As I was doing some CyberMonday shopping, I came across this from the fun website ThinkGeek. Don’t know if I would order it except for a gag but thought I would pass it on to those who like to tease people at Christmas.
Egg Nog Ice Cream in Los Angeles
Yeah, I have a thing for Egg Nog lattes and ice cream (Beer too if one would be made). But I only buy them during the holiday season. Since it is that time of year and since fancy ice cream is blowing up in L.A., I went out to taste two different versions.
Starting with the Boozy Egg Nog of Jeni’s Splendid Ice Cream. This is what I expect in a cone. It has the full spice profile but it also has enough of the “boozy” party to replicate (to an extent) the full experience.
McConnell’s version tasted close to the ideal. But it was an off white cream color without any speckles to it. I felt like I had mis-ordered and gotten French Vanilla. It had the nutmeg and spice but it was a bit too mild for my taste.
Seafood and Beer
There are some good beer dinners out there but Angel City has teamed with Chef Jonathan Pimental for a 5-Course Beer Dinner that focuses on the sea.
On Wednesday, November 29th at 7:00pm, Pimental (formerly of Spago and Patina) will take guests “Down the Cape” with a “Boston inspired menu with Latin twist.”
Be prepared for the following menu:
“Ahi Tuna Stack on a crispy Potato Sope with Lima Bean Puree and finished with a fresh Mango Serrano Salsa. Other courses will showcase fresh Prawns and Maine Lobster flown in from the East Coast, each thoughtfully paired with an Angel City brew. Round-off the evening with Churro-Inspired Funnel Cakes topped with caramel shards.
BBQ Craftsman
My top three foods to pair with beer starts with burgers and pizza but BBQ is right there too. And you can sample two venerable Pasadena institutions beer and BBQ on October 18th starting at 6:30pm.
Craftsman Brewing and Brewmaster Mark Jilg is the beer half. The five-course dinner will be curated by Gus’s BBQ. The food will be paired with five Craftsman beers. Jilg will talk tasting notes, style, history and more for each beer.
Seating will be limited and purchasing advance tickets is advised.
Beer & Jerky
If you needed to combine your IPA or dark ales with jerky to make it a one-stop shop. Well NW Bierhaus has the meat for you. (They also have wine accented jerky as well).
You can get IPA in regular or hot or dark ale in regular or (you guessed it) hot. I cannot vouch for whether the difference between the two ales or spice levels is noticeable but could be a fun gift for the beer fan who you have grown tired of buying Bevmo cards for.
Zoo Beer Dinner
If you did not make it to the Brew at the Zoo this year, you can still check out the special beer made by the Brewery at Simmzy’s for that festival at Simmzy’s Zoo Brew Dinner which will feature Hasani’s Silverback Summer Ale.
To recap: “Head Brewer Brian Herbertson was invited by the Los Angeles Zoo to work with Hasani to create a beer based on ingredients sampled by the gorilla during a special tasting.”
On Wednesday, September 13th, Simmzy’s will present a four course dinner expertly paired by Head Brewer Brian Herbertson, and Advanced Cicerone Greg Bechtel. A percentage of profits form the event will benefit the Los Angeles Zoo.
Menu:
Morning Session Saison
Fresh melon and Peach salad with spring greens, goat cheese and herbed croutons
Tips Up IPA- (Citra, Mosaic, Amarillo Hops)
Fried Chicken with a creamy lemon, buttermilk sauce served with a fresh sweet corn
Hasani’s Silverback Summer Ale (Belgian Single with Blood orange)
Roasted pork tenderloin with a Blood orange sauce on a bed of wood-fire roasted green beans and crispy sweet potatoes
Simmzy’s Porter
Chocolate Mousse with fresh whipped cream and Salted caramel brittle
Hard Candy
When you can’t have beer or when you have a sweet tooth, you can try Beer-flavored hard candy? Brew Candy® “comes in a mixed bag of three tasty flavors: Honey Ale, Hoppy IPA, and Roasty Stout.”
I don’t know how they taste. I would assume the honey and roasty flavor tastes less like beer and probably are more sweet oriented. The hoppy might be interesting depending upon what hops are used or what hop flavor they were looking to emulate.
Review – Vagabond Cheese + Boomtown Beer
There is a world of cheese out there. In an alternate universe, I could see an alternate Sean writing a cheese blog instead of beer.
Of course that alternate blog would touch on beer, just like I am dancing about cheese now. Vagabond Cheese is showing up everywhere independent beer is at. Don’t believe me? Check out their calendar. It is pretty damn full.
A few days back, I finally did a guided beer and cheese pairing at Boomtown and it was really good. It is the best way to try and find cheeses that you like even though they are spendy, all without breaking the bank.
Here are the four selections that were served up:
Sbrinz AOP with What Gose Around
Ombra with Bad Hombre
Ossai-Iraty AOP with Obscura Guey
Sailnois with Submission
Boomtown meets Vagabond
The Sbrinz, to me, tasted like Parmesan without the grain. The hard cheese and the sour “grated” on me though.
The second cheese was close but not quite white cheddar-y with some butter notes. The cheese outshone the simple beer which did not add much.
The third tasting had it going. A creamy texture meets darker malt which was even better with almonds added into the mix.
There was some grain to final cheese but it also more cheddar notes which here mixed well with the banana esters from the dark Belgian golden. I would have to call a favorite tie between three and four.
Burgerim – Strike 1
The oft cited example of variety being presented but not really there is the airport bar. I have seen photos where you can see 10 Barrel, Elysian, Goose Island and others from the “High End” on tap handles. It is an illusion of choice since all are Bud owned.
I can face to face with that illusion at a newly opened Burgerim franchise in Glendale. A burger place that offers actual choice in their burgers. You can get beef, dry aged beef, chicken, Wagyu beef, turkey and so on. You have topping options as well as types of fries to have on the side.
But when it came to choice on the six tap handles, you had variety of styles but nothing independent at all. You could almost hear the conversation….
Bud Rep – You only need one delivery. We bring it all. Clean the lines. No fuss, no muss.
Franchise Owner – Well, I’ve got too much on my plate as it is and your prices are super cheap, so yeah.
That is how you get Bud Light, a pair of Goose Island beers, and a pair of Golden Road beers. Considering that Shake Shack has Brooklyn Beer on draft and solid bottle choices, My business will be tilted there.
Bartz BBQ at Boomtown
I showed up 30 minutes before the Boomtown Brewery taproom opened. Not to tour the brewery or because traffic was lighter than expected.
No, I was there to talk to Dustin Bartz of Bartz BBQ. And, yes, to taste the BBQ too.
You may have seen them set-up outside many local breweries such as Santa Monica Brew Works, El Segundo, Strand, Absolution and L.A. Ale Works
Dustin started serving up his Texas style BBQ at Absolution last 4th of July and has not slowed down since then. He catered the 7th anniversary for Strand and that was the need for his new rotating smoker came around. It has five racks and forty feet of cooking space and is his third and largest cooker in four years since embarking on his BBQ work.
The end product is great especially paired with the Cosmic Charlie Hoppy Brown. The Burnt Ends and pork worked well with the sauce (not a typical Texas thing) and the creamed corn and Mac n Cheese were awesome. And that is only the tip of the menu iceberg.
Bartz will be at Boomtown on Sundays throughout the summer.
