St Louis Centennial Beer Festival - Brewer's Dinner

Hey You, Beer Me; Beer Us Together ... That's the Way it Should Be.

While a fairly new event around the Stinktown area, The Centennial Beer Festival has gained rapid acceptance and popularity. The festival started as a one-night tasting event in 2009; the next year they added a beer dinner, a VIP tasting area, and a second tasting session. Jay and I learned about the 2010 dinner too late to attend but I wrote myself a cryptic reminder to look for a 2011 dinner in case the organizers decided to offer another one.

Said cryptic message was scrawled on the back page of my work calendar and read something like this: Food = Good; Beer = Better; Cold; Centennial; Book; Happy!

Don't ask me to explain what the hell that meant because I have only the vaguest of ideas. But something clicked after I stared at my scribbles for about 30 minutes and I started poking the interwebs to great success and delight. Not only were they offering a beer dinner again, but it was going to be hosted by locally-owned Schlafly Brewery's co-founder Dan Kopman. The price per person to attend was a very reasonable $59 and guests could look forward to a five-course meal paired with Schlafly craft beers. In addition, I could look forward to a happy evening with my lovey and our two local foodie friends, Anila and Artan. What's not to like?

The dinner was held at Moulin, which is a banquet / meeting space owned and operated by the same folks who own Vin de Set, so we knew that the food was likely to be just as good as the beer. We arrived shortly before 6PM and had to wait a little longer than expected to check in and find a table, but that's a minor grumble. We were allowed to seat ourselves and then head over to the bar which was open for 30 minutes prior to dinner. Guests could chose from Schlafly's Pale Ale, Hefeweizen, and Winter Ale, and they weren't limited to just one sample. I do think it would have been nice if some snackables had been available during this brief "hoptail" hour - I have a hard time drinking beer on an empty stomach no matter how tasty the brew may be.

Place setting


Ambience


Dan Kopman - Schlafly beer host


Hefeweizen and Winter Ale


Our beer guide / host for the evening was Dan Kopman, a man who obviously loves his beer. He was very entertaining and informative and kindly told the staff to bring food while he talked because it was quite possible he might never shut up. So without further delay, let's just get right into it, shall we?

First Course: Seared Tuna Carpaccio with Citrus Ginger Dressing served with Schlafly Kolsch.

Oh, yum!

They gave us sushi grade tuna and prepared it perfectly, thank you Jeebus! It was pink and tender and delicate and paired fabulously with the Kolsch, which I think surprised us all. Jason and I have enjoyed Kolsch previously - it used to be a seasonal summer beer but met with such success that Schlafly promoted it to year-round status. Kolsch is a golden ale that uses a yeast strain from a famous brewery in Germany ... just don't ask me which one. It has a light aroma and a very clean finish; it's a highly drinkable beer and really is perfect for the sticky, Stinktown summer months. And now we know it's perfect for tuna, too!

Schlafly's Kolsch


Tuna Carpaccio


Second Course: Wild Boar Cranberry Sausage Hash topped with a Fried Quail Egg served with Schlafly Scotch Ale.

Nom Nom Nom!

Those of you who know me well know that I am not a fan of hashes - I just don't care for jumbled food that's usually too dry or too greasy. I do, however, enjoy a good sausage and find quail eggs both cute and tasty. I have to go on record as saying that this was a great mish-mash hash: little potato cubes that were lightly crisped on the outside and bursting with hot, poatoey goodness on the inside mixed with mildly spicy boar sausage and topped with a fabulous fried egg. And through it all there was a hint of both pepper and sage that somehow pulled it all together. It was delicious, plain and simple; and it was amazing paired with Scotch Ale. Schlafly makes this brew available each year between the months of January and March; it's considered a traditional scotch ale and pours out in a lovely mahogany color with a semi-sweet taste and very little overall bitterness. It's one of our new favorites!

Scotch Ale


Mish-mash hash sunny side up!


Third Course: Poached Pear on a bed of Mixed Greens with Caramelized Onions and Bleu Cheese served with Schlafly Biere de Garde.

While Jay and I typically subscribe to the Homer Simpson school of thought on greens - You Don't Win Friends with Salad - this was a pretty tasty plate of rabbit food. Pears and bleu cheese are usually a nice complement to each other and there was a lovely dressing mixed in with the greens that reminded me a little of balsamic vinegar. I had to be careful to avoid the hidden seeds that were added to the salad for texture, but overall I really enjoyed this course. And what can I say about the Biere de Garde? It's one of Schlafly's bottle conditioned beers and has been a favorite of ours since we first tried it at a Brewer's Dinner back in 2008. Based on a traditional French farmhouse ale, the beer is made with four different types of malt which gives it an almost toffee flavor while some French hops lend it some spiciness. In a word: fabulous!

Biere de Garde


Pick a pear!


Fourth Course: Peppered Beef Tenderloin Medallion with Wild Mushroom Duxelle over Barley Pilaf served with Schlafly Dry-Hopped APA.

Meh.

To be fair, and I try very hard to be fair, I knew that this was likely to be my least favorite offering of the evening. Mushrooms don't make anything better in my book, but I scraped them off and tried to enjoy the rest of the food on my plate. The beef actually wasn't bad; it was cooked nicely and had a nice peppery aftertaste. The pilaf, on the other hand, was not good at all - a gloppy, sticky, tasteless mess that added nothing to the dish. And visually this was the least appealing plate that was set before us all night - look at that picture and tell me why anyone would even try to eat it?

I'll tell you why ... because everyone was buzzed off their asses from all the beer they'd been drinking! Wahahahaaaa!

Ahem.

Speaking of beer, this was also my least favorite beer of the evening. I don't like hoppy beers and this was hoppier than Peter Cottontail on Easter morning. According to the information I was able to cobble together it's brewed with lots of North American hops and then it's re-circulated through a tank with even more hops for about a week; the result is a big, bitter brew that will suck all the moisture out of your mouth.

Beef and Stuff


Schlafly Dry-Hopped APA


We interrupt this tale to share a picture of our local foodie friends, who made the evening so much fun. Aren't they cute?

Artan & Anila


Fifth Course: Creme Custard Napoleon with Sweet Crisp Phyllo, Bananas, Caramel Sauce, and Whipped Cream served with Schlafly Bourbon Barrel Imperial Stout.

I don't really have much of an opinion about dessert - it could have been better and it could have been worse. The caramel sauce was good, although there was too much of it, and the creme custard was light with just a hint of vanilla. The bananas, however, were gacky and detracted from the overall dessert while the phyllo was overcooked to the point that it was like eating a toasted cracker. The Imperial Stout, on the other hand, is a Jay & Bendy favorite and we were happy to wash down the sweets with this old friend. It pours into the glass with a dark brown, almost black color and has strong flavors of chocolate and coffee. It also has a good dose of malt and hops to combat some of the sweetness of the higher alcohol content; it ferments for three months and is then transferred to freshly emptied bourbon barrels to age for about one year. It really is a terrific beer, especially in the winter months!

Schalfly Bourbon Barrel Imperial Stout


Creme Custard Napoleon, I


Creme Custard Napoleon, II


Overall, we really enjoyed the dinner and had a tremendously fun time. The food was good to acceptable, depending on the course, and the service was great. Whenever we asked for beer refills our serving team always brought us entire bottles - they were not skimping on the beer love, even with the more expensive brews. And on a personal note I was thrilled to see that the place settings had silverware laid out for each course ... no reusing of utensils here! As for the beer, Schlafly brews some amazing craft beers and Stinktown is lucky to have them; for those of you outside of St. Louis who haven't had a chance to sample their wares, find a way to do so because they have a fabulous product.

Beer's to you, Centennial Beer Festival and Schlafly Brewery; it was a great evening!