Belgium VS Michigan Beer Dinner at Roast

Michael Symon's Roast, this past Tuesday.

1st course
HOUSE MADE CHARCUTERIE
A feast of meat and fat. Mmmm. Two types of house-made sausage (the lamb sausage was lean, spicy and marvelous), finochionna, a couple of other thinly shaved cured meats, cured pork jowl (oh my!), and cured duck fat. Some great pickled onions and peppers to go with. And crostini.
BEERS
"BATTLE of the WILD ALE"
DE RANKE CUVEE DE RANKE (Belgium) VS JOLLY PUMPKIN LA ROJA (‘Twas the bourbony Blend 8, 2009)
To be fair, this was comparing apples to oranges. Both are wild ales, but very different, and both are excellent beers. So, no vote for us. The La Roja did pair better with the charcuterie.
"BATTLE of the BIERE DE GARDE"
LA CHOULETTE LES SANS CULOTTES (Belgium) VS LEELANAU GOOD HARBOR GOLDEN
Charles’ beer wins, hands down.

2nd course
MUSSELS STEAMED IN FARMHOUSE ALE with CHORIZO AND ORANGE
Great dish. The mussels were plump and tasty, the broth great, and the chorizo (Spanish, dry cured) was a great addition.
BEERS
"BATTLE of the SAISON"
SAISON DUPONT (Belgium) VS JOLLY PUMPKIN BAM BIERE
We had to go with Dupont. It’s a classic, and always superb. Both beers were great with the mussels, although the Dupont’s spiciness and pepper notes had the edge over Bam.
"BATTLE of the TRIPEL"
DE DOLLE DULLE TEVE (Belgium) VS NEW HOLLAND BLACK TULIP
A nice surprise with the Dulle Teve, a beer we had not had in quite some time. It packs a punch for a tripel with a lot of alcohol and a bitter finish, but it was so well in balance, and just so tasty, that it had our vote.

3rd course
ROAST PORK LOIN, CRACKLINGS, MUSTARD JUS, BRUSSEL SPROUTS, POTATO GRATIN
I can’t remember the last time I ate so much meat. It was just so good. And the cracklings were my "memory trip"; a familiar taste and texture from my younger years when all pork products (in Australia) had a layer of fat and rind attached; always cooked along with the meat, and always relished. (Okay, bad Jew.) The roasted Brussel sprouts were, of course, fantastic.
BEERS
"BATTLE of the OUD BRUINS"
PETRUS OUD BRUIN (Belgium) VS ARBOR BREWING VELVET HAMMER
While both were excellent, the Velvet Hammer was really sour. The Oud Bruin showed more balance with the nice fruity malt notes that one expects in an Oud Bruin. It got our vote.
"BATTLE OF THE BELGIAN STRONG"
DE DOLLE STILLE NACHT (Belgium) VS JOLLY PUMPKIN NOEL DE CALABAZA
We were evenly split on this one. I think I preferred the Noel de Calabaza. Although again, they are very different beers.

4th course
DESSERT. MIXED BERRY CRISP WITH VANILLA ICE CREAM.
Good.
BEER
KASTEEL ROUGE (Belgium) VS KUHNHENN RASPBERRY EISBOCK
It’s gotta be Raspberry Eisbock, any time. It’s just no match for anything else. I think the vote was even though. Kasteel Rouge is a winner with so many people.

TO SUM UP
Overall, Belgium won the battle.

It was a great idea, and Joseph did a fantastic job with the event. We had a wonderful time, and even managed to hide our Cicerone status from all the attendees (although Joseph tried, albeit gently, to have us own up). It was great value for the money, with 14 beers to sample, and enough food for twice as many of us. We were also very fortunate to be sitting next to a nice man who shared his 2008, and 2009 vintages of Leelanau’s Petosky Pale Ale with us.

BRAVO.