Deschutes Brewery Mountain Room - Spring Beer Dinner

Deschutes Brewery Mountain Room

Delectable Six Course Beer Pairing Dinner
Featuring Sous Chefs Tiffany Baker & Charlie Bartosekand
Brewer Pat Shea

The wife and I made it to the Deschutes Beer Dinner on Saturday, March 10, 2007. If you enjoy beer and delicious food, this dinner is well worth the $55 a head. I felt like I was part of high society being served a six course meal but then since ever course was paired with beer instead of wine, I felt fine in my jeans. I love "Bend casual".

Pairing food with beer is such a great idea and just as difficult as pairing wine to different dishes (so we were told). I'm not a huge fan of wine and I don't drink enough to know what goes well with which. But I do drink beer and it was amazing to taste the similarities among the ingredients used in the food and it's paired up beer.

When we arrived we got a glass of the UR Alt Bier which was pared up with the Passed Appetizers as well as with the Plated Appetizer.

Passed Appetizers
Spring Leeks and Prawns with Lemongrass and Ginger Aioli Bruschetta with Arugula Pesto, Prosciutto, and Truffle Honey

I was able to snag a couple prawns and one Bruschetta before we sat down. Both were great and I wish I was more aggressive in trying to get more of each. The funny thing about Prosciutto is that it's difficult to bite through especially when perched atop crunchy Bruschetta. It can be a bit awkward having to eat the entire thing in one bite or look silly all hunched over with a beer in one hand, the little cocktail napkin in the other trying to figure out what to do with half a slice of Prosciutto sticking out of your mouth. Unless you're me and just chow the entire appetizer in one bite.

Plated Appetizer
Asparagus Cilantro Gazpacho Paired with Alt Bier

UGH...definitely not my cup of tea. I'm glad that we didn't get a photo of this one. Green, cold, asparagus soup. Nothing right about this. I took a few bites and by some miracle, it actually tasted better with every sip of UR Alt that quickly followed.

I didn't finish my Gazpacho. Other people seemed to like it.

Salad
Baby Bitter Greens with Dungeness Crab, Avocado, and Cucumber Vinaigrette Paired with East Lake Extra Pale Ale

How much can you say about a salad like this, it's pretty simple. This course was really light and refreshing. I could barely taste the Cucumber Vinaigrette but I love crab. Crab = good. For a little salad, this was nice and just like the rest of the dishes, it went well with the beer. Extra Pale is not a favorite of mine, but they serve in half pints so it was over fast.

Entrée #1
Grilled Ahi Tuna with Ramps (Spring Onions), Anasazi Beans, and Charred Tomato Vinaigrette Paired with Far Rock Strong Ale

I apologize for the photo, I couldn't help but to dive right into this dish. I LOVE Ahi Tuna. They prepared it just right, it practically melted in my mouth. Soooo gooood!

Entrée #2
Porcini and Herb Crusted Rack of Lamb with Celery Root Puree, served alongside Roasted Baby Carrots and Fennel Paired with Buzzsaw Brown

Now we're cookin with Crisco! My lamb was just a touch over cooked cause I like it pretty rare. The wife's was just like I wanted so we traded a shank. The Celery Root Puree was a bit different than I'm used to. I was sort of hoping it would magically turn into some garlic mashed potatoes but then it might not have paired with the Buzzsaw as well.

By this time I was feeling pretty...pretty...pretty good. The portions were just right. After all these courses I felt just right, not stuffed but not hungry by any means.

A Trio of Bite-Sized Desserts
Bourbon Pecan Tart, Vanilla Stout Ice Cream Profiterole, Triple Chocolate Cake Paired with Imperial Stout

The wife's favorite part of the meal by far! Normally I would simply just slide my plate over to her so she can take whatever she likes. But this time I destroyed the cake and ice cream along with the 11% Stout....whooooo doggy.

Fantastic meal, beers, and experience all around. I loved it and would recommend the dinner to anyone.

Next up is the Barrel Tasting (I think you get to taste what's INSIDE the barrels). I hope there is more food at the Barrel Tasting then there was last year. I might go, might not. Dinner - yes, barrel tasting where you don't get to sit down and enjoy some food - maybe.

Deschutes Brewery Mountain Room

http://www.deschutesbrewery.com/Banquets/Upcoming+Events/default.aspx