....Pimp My Rye from Roseburg Station Brewery,(Tom Johnson)Vertical Drop from Old Saint Francis School(Mike White)Good Times from McMenamins on the Columbia Brewery(Mike Napier) Marchioness di Garibaldi from Dad Watsons Brewery(Tim Streeter)Monkey Wrench from McMenamins Queen Anne(Brian Lawrence)Witches Castle from Oak Hills Brewery(James Whelan)Krakatoa Coffee Porter from Hillsdale Brewery(John Keane) Mrs. Bryant's Black Gold from Fulton Brewery(Derek Einberger)Black Pearl from West Linn Brewery(Jeremy Wulf)Jake's Leg from Edgefield Brewery(Bruce Loux)Alternator from Thompson Brewery (Gary Nance)Contender from Highland Brewery(Ben Nehrling)Los Diablos del Paso from Cornelius Pass Roadhouse Brewery(Greg Balch, Corey Blodgett)Yürbock from the Crystal Ballroom Brewery((Craig Gulla, Jim Montgomery)Heavy Hand from High Street Brewery (Lane Fricke)Northwest Dunkelweizen from Lighthouse Brewery(Jay Webb)Commonwealth Porter from John Barleycorns Brewery(Graham Brogan)White Lightning from Concordia Brewery((Brian Riley, Tim Proctor)
It was 1988. People were talking about a great new idea: wine and chocolate. Experience had told me that it was a waste of time, but what about beer and chocolate? It would be fun to play with chocolate and craft beer combinations, write about it and thus earn the right to take some chocolate expenses off my taxes. Yes! And all I had to do was keep careful notes. If it didn't work, who'd care, aside from the IRS? What fun! I was delightfully surprised to find that some beers really were compatible with some chocolate, and the IRS could doggone well live with my expense sheet. I planned a tasting at the Dublin Pub, for Valentine's Day 1989, but I was a bit fearful that no one would be willing to try my combinations. I called as many chefs and brewers as I could, to get their choices. I didn't want to take all the blame. BridgePort's Karl Ockert picked chocolate chip cookies for his ale. Kurt Widmer chose Hershey's bittersweet for his Festbier. And so it went. Fred Bowman of Portland Brewing, chef George Posen and the late Jim Kennedy from Columbia Distributing all had suggestions, but the most remarkable idea was that of Greg Higgins, then Heathman Hotel executive chef, who suggested a Guinness ice cream float! This has become a national favorite, and a stout float has been a fixture at all of my tastings across the country and about the world (London and Tokyo) since that time. You can try it, too, at the Rogue Public House (1339 N.W. Flanders St.) at 6 p.m. Feb. 14 for our 18th annual tasting. Tickets are $30 at the door and $25 in advance and can be purchased at the pub or by calling 503-222-5910.
Beer News:
Mark you calendars for Saturday, February 18. The notorious Battle of the Belt rages at McMenamins Hillsdale Brewery & Public House during its 13th Annual Hillsdale Brewfest. The day-long event features eighteen delicious brews, tasty food, family fun and a competition for the Belt - an honor that includes the right to represent McMenamins at this year's Oregon Brewers Festival. McMenamins brewers present 18 beers in the infamous "Battle of the Belt".
And the beer contestants(Brewer's name) are....Pimp My Rye from Roseburg Station Brewery,(Tom Johnson)Vertical Drop from Old Saint Francis School(Mike White)Good Times from McMenamins on the Columbia Brewery(Mike Napier) Marchioness di Garibaldi from Dad Watsons Brewery(Tim Streeter)Monkey Wrench from McMenamins Queen Anne(Brian Lawrence)Witches Castle from Oak Hills Brewery(James Whelan)Krakatoa Coffee Porter from Hillsdale Brewery(John Keane) Mrs. Bryant's Black Gold from Fulton Brewery(Derek Einberger)Black Pearl from West Linn Brewery(Jeremy Wulf)Jake's Leg from Edgefield Brewery(Bruce Loux)Alternator from Thompson Brewery (Gary Nance)Contender from Highland Brewery(Ben Nehrling)Los Diablos del Paso from Cornelius Pass Roadhouse Brewery(Greg Balch, Corey Blodgett)Yürbock from the Crystal Ballroom Brewery((Craig Gulla, Jim Montgomery)Heavy Hand from High Street Brewery (Lane Fricke)Northwest Dunkelweizen from Lighthouse Brewery(Jay Webb)Commonwealth Porter from John Barleycorns Brewery(Graham Brogan)White Lightning from Concordia Brewery((Brian Riley, Tim Proctor)
posted by PDXBeer at 6:18 PM
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