I-70 Showdown Beer Dinner - Boulevard vs. Schlafly

Ahh, the blog is back from vacation, re-energized!  And not a moment too soon.  We're under two weeks away from our next beer dinner at Beer Kitchen!  It's going to be a good one - on Sunday, April 15, at 6:30 pm, we'll be pitting the two largest craft breweries in Missouri, St. Louis's Schlafly vs. Kansas City's hometown Boulevard, against each other in the I-70 Showdown Beer Dinner.  Even better?  The brewmasters from each brewery will be in attendance.  Boulevard's Steven Pauwels and Schlafly's Stephen Hale will be on hand to talk about the beers, and answer any questions you might have.

The two breweries will be going head-to-head over four courses, starting with Boulevard's Tank 7 going up against Schlafly's Export IPA, paired with duck confit empenadas with red pepper and cilantro aioli.  This is going to be a fantastic start to the night.  I mean, duck confit empenadas?  And the beers!  Tank 7 is a great saison/farmhouse style beer from Boulevard, one of their year-round Smokestack series releases.  Schlafly's Export IPA is no slouch, either.  This English-style India Pale Ale is a special seasonal release, only available for a few months in the spring.

The second course is Boulevard Two Jokers vs. one of Schlafly's newest releases, Yakima Wheat, with marinated patty-pan squash, purple beans and broccoli with herb vinaigrette.  A "double-wit," Boulevard's Two Jokers is a light, refreshing, and slightly tart Belgian witbier, perfect for a warm spring day.  Currently, it's in retirement, though Boulevard has left the door open for a return in the future.  The Schlafly Yakima Wheat is a hoppy wheat beer, featuring hops from Washington's Yakima Valley, and a new addition to their Brewer's Choice Series.  Both of these beers are pretty limited, and may be hard to get in the coming months, so to have them both in one course is quite the treat!

Next is the entree, wild rice and spinach stuffed rabbit, fig jam, and micro watercress, paired with the Boulevard Bourbon Barrel Quad and Schlafly Bière de Garde.  A big hitter from each brewery.  Boulevard's "BBQ" is a big, boozy, Belgian beer.  A quad, aged in bourbon barrels with cherries.  It's a limited release Smokestack Series beer, so if you didn't get your hands on a bottle, here's your chance!  It'll have some stiff competition from Schlafly's offering, a rich farmhouse ale, their Bière de Garde.  Thankfully, this one is available year-round in a 750 ml bottle.  It's a little sweeter, with a more subtle spiciness than the similar saison style ale.

What dinner would be complete without dessert?  We'll have a couple imperial stouts to go along with chocolate wafers with mousse, mini eclair with a stout cream, and blackberry gelato.  Boulevard brings its 2011 Imperial Stout, and Schlafly will have their Bourbon Barrel-Aged Imperial Stout.  Boulevard's version is another in their limited release Smokestack Series, and is another big beer.  It's only the second release of the beer, one that we hope keeps coming back.  If we get impatient, though, Schlafly's Bourbon Barrel-Aged Imperial Stout is a year-round release in their Wood-Aged Reserve Series, and is more than worthy.  Another boozy beer, it's an exceptional imperial stout.  It'll be very cool to have these side-by-side for a comparison.  I think we'll all be winners here!

A ticket for the dinner and eight beers, most of which are in limited supplies around town, are available for $50 per person, with tax and gratuity included.  To get yours, come visit us at Beer Kitchen, or call us at 816-389-4180.  We hope to see you there for this exciting match up!