Ramekins Brewmaster Dinner

This Saurday I had the fortune to attend the Ramekins Brewmaster’s Dinner in Sonoma.  This dinner was actually a demonstration cooking class and proved to be quite a fun evening full of tasty food, beer and a lot of education. 

Ramekins in a culinary school and event center located near downtown Sonoma. For the Brewmaster’s dinner, Chef Chris Jones from The Girl and the Fig came in with his staff to prepare a five course menu. This menu was developed with Lagunitas beers in mind, with Ron Lindenbush of Lagunitas doing the final pairing once the menu was created.

Chef Chris Jones breaking down the beef in the fourth course

The classroom is basically a kitchen with a large seating area for students to sit at tables facing the chef while he works with video screens above the cooking area showing the cutting board and stove burners. My first impression upon sitting down was that I felt like I was on the set of a cooking show. In front of each attendee was a handout which included the menu for the evening as well as recipes for each dish to be prepared.

The first course began with Lagunitas Pils paired with Mussels, Cream and Saffron Soup with Fall Vegetables and Country Bread. This dish came together in only a few minutes, with all of the prep and cooking taking place on the spot.  I was amazed at how quickly the dish was prepared. The dish was an excellent way to start the meal although I thought the Pils was a little too aggressive for the softer flavors of the soup.

The next dish was the Atlantic Diver Scallop with Crispy Pork Belly, Savoy Cabbage Purée, Baby Carrots, Red Pearl Onions and Pork Reduction paired with the Censored Ale. There is utter and complete happiness in the form of food, and it is pork belly. The scallop was pretty amazing as well.  Together, the carmelized flavors of the seared meats went perfectly with the amber Censored Ale. This one ran out to a huge early lead in terms of my favorite courses.

The third course was a Boudin Blanc Sausage with Flageolet Beans, Applewood Smoked Bacon and Pommery Mustard Sauce. Lagunitas IPA was chosen to go along side this dish.  Chef Chris taught us a cool way to make sausages at home using plastic wrap instead of natural casing. While this dish appealed to me on the menu, the pairing just didn’t come together for me. The components were all very well done, I just didn’t get that result that makes a great pairing stand out.

The fourth course I was looking forward to since I heard about the event. the opportunity to try a 3 year vertical of Gnarlywine is always something to look forward to, but Ron surprised us all and brought an extra case, this time of 2006 Gnarlywine making it a four year vertical. I guess I couldn’t contain myself as Chef Chris turned to me while the beer was being poured and simply said “You’re smiling.” Yes, I was beaming.

On the plate was Flemish Beef Stew with Lagunitas IPA-Braised Beef, Prunes and Vegetable Purée. The pairing of these beers and dish was a lot of fun as you had 4 beers to taste against one dish. While the 2008 and 2006 competed for my favorite beer on their own, with the stew, the 2006 was a hand down winner. It was almost as if these two were made for each other as the rich maltiness of the aged barleywine was mirrored in the richness of the stew. The younger Gnarlywines had more hop snap to their flavor with bit against the flavors in the stew a bit too much, but were still tasty partners.

The final course was Profiteroles with Vanilla and Coffee Ice Cream, Topped with Bittersweet Chocolate Sauce with Cappucino Stout. The Cappucino Stout for 2009 has yet to be brewed so we were served the 2008 bottles which really smoothed out with the age. Along side the desserts, the beer almost turned into an iced coffee sweetness of the dish took over. I personally preferred the vanilla with the stout but wouldn’t send back the coffee either. I also took a taste of the vanilla with the 2008 Gnarlywine and found this to be a suitable pairing as well.

Ron preaching the gospel of good beer

In the end, the course was full of a lot of information about cooking and beer.  Ron did a great job of explaining the process of brewing beer to the crowd, even bringing samples of malted barley and hops so everyone could get an idea of where beer starts.

Ramekins puts on other course similar to this one, so keep an eye out or visit their website for more cooking courses.

Chef Chris Jones, Beer Weasel Ron Lindenbush and me.