I have caught a bug. I am getting addicted to beer events. Whether that is going to a beer festival, a beer tasting, or especially a beer dinner I want to go to more. A while back I went to a dinner at Port Fonda in Westport down the street from McCoy's and Harpo's. Having read the menu I got really excited. Boulevard Brewing and Port Fonda paired a few beers with Mexican style dishes. I heard about this dinner through the interwebs and wanted to jump on it as quick as I could. I also saw an opportunity to spend some great time with my father doing something we both enjoy, drinking good beer and eating good food. While neither of us had been to Port Fonda or the food truck it had been before it became a restaurant, we figured it would be at least decent because the good people at Boulevard were pairing their beer with it.
I showed up a little early to Port Fonda and sat at the bar. This place is a smaller venue but still very nice. The bar tenders and wait staff are really nice and helpful. The bar itself even had margaritas on tap and had mezcal flights. I will more than likely want to come back to the restaurant some time soon.
My dad arrived and we enjoyed a beer before the festivities started. I had a Tank 7 and he had an Irish Ale (Of course we raised a glass in celebration of quality time). After that we walked back to the area where people are gathering for the dinner. We started meeting a couple of really cool people. This was aided by the proximity of those around us because we were snugly seated at the table.
After the group settled, the Boulevard guys and the owner/chef from Port Fonda came out welcoming us and letting us know what they had in store for us. (The picture to the left is courtesy of Chef Explore KC) Before I jump in though I want to share an observation I had right before the first course was set down. Jeremy Danner, Steven Pauwels, and David Colgan all sat down and when the first beer of 80 Acre was set down, they reached for the glass and as if by reflex they brought the glass to their nose and sniffed. I found this interesting because while some might take a sniff of their beer every now and then, these guys were enhancing the flavor of the beer by smelling a beer that they have consumed a lot of over the years and they did this by muscle memory having done this for years and years. But then came the first course:- 1st course: 80-Acre Hoppy Wheat Beer paired with frito mixto (mixed fried tripe, seafood, vegetables, chiles with roasted serrano mayo)
- The Frito Mixto is a made with Tripe (Beef Stomach) gave me pause but I took a stab at it and rest of the plate. With the Serrano Mayo this plate had a kick but was a pretty good appetizer.
- The 80-Arce Hoppy Wheat cut the heat of the appetizer. This is a good beer as transition between wheat beers and IPAs. The dry hop of the beer is refreshing and I learned that it is made with two varieties of hops, Cascade and Nelson.
- 2nd course: Saison-Brett paired with tostada de moronga (wood-oven roasted blood sausage and clams with blood orange and roasted beet salad)
- The tostada was really interesting and got me out of my comfort zone with the blood sausage and beets and I was happy for it! They were good.
- Saison-Brett is a Smokestack limited release that also happens to be Jeremy's favorite. This is a very good beer that exemplifies how a very positive use for Brettanomyces, a variety of yeast usually causing off or bad flavors in a beer. If I were you I would keep an eye out for this beer in late May/early June.
- 3rd course: Pop-Up I.P.A. paired with vuelve la vida (seafood and chorizo stew)
- The vuelve la vida or return to life stew was really good with all sorts of seafood in it. Crab and mussels cooked in the shell. Shrimp, scallops, and chorizo thrown in a nice broth. Spicy but real good. The couple we sat next to used the term, "Amazeballs!" So you know, there's that.
- Pop-Up IPA is a session beer and IPA. This means that it will have the lighter body and lower ABV of a session beer, and the pleasantly bitter profile of an IPA. This a real good beer that complemented the stew well.
- 4th course: Long Strange Tripel paired with chicharrones (belly-on pork chicharrones with tomatillo, poached egg and hollandaise)
- I don't know what it is about Eggs-Benedict-like food that I really like and this was no exception. The Hollandaise was very creamy and I couldn't get enough of the pork.
- Long Strange Tripel is always very good and I really like how this beer starts sweet and ends dry. You wouldn't know you are drinking a 9.2% beer. Definitely go get this beer as a year round Smokestack.
- 5th course: Imperial Stout paired with donas de requeson (ricotta doughnuts with spiced hot chocolate sauce)
- The doughnuts we got were covered in chocolate sauce and they were very delicious! One of the people we sat next to literally said, "I don't know what words are anymore! Uhhhhhh...." The doughnuts just melted in your mouth and I was left wanting more.
- Boulevards Imperial Stout is really good with a sweet vanilla flavor combined with the char and roasted malt flavors bring a good espresso note to the beer. Very well paired with the chocolaty goodness that was the doughnuts.
I really like meeting new people and this dinner at Port Fonda allowed me to do that. I got to meet great people that we sat next to. I learned about places like The Rieger Hotel & Exchange, the Grunauer, and the soon to open Bridger's Bottle Shop in Westport. We also discussed the difference between a beer dork or nerd and being a beer snob. They are great people and I hope to see them around sometime. After the dinner the brewers made themselves available to everyone to answer questions and for photo ops. I got to meet Jeremy, David, and Steven from Boulevard, and Steven introduced me to Steve Bradt and Seth Sanchez, brewers from Free State Brewery in Lawrence, KS. If I noticed one thing from each of these great guys was that passion was the recurring theme in conversation. They have a passion for making and drinking great beer, but beyond that they have a tremendous passion for showing others their craft and the fruits of their labor. These guys were even encouraging my passion for craft beer. This passion is growing in me with every day that goes by and with every beer I drink.
The good food, great beer, and wonderful people are reasons why I am becoming addicted to beer events all around the city.
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