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| Trappist Beer Dinner Review at Richmond's Can Can Brasserie |
| Tuesday, 09 March 2010 00:00 |
Trappist Beer Dinner Review at Richmond's Can Can BrasserieContributed by Brian Artis
The dinner was divided into five courses, so each of the five beers were paired with a course. Like many wine dinners, the first course for the beer dinner was listed as amuse-bouche. This literally translates to mouth amusement and is a way for the chef to signal that really cool things are about to happen. The amuse-bouche reveals his style or approach to cooking before he unveils an official course. Our amuse-bouche was raw honey and toasted pistachios on a demi-baguette crustini. It was paired with Koningshoeven Blond, a Belgian Pale Ale. This particular ale has a light honey sweetness with sweet floral nectar and light fruit on the nose. It's very clean and very refreshing and was a perfect complement to the raw honey and toasted pistachios. This pairing was a perfect way to kick off the event. The first official course was olive oil poached Arctic Char. Arctic char lives in both freshwater and saltwater and is closely related to both salmon and trout. Our char was served with beer battered fennel, oyster mushrooms, prosciutto crisp and lemon-sage vinaigrette. It was paired with Orval, a hazy golden colored Belgian pale ale. This pale ale has fruit and flowers on the nose, but has pepper with hops and malt on the palate. This worked perfectly with this course. This particular beer is very drinkable and I enjoyed it almost as much as I enjoyed the Arctic char. For the second course, we were served bacon-wrapped marinated pork tenderloin with asparagus, grilled fig, chicharron and orange jus. I know that this already sounds delicious, but let's dig a little deeper. Can Can makes its own bacon--seriously. I've never had anything like it. It was really very good. Chicharron is made from fried pork rinds and is quite popular in Spain and Latin America. So, you have house-made bacon wrapped around marinated pork tenderloin complimented with, among other things, fried pork rinds. Pairing all of this with Westmalle Tripel, a dark golden Belgian Tripel ale, was like icing on a cake made from pork. I sensed strong yeast and fruit on the nose, but the taste was a bit spicy. This was a brilliant pairing. I enjoyed every ounce and every morsel. Next, we were served pan seared venison with braised collards, roasted red pepper coulis and potato pave. This was paired with a Belgian strong dark ale known as Chimay Grande Reserve or the blue label Chimay for those who drink it regularly. In a nutshell, this is a beautiful beer. The nose gives hints of dark malt with a little hops in the background. The palate is so complex that you can't help but want more. It was an awesome compliment to this course. There were so many flavors that mingled together, yet neither the beer nor the food over-shadowed the other. It was truly an amazing pairing. All good things must come to an end and sadly, this happened at the beer dinner as well. But, it ended with flare. The final course was chocolate covered cherry marshmallows with Caramel-Graham brittle and peanut butter creme. Paired with this bit of chocolate deliciousness was Rochefort 8, a Belgian brown ale. This beer is yellowish-brown in color with a very full body. The nose is sweet with black currant, plum, and raisin on the palate. This was an amazing combination of flavors and it was a great way to end the evening. I had a great time at Can Can's beer dinner. I met a lot of great people and learned a few new things about beer and food pairings. The staff at Can Can was very generous. I had the opportunity to meet the owner, one of their chefs, the sommelier, the host of the beer dinner, and quite a few members of the staff. I was even afforded the opportunity to tour the restaurant, including the kitchen. Can Can is very large and very impressive. If you haven't been yet, what are you waiting for? If their beer dinners are this awe-inspiring, imagine what a lunch, Sunday brunch or dinner must be like. I'd like to thank them again for the hospitality and I can't wait to visit again soon. Cheers!! Click here to see the evening's menu.
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| Last Updated on Monday, 08 March 2010 08:57 |
cents and tell us all about it.
Recently, I had the opportunity to attend a Trappist beer dinner at 
