Beer Brunch 2011

It's over, again. Only 365 more days until the next one! Here's the menu....


Shipyard's XXXX IPA with grilled shrimp and pineapple tostadas. (The original beer match was Liberty Street's 42nd Parallel IPA, but it was a limited release and we were unable to acquire more.)
Mr Cicerone's Maibock with horseradish deviled  eggs. (Wow!) (It was supposed to be deviled DUCK eggs, but sadly the promised duck eggs did not actualize.)
Mr Cicerone's "Buster 2010" Uber Doppelbock with grape and almond gazpacho. (This soup was really delicious and different. Green grapes, a little cucumber, toasted almonds, yoghurt, buttermilk, cream cheese, a little cayenne and fresh dill, pulverized together, and garnished with fresh red currants. We tried many beers with this dish, and only something as intensely flavoured as the chosen uber doppelbock could stand up to the soup!)
Mr Cicerone's Nugget Pale Ale with duo of toasts & marmalades (Avalon Bakery rye sourdough with blood orange marmalade, and Avalon sublimely-superbly-spectacular brioche loaf with tangerine marmalade.) (This course came about as Mr Cicerone was pondering what might taste great with his Nugget pale ale "which tastes like toast & marmalade") (Note: Trying to have 34 pieces of hot toast arrive at the table at the same time was not necessarily fun.)

Arbor Brewing's Sacred Cow IPA with chick pea curry. (Oh, look! There's Rene & Matt Greff! What a coincidence! For those unaware, they are about to open a brewpub in Bangalore, India, where Sacred Cow IPA will be renamed Raging Elephant IPA.)
Mr Cicerone's Rye Peppercorn Pale Ale & Stone Brewing's Smoked Porter with truffled macaroni & cheese. An oldie but a goodie. We used a Michigan cheese called "Truffle Jack" that had huge pieces of black truffle dispersed through it! Both beers were spectacular with it, especially the smoked porter!

INTERMEZZO Honey ginger-wheat beer paletas. 

Mr Cicerone's Cask-conditioned Stout with crawfish etouffee.  Laissez les bon temps rouler!

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Mr Cicerone's Atmospherium Saison with miso-dressed cucumbers over soba noodles. A favourite amongst the attendees.

Schlenkerla Rauchbier with bacon, lettuce, & tomato on Laugenbrotchen with chipotle mayo. That would be Nueske applewood-smoked bacon, home-grown Caspian Pink tomatoes, arugula, and home-made mayo made with some of the bacon fat and chipotle oil. (A grueling 30 minutes of continuous hand-whisking the day before. Worth it!)

Dessert:  Dragonmead's Sin Eater Belgian strong ale & vanilla ice cream float. 

Kitty dressed for the occasion

Mr & Mrs Cicerone, thanking everyone who came!