from theweeklybrew
Usually I don’t get to excited about brewers dinners. They’re usually way overblown affairs where you eat courses made with beer as an ingredient, and served that beer as a beverage to accompany the course. Not an unusual idea. Heck, go to a Packers game and they’ll serve you the same BMC as the sausage was boiled in. It’ll also be cheaper at a Packers game. The fare is usually top notch, unlike tailgate food, but for the prices charged I’d rather stay at home and dine with family and friends.
All that to say Venti’s is hosting a brewers dinner on October 18. The brewery is Ft George, and the price is $40. If your interested here’s what’s being dished up.
- Appetizer: Braised tornado of lamb and grilled salmon mousseline, paired with Vortex IPA
- Salad: Frisee, radicchio, watercress, & arugula, tomato with salt pork lardons and fresh croutons with a Divinity Ale vinagrette, paired with Divinity Ale
- Entree: Duck Fat braised short ribs with a lamb and stout beer demi & celery root puree, paired with Cavatica Stout
- Dessert: Chocolate Torte paired with Coffee Girl Espresso Stout
There are only 40 spots available, so if you want in call Venti’s or stop by. Ticket sales for it start September 23
Venti’s
325 Court St NE
Salem, OR
tel. 503-399-8733
Tags: Brewers Dinner, Ft George, Venti's
Sounds pretty damn good! What’s the cost for this shindig?
“The brewery is Ft George, and the price is $40”
You know, when I first saw the Ventitweet, I hoped it would be with regular venticuisine. Good bar food and good beer. That’s perfect. This is too much in the winemaker dinner model – too fancy, too much beer-is-like-wine. Will Venti’s devote four full taps to these beers and pour them for a while after the dinner? Brown’s has the Ninkasi focus, and it’d be cool for Venti’s sometimes to throw a little focus on the taplist now and then.
Hmmmmm….. Troubling thoughts! Beer is beer, wine is wine, but both are used in cooking and can be paired with food. In many countries beer has been used in cooking for thousands of years and very often paired with a meal or course….. just like Wine. We can’t separate they’re attraction in culinary circles based on the American vision of beer being a working class/pedestrian beverage that’s only paired with simple pedestrian foods. That’s a narrow scope, left over from the Big Commercial Beer generations. Oh, and current NASCAR fans… ;-}
Why would we want to dumb down beer and the multitude of culinary acquisitions. This isn’t your daddies old Shlitz and a bag of beer nuts.
Here’s a respectable Beer Dinner for those who understand the culinary possibilities of beer. Too pretentious? I think they still sell cheap beer and peanuts… ;-}
Toronado Belgian Beer Dinner
First Course
Charcuturie Platter
homemade pork pate infused with Rochefort 8 soaked figs and pistachios, Chimay Red duck rillettes, easter egg radishes, De Ranke Père Noël poached bosc pears, dried apricot and Hanssens Oude Gueuze mustard and with local breads
Petrus Oude Bruin
Affligem Noel
Second Course
poached white asparagus, black truffles, watercress, black trumpet mushrooms, fennel pollen with a Orval emulsion
Orval
Third Course
Kriek Marbled Foie Gras
Drie Fonteinen Schaerbeekse Kriek marinated foie gras tourchon, mache leaf, De Struise Pannepot ‘caviar’, black flaked sea salt, hibiscus Drie Fonteine Oude Geuze Syrup
Chimay Grand Reserve 3L 2001
Drie Fonteinen Schaerbeekse 2005
Fourth Course
Potato and Leek Soup
purple potatoes pureed with local leeks, Fantôme La Dalmatienne and organic cream
De Ranke XX Bitter
Fifth Course
Duck Braised in Consecration
duck legs infused with Russian River Consecration cooked sous vide with leeks. shallots, thyme, currants, dried sour cherries, topped with a duck Consecration demi-glace and
almond oil powder
De Dolle Oerbier Reserva 2002
Rodenbach Grand Cru
Sixth Course
Pork Belly
Serafin Grand Cru cured Sonoma pork belly with Temptation-pickled brussels sprouts slaw topped with a date, prune & fig Scaldis Noel bbq sauce
Du Pont Avec Les Bons Voeux
De Blaugies Darbyste
Seventh Course
Assorted Belgian Cheeses
Affligem Trappist style, made with beer, cow’s milk
Chimay rind washed with Chimay, cow’s milk
Orval med. soft, Trappist style, cow’s milk
Pate à Chouffe soft rounds, made with a Chouffe, cow’s milk
Petrus med. firm, made with Petrus, cow’s milk
St Bernardus med. hard, made with Watou beer, cow’s milk
Val Dieu Trappist stype, med. hard, made with Val Dieu, cow’s milk
Westvleteren small rounds, made with Westvleteren beer, cow’s milk
Westvleteren softer cheese, not made with beer, cow’s milk
rhubarb and Rodenbach Grand Cru jam, Saucerful of Secrets wort honey, marinated pearl onions, cinnamon & clove smoked almonds, grapefruit zest celery salt and bruges biscuits
Cantillon Iris
Achel Trappist Extra Bruin
Eighth Course
Hop Shoots
lightly blanched tender hop shoots from Moonlight Farms with a bone marrow &
Cantillon Iris gastrique
Poperings Hommel Bier
Ninth Course
Moinette & Marin Butter Poached Lobster
sliced on a disc of quail egg pain perdu with Tripel Karmeliet & duck fat aioli and
a green herb sauce
Westmalle Tripel
Mauleur Bière Brut
Tenth Course
Cod and Mussel Waterzooi
carrots, spring leeks, baby fennel, fingerling potatoes, Brugse Zot, fish stock and local cream
Dupont Foret
Eleventh Course
Scaldis Prestige Spiked Crème Brulee
beer reduction infused with Belgian sugars and vanilla beans
and Fresh Raspberries
De Struise T’sjeeses
Twelfth Course
It’s Wafer Thin…
Belgian madelines with orange peel and grains of paradise,
Delirium Noel caramel dark chocolate truffle,
Cascade Apricot Ale crème scented with crystallized ginger and
candied tangerine peel in dark chocolate shell,
Valley Brewing Quad Caramel in milk chocolate truffle
Cantillon Lou Pepe Framboise 2006 injected first of the season
strawberries dipped in dark chocolate
De Struise Black Albert
Firestone Walker Saucerful of Secrets 2007
(Kind of makes Venti’s beer dinner look like chip beef on toast, but at least they’re trying)
@Beer-Sentric
I gained weight reading that menu. I understand beer and wine are used in cooking. However I dont pair the same wine I use to deglaze the pan when making lamb stew. Honostly, I’m a simple man. I’ll take some homemade Dahi Murg paired with my favorite blond or pilsner anyday over something that’s that many courses. My philosophy is simple, good beer, with good food, and good friends. Nowhere in that philosophy is there a meal plan full of courses and little glasses of beer 🙂
@CapitolTaps
I felt the same way. I would love to see them cook their yellow curry with some hop shoots and pair it with a nice british IPA, or take their Thai Peanut Bowl and see what kind of beer twist they could add. I passed on that thought of making the next one they do more of a Venti’s thing to Leslie and she agreed with it.
Jared,
Don’t limit yourself to being just a “Simple Man!” You’re exploring the world of beer beyond a simple man, so it’s time to explore your food palate too! You need to redefine your thoughts on what “Good Food” and “Good Beer” can really be.
It sounds like your palate is ready for something beyond!
Remember, the Simple Man drinks Budmilloors and doesn’t deviate. You do! British pub food is nice, but there’s a whole new world to explore.