Portland Beer Week
Beer & Cheese Pairing
November 4, 2012
(Beers of Oxbow Brewing & a selection of Local Maine Artisanal Cheeses)
with the Oxbow brewers and Ruth Miller "the beer & cheese maven"
(photo courtesy of Amy Fowler)
What a way to kick off Maine Beer Week... My wife and I, along with a good friend and fellow bottle forager headed up to Lion' Pride Pub in Brunswick for this event ! Brunswick ends up being about a half hour from Portland and if you have yet to make it up to this pub I would urge you to do so. Its a little less hip than Novare Res and usually a little more subdued and relaxing. The food selection is a step up and the draft list is always changing with some of the best import and domestic craft brews available in the state of Maine. In fact the owners just happens to be Chris & Jen Lively who are also the owners of the famous Ebenezer's Pub in Lovell as well ! Anyhow... we strolled in with just enough time to say hello to Chris the owner, the Oxbow crew (Tim, Geoff, Mike and Jake) and Ruth the cheese monger who put the whole event together.
The event was a great success with about 30 attendees exposing themselves to the flavors of some wonderful Maine cheeses, expertly paired with exciting brews from Oxbow. In fact one of the farms, Sunflower Farm, out of Cumberland, was in the house as well ! Everyone was seated and presented with a plate (pictured above) as well as a sheet listing the beers to be served and the order in which they should be enjoyed. As each beer was poured the Cheese Maven explained to the room the process in which each cheese was made as well as the flavor profiles and how they react to the current beer being poured. Then the brewers took the reigns and provided us a summary of the beers being served as well as the components each beer brought to the masterful pairings.
Here is the tasting menu:
Loretta- rustic blonde grisette brewed with raw wheat grown in Pittston.
Sunflower Farm "Chevre"- fresh goat milk cheese from Cumberland.
Farmhouse Pale Ale- american hops meet saison yeast
Hahn's End "Olde Shiretown"- english style raw cow cheddar from Phippsburg.
Space Cowboy- "house" country ale with nice earthy malts and noble hops
Hahn's End "City of Ships"- raw cow milk alpine style
York Hill "Capriano"- cave aged goat milk tomme from New Sharon.
Oxtoberfest - farmhouse festbier featuring german malts and hints of smoke
Hahn's End "Ragged Island"- hard aged cow milk cheese from Phippsburg.
Funkhaus - custom blend for event, brettanomyces laced beer with tropical hop notes
Spring Day Creamery "La Vie en Rose" - washed rind cow milk tomme from Durham
(1st place 2012 American Cheese Society Competition - Washed Rind Category)
Freestyle #5- black wheat saison with three wheat varieties and noble hops
Spring Day Creamery "Spring Day Blues"- cow milk raw blue cher from Durham, ME
(2nd place American Cheese Society Competition - Blue Category)
What an event... keep your eyes open for other events with Oxbow, Lion's Pride and the Beer & Cheese Maven involved. You will be glad you did !
Cheers
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