Celebrating November 3rd , International Stout Day

Hip Hip Horray for Erin Peters  who declared November 3rd as International Stout day! @Stoutday

Being that my image has been on the bottle of Rogue Chocolate Stout for upwards of a dozen years, it behooves me to  encourage others to imbibe in this elixir--drink on the dark side, go for your inner stout, especially on November 3rd!

Why settle for just drinking your stout when you can eat it too!   Here are a few ways to celebrate  ~ all are available online and made with a stout near and dear to my International Stout Day heart!

Rogue Creamery Chocolate Stout Cheddar - The Lodge gift basket also includes Smokey Blue and other goodies selected by Rogue Creamery. The cheddar is also sold in 8oz blocks at select retailers and through online retailers.
TruffleTruffle's Beer Pretzel & Brittle collection.
Vosges Haut Chocolate's  new  Smoke + stout  chocolate bar
Valerie Confections - gift box of whiskey and stout truffles 
Capogiro  makes a special batch of Rogue Chocolate Stout gelato each year for Philly Beer Week! 

Why not brew it at home?   This 5 gallon homebrew recipe for Roge Chocolate Stout is online.   Better yet, you can celebrate twice this week since November 5th is Learn to Homebrew Day - an annual event sanctioned by the American Homebrewers Association! 

You can also bake your stout and eat it too!   Check out this recipe that Chef Bruce Aidells wrote for Bon Appetite Magazine!    Here is a fun blog post &  brownie recipe (though I have not tried it myself).   Who doesn't love a molten lava cake made with chocolate stout...

On a diet? You can also read all about it -- just remember good beer is real food!  There are dozens of dozens of reviews by the consumers on Beer Advocate  and RateBeer  and a solid thumbs-up from the  beer press in Seattle!

So join me in celebrating International Stout Day, hopefully with something very dark and highly roasted in your glass or a creation thereof on your plate.  No matter whether it has notes of chocolate malt or real chocolate added, its all about the base -- Stout!!

Prost!

The Women of Beer Dinner Oct 25th in Phila supporting Susan G Komen for the cure

I am so thrilled to be part of this charity dinner: The Women Of Beer, Tues Oct 25th at MidAtlantic Restaurant & Tap Room in Philadelphia.

Meet + greet + dine with 8 ladies in the brewing industry:
Carol & Jodi Stoudt from Stoudts in Adamstown, PA,
Suzanne Woods from Allagash in Portland, ME,
Wendy Domurat from Dogfish Head in Milton, DE
Whitney Thompson and Karen Noonan
from Victory in Downingtown, PA,
Megan Maguire from Ommegang in Cooperstown, NY and
Sebbie Buhler from Rogue Ales in Newport, OR.

Chef Daniel Stern has planned an 8 course dinner paired with 11 special beers. Cost is $150 pp all-inclusive, with $50 benefiting the Philadelphia Affiliate of Susan G. Komen For the Cure.

Quite an amazing menu and beer pairings, including a beer washed cheese from Birchrun Hills Farm --yet another reason to celebrate -- October is American Cheese Month! Have you talked to a cheesemonger today? Steve Jones of the Cheese Bar in Portland, Oregon took the 2011 Cheesemonger award!


women of beer dinner menu:

meet + mingle: small bites + snakes / victory brewing co / festbier

first: winter vegetable salad / brewery ommegang / aphrodite - brett beer with fruit

second: saffron-poached trout / brewery ommegang / hennepin - farmhouse saison

third: variations of squash / allagash brewing co / hugh malone - belgian-stye ipa

fourth: green-peppered-crusted monkfish / dogfish head / midas touch - ancient ale

fifth: dry-aged ribeye: two ways / dogfish / hellhound on my ale - double ipa

sixth: birchrun hills farm beer-washed cheese / victory brewing / otto - smoked belgian-style dubble

seventh: a taste of apple / stoudt's brewing / apple pie beer

eigth: chocolate + cramel / stoudt's brewing / london porter & rogue ales / chocolate stout



A big thanks to Evan Oxenfeldt and Chef Daniel Stern!


tags: @RogueAles @ChocolateStout @MidatlanticPHL

October is American Cheese Month

October is American Cheese Month -- a celebration of North America’s delicious and diverse cheeses, and the farmers, cheesemakers, retailers, cheesemongers, and chefs who bring them to your table. Find out more about events and participants from this link...

I have a special interest in American Cheese Month since my friends at Rogue Creamery (Central Point, Oregon) infuse Rogue Chocolate Stout beer into a cheddar cheese.

This cheese has won a hat-trick of awards at the American Cheese Society competition (2nd place in 2007 & 2008, 3rd place in 2011). Its available at select retailers, Rogue Pubs and Rogue Creamery's retail store; or you can order it online -- The Lodge gift box comes with the award winning Chipotle Cheddar, Chocolate Stout Cheddar, the world’s first Smokey Blue® Cheese, Lillie Belle Caramel-Almond Organic Dark Chocolate and 34 Degrees crispbread crackers -- a great gift idea for your favorite rogue during American Cheese Month.


Heads up to folks in Portland, OR -- on October 8th you can meet Oregon's cheesemakers during The Wedge, an annual event sponsored by the Dairy Farmers of Oregon, benefiting the Oregon Cheese Guild which will be hosted at Rogue's Green Dragon pub! Learn more about Pacific Northwest Cheeses ~ visit Tami Parr's blog and get a copy of her book.






tags: @RogueCreamery @ChocolateStout @RogueAles @CheeseSociety @34degrees @LillieBelleFarm @TheWedgePDX @greendragonPDX @pnwcheese

Craft Beer Rising to the ICC Occasion in NYC October 2-4

6th Annual International Chefs Congress (ICC) will be held at the Park Avenue Armory in NYC on October 2-2, 2011

Starchefs.com ICC theme for 2011 is the sixth sense: intuition, emotion, and experimental evolution in dining.


I am excited that Craft Beer will be at the Bar@ICC this year! Any brewery interested in participating should contact Will Blunt at the ICC office in NYC 212-966-3775, and secure your spot! Here are some details from the 2010 ICC.

The three day 2011 International Chefs Congress includes a product fair (with culinary equipment & products and craft beer!), 80 demonstrations and panels by culinary trade, for the trade, the 2nd Annual Pastry Competition (with 20 international pastry chefs), 2nd Annual Somm Slam (12 competitors compete over 3 days), the VitaMix Challenge (6 finalists go blender to blender), showcased decor by the winners of Design Competition, receptions and afterparties, and the NYC Rising Stars Gala & Awards on Tuesday evening.

from Starchefs.com, The 2011 ICC lineup includes preeminent figures in the food and beverage industry including

• Grant Achatz (Alinea),
• Andoni Luis Aduriz (Mugaritz Restaurant),
• Massimo Bottura (Osteria Francescana),
• David Burke (David Burke Kitchen),
• François Chartier, Sang-Hoon Degeimbre (L’Air du Temps),
• Curtis Duffy (Avenues),
• Pierre Hermé (Pierre Hermé Paris),
• Bill Kim (Urbanbelly and Belly Shack),
• Paul Liebrandt (Corton),
• Tony Maws (Craigie On Main),
• Ron Paprocki (Gordon Ramsay at The London),
• Gilles Verot (Gilles Verot), and
• Chris Young (Intellectual Ventures) - part of the team behind of the Modernist Cuisine!

One session on my mind is Burger Pairing Showdown: Beer vs. Wine

• Fred Dexheimer of Juiceman Consulting - New York, NY
• Adam Fleischman of Umami Burger - Los Angeles, CA
• Michael McAvena of The Publican - Chicago, IL

I have high hopes for beer and that Michael will take down Fred, so this will be interesting.

Another session that piqued my intersest is on Tuesday afternoon -- Je Ne Sais Quoi: Feminine Finesse in Mixology

• Christy Pope of Cuffs & Buttons - Brooklyn, NY
• Audrey Saunders of Pegu Club - New York, NY
• Naomi Schimek of The Spare Room - Los Angeles, CA
• Katie Stipe of Last Call Consulting - New York, NY

There are a few women on the ICC presenters rooster (including Chef Elizabeth Falkner, Chef Stephanie Izard, and many women in the wine and spirits industry). As a member of

• Women Chefs & Restaurateurs Association,
• American Cheese Society (women dominate artisan cheese!),
• Pink Boots Society -- women in the brewing industry, and the
• Brewers Association,

I take notice if women are speaking or on the rooster, and who is attending.

The Grand Finale of ICC is the Rising Stars, and it is nice to see several women chefs in the 2011 NYC lineup: Chef Hilliary Sterling of A Voce and Pastry Chef Jenny McCoy of Craft. The 2011 NYC Rising Chefs Gala and Awards Ceremony is Tuesday, October 4th.

ICC Passes are on sale now. Get your 3-day ticket (Oct 2-4) for the limited-time discount price of $450 for working restaurant pass and $795 for 3-day industry pass. October 4th -- NYC Rising Star Tickets: $150 per person; $200 VIP admission which includes private reception, tasting preview, Champagne and Petrossian caviar.

Some of my favorite companies are sponsors:

• Nueske's Smoked Meats (got Applewood Smoked Bacon!),
• Wisconsin Cheese, and
• Emmi Roth Kase

Bonus -- they all have products with umami, which strikes a cord with beer! Here is a great article by Charlie Papazian about Beer and Umami flavors (umami is the 5th sense ~ perfect flavors and pairings to bring to ICC and the 6th sense theme!) I gave a beer & umami flavors presentation at the Great American Beer Festival in 2009, albeit it was called beer and comfort food (bacon, cheese and chocolate).

Friends in the brewing industry, here is your chance to bring your beer to the culinary plate, come meet and network with the movers and shakers in the restaurant industry -- sign up as a sponsor! Chefs, Mixologists & Sommeliers, get to know your favorite brewers and their beers, encourage them to participate in ICC, and please include beer on your wine & cocktail lists!

I'll see you in Gotham at ICC. Cheers!

tags: #craftbeer @star_chefs @chocolatestout @WisconsinCheese @Nueskes @pinkbootsbeer

Rogue Chocolate Stout Gone Underground

Blog posts about beer & food can be entertaining. I feel like a fly on the wall looking at the photos and reading the menu and pairing notes, letting my mind deconstruct and capture the flavors without tasting in 3D.

Underground dining is something I have not (yet) experienced, but I enjoyed reading Darin Dines' January 15, 2011 blog post about Wolvesmouth in LA pairing an interesting selection of beer with a very eclectic menu created by Chef Craig Thornton (Wolvesmouth.com), whose online photos of other dinners he has prepared are mouthwatering!

"The affair is strictly BYOB (no corkage). Thinking that the alcohol would be wine heavy (it was heavily weighted toward reds), we opted to bring a selection of craft beers. Not knowing what the menu would be, I selected an array of beers: The Bruery Orchard White (Orange County), Ballast Point Sculpin IPA (San Diego), La Chouffe (Belgium), Stone Double Bastard Ale (San Diego), and Rogue Chocolate Stout (Oregon). " [snip -- many courses and beers later]

"This was pretty much as advertised. It was a french toast ice cream done very well. It was appropriately sweet with a hit of cinnamon spice; it totally tasted like french toast. Just as important was that it was served at an ideal temperature. It was a few degrees above frozen (almost slightly melted) so that the flavors were very apparent at that temperature. I really liked this one. We drank this with the Rogue Chocolate Stout…this would be perfect for a beer float."

Darin, I was wondering, hoping that you enjoyed Rogue Chocolate Stout with the final course:
chocolate panna cotta, chestnut purée, coffee shortbread, pear ice, coffee meringue, warm pear.

Also, thanks for bringing beer to the table! Great post, menu and musings!

tags: @darindines @wolvesmouth @chocolatestout @rogueales

CityMeals-on-Wheels Chefs' Tribute in NYC ~ June 2011

One of my favorite fundraiser events is the CityMeals-on-Wheels Chefs' Tribute. James Beard and Gael Greene founded this charity in 1981 to help feed the housebound elderly of NYC. According to the website, "Citymeals funds 30 community-based agencies that bring weekend, holiday and emergency meals to homebound elderly New Yorkers who can no longer shop or cook for themselves. During the fiscal year ended June 30, 2010, Citymeals-on-Wheels delivered 2 million meals to over 16,000 New Yorkers at times when they would otherwise have been alone & hungry."


The annual Chefs' Tribute Gala is held at Rockefeller Center in NYC in June and hosted by Patina Restaurant Group. The theme changes each year. 2011 was A Taste of Home --Star Chefs and Wineries Celebrate Family Feasts to Benefit CityMeals-on-Wheels. The menu is a who's who of restaurateurs and wineries (Forgione, Brennan, Ponzi, Stillman, and 2 dozen more!)

I served a selection of Rogue Ales (American Amber Ale, Chatoe OREgasmic, Imperial Youngers Special Bitter, Chocolate Stout) along with Smokey Blue Cheese and Chocolate Stout Cheddar from Rogue Creamery served on 34-Degree crackers. I also had a bottle of Rogue Spirits Dead Guy Whiskey available to taste. A shout-out and thanks to Candela Prol for assisting me -- we've co-taught many beer and cheese classes at Artisanal Premium Cheese.
.
The food served at Chefs' Tribute is always delicious -- how could it not be when Daniel Boulud, Jonathan Waxman, Ben Ford, Alfred Portale, Craig Koketsu, Jean-Georges Vongerichte, and Charlie Palmer are serving you! So were the cocktails that Audrey Saunders of Pegu Club coordinated with a team of guest mixologists. A number of wineries attend, along with Fuji Water. Stella and Southampton also served beer this year. It was great to meet Dick & Nancy Ponzi, legends in the Oregon wine industry.

The Hurricane Club hosted the after party, and showcased a special cocktail Barry made using Rogue Spirits Hazelnut Rum.


Some of my favorite moments are when restaurant industry folks seek out my table and share their stories about craft beer. I had a great time with this woman from Gotham Grill, and the crew from Ford's Filling Station at the after party in 2011.

A hugh Thank You to the CityMeals team for inviting me to pour beer at their fundraiser each year since 2004. Feast of Many Moons was the theme. I served Rogue's Soba Ale alongside Chef Morimoto who was next to the chefs from the Taj Hotel in Mumbai. The smell of exotic spices was infectious, as was the music and energy of the crowd dancing under the big top tent at Rockefeller Center.

Gilt Taste showcases Valerie Confections Chocolate Stout Truffles made with Rogue Ales

Online gourmet retailer Gilt Taste is selling Valerie Confections Scotch & Stout Truffles infused with 10yr old Macallan Scotch as well as Rogue Chocolate Stout -- the gift box includes 10 pieces of each (note, the photo is different quantity than the Gilt Taste gift box.)

Thanks to Los Angelenos Valerie Gordon and Stan Weightman Jr. of Valerie Confections for using Rogue Chocolate Stout, and the folks at Gilt Taste, an interactive magazine and online market, for showcasing this!


twitter tags @RogueAles @ChocolateStout @ValerieConfctns @GiltTaste