This past Monday, Ingrid and I had the pleasure of attending a beer dinner with Garrett Oliver, the brewmaster for Brooklyn Brewery providing the libations and Matt Jennings of La Laiterie creating some culinary magic to finish off the pairings. The event was held at the newly expanded La Laiterie in Providence and this was the first time that both Ingrid and I have dined in the new space. The event kicked off with a reception in the new addition…appoximately 30 of us were treated to a series of hors d’oeuvres paired with Brooklyn’s Local 1 Beer. Everything was impeccable and paired nicely with the beer…some standouts were the house smoked pork jowl and salami and the potato and beer waffles topped with onion jam, black pepper, creme fraiche and maple syrup…all while soaking in the views of the store’s new cheese cave! After the last rounds of hors d’oeuvres, we made our way to our table and to our surprise, we were seated with Jennifer and Michael from Last Night’s Dinner and A Dash Bitters. I’ve been reading their blogs for a little while now (I suggest that you do the same!) and it was nice to finally meet them and put a face to the name(s). Over the next two hours, we were treated to a number of amazing beers and foods…most notably Brooklyn’s Manhattan Project and Wild 1 beers and Matt’s main course- beer brined pheasant, leg confit roulade with butternut squash, roasted fall vegetables and pheasant jus…the Manhattan Project is a draft-only limited edition beer that was created to taste like the Manhattan cocktail…and what an approximation indeed! It had all the subtle notes of it’s model and all the qualities of a well-built beer as well…sounds confusing, but it wasn’t and it went extremely well opposite the warm autumn salad that was paired with it. The Wild 1 beer is something that was apparently a by product of some shipping issues and based on the Local 1 beer that we had during the reception. It had some sour notes, but not overwhelming, quite pleasing on the palate and it complimented the pheasant without overwhelming it…and oh, the pheasant! The leg confit roulade was one of the best things I’ve had in a while (not to outshadow the rest of the plate) and was probably my favorite of the night! All in all, it was a great experience and it looked as though everyone enjoyed themselves thoroughly!
-Josh
