I-70 Showdown: A pack of Steve/Steven/Stephens

If you want to be a brewer in the greater Kansas City metro (yeah, we're including St. Louis as part of the metro), you'd do well to change your name to some variation of "Steve." This year, we added a fourth brewery to our annual I-70 Showdown beer dinner - Kansas City Bier Company. We also added a fourth to the Steve group, with KCBC's Steve Holle joining Boulevard's Steven Pauwels, Schlafly's Stephen Hale, and Free State's Steve Bradt. Holle fit right in, wearing Lederhosen to go with his German style beer. And to compete in the "best dressed" category with Hale's utilikilt. Not to be outdone, Pauwels donned his Belgian outfit. . . a scarf.

There was the usual good-natured ribbing between the boys from the breweries, and the usual great beers paired with incredible food. The meal started with halibut cheeks, chestnut brown butter, and greens, paired with Boulevard 80 Acre, Free State Coeur de Saison, KC Bier Co. Helles, and Schlafly American Brown Ale. Each of the beers offered the plate something different - 80 Acre was the hoppy beer of the bunch, and went with the bitter greens, Coeur de Saison was spicy and had the flavor to shine and cut through everything, while the Helles was nice and light and didn't overpower the plate (and was probably the best pairing for this course), and the American Brown gave a roast flavor that helped mellow the chestnut brown butter.

Stealing the photos from Beer Kitchen's Facebook. Way better than camera phone pics

The second course brought Boulevard's Long Strange Tripel, Free State's Ad Astra, KC Bier Co.'s Dunkel, and Schlafly's Biere de Garde together with a duo of roasted quail and acorn squash ravioli. The quail was delicate and was well balanced by Long Strange, the acorn squash ravioli was rich and paired nicely with the Biere de Garde. Not that the other beers didn't work with the food, because they all fit here. 

Third was a lamb shank with heirloom bean cassoulet and glazed carrots. It had a sweet, chocolaty sauce that really pulled the plate together (and I was lucky enough to sit next to an Irishman who doesn't eat lamb, so I got a second helping). The beer for this course had a couple of hoppy beers in Free State's Stormwatch Ale and KC Bier Co.'s Hopfen Doof, a big sweet Belgian style with Schlafly's Quadrupel, and a strong wild ale from Boulevard. 2013 Terra Incognita was the star here, as the Boulevard/Sierra Nevada collaboration matured very well. A little funky and great body, it cut the sweetness of the plate. 

Dessert had a duo of vanilla cake with elderberry mascarpone mousse and pistachio gelato paired with Boulevard Bourbon Barrel Quad, Free State Owd Macs Imperial, KCBC Maibock, and Schlafly Milk Chocolate. While the Maibock was fantastic, it was hard to keep up with the big beers from the other breweries. Free State's Templeton Rye aged imperial stout was boozy and great with the cake. A perfect finish to the meal!

Get ready for a threepeat!

It's time for the third I-70 Showdown Beer Dinner! Last year we added our friends from Lawrence, Free State Brewing, to join up with Boulevard and Schlafly. It was such a great time, but there needed to be a way to top it. So this year, we're bringing in Kansas City's newest brewery, Kansas City Bier Company! 

Four courses, sixteen beers. And if you haven't made it to KC Bier Co. yet, this will be a great opportunity to try their beers (biers?). Then you'll have to go to their brewery/taproom in Waldo, because they're making excellent stuff and have a really cool space.

Make your reservation now for April 14th. $50 will cover you for the night, including the beers, food, and tax/gratuity. The menu looks amazing, so don't miss out!

I-70 Showdown Dinner - The Aftermath

The past Monday three brewmasters from breweries from the I-70 corridor descended upon Beer Kitchen. Fine beers abounded my friends. First, another look at the menu -

This was a hot ticket, selling out in only 9 hours! Good job people. Having Steven Pauwels, Steven Hale, and Steve Bradt on hand is a big draw. And the fellows did not disappoint. They talked about their beers, poked friendly jabs at each other, and walked through the restaurant and spoke with diners. Each took a course to speak first, then to mix it up on the dessert course, they talked about someone else's beer. These guys know beer pretty well.

Since the beers were all local, there was an emphasis on keeping the ingredients as local as possible. Hence the Missouri trout, Green Dirt Farm cheese, brisket, and the local bananas. That last one might be made up.

The evening started with surf & turf crostinis - one with smoked Missouri trout and lemon caper aioli, the other with beef tartar, horseradish whipped potatoes and gherkin. Our beers were the 2013 Saison Brett from Boulevard, Free State's Coeur de Saison, and Schlafly's Grand Cru. The first taste of this year's Saison Brett! And the first time I've had Coeur de Saison. Both were fantastic. And while I've had Schlafly's Grand Cru before, that doesn't make it any less delicious. Stephen Hale joked that he missed the "saison" memo, but the Grand Cru isn't too far off. Brewed with coriander and orange peel, it has some Belgian wit characteristics,and fit right in with its Belgian cousins. Each of the beers had a little spice and a lot of earthiness that complimented the smoky tuna and rich beef.

Once again, I don't normally like fish, but this tuna was great. I think I've said this every beer dinner that has a fish course. I think it might be time to admit that I might normally like fish. I do know and fully admit to LOVING beef tartar. So good.

A salad course followed -- watercress with Green Dirt Farm fresh spicy chili cheese, toasted pistachio, pickled ramps, thyme, and strawberry vinaigrette. It sounds like there's a lot going on, but it wasn't too much. A very, very nice salad, all of the components came together harmoniously for a bright and sweet dish.

This time the beer memo was on IPAs, and Steven Pauwels missed it. Two of the beers choices went full on hops to counteract some of the sweet with a more bitter taste, with the Cloud Hopper IPA from Free State and the American IPA from Schlafly, while Boulevard's offering was a test Nelson Grape Ale. It was sweeter, almost a flavor between a wine and a beer with some tropical fruit flavors from New Zealand's Nelson hops. Light and refreshing. The other two stuck with hops from these United States: Cloud Hopper uses some of the C's, Columbus, Cascade, and Chinook, while the American IPA has Simcoe, Amarillo, and Centennial. These were both nice and bright IPAs, neither bogged down or heavy from hops, and both played nicely with the salad. All around a solid course.

The main course for the dinner was a smoked brisket with barbecue spaetzel, sweet tea glazed baby spring veggies, and pecan pesto. I will come clean and say that I didn't quite know what all of the veggies on the plate were, but I liked them all very much. There was a carrot, that's for sure. Maybe some parsnips too. And, uhh, turnip? Whatever they were, they were good. So was the beef. Well prepared, and a good cut of meat with the right amount of marbling. But the real star of this plate for me was the pecan pesto. I've never heard of such a thing, and now I want it to be a regular part of my life. Nutty and perfect to add to the smoky brisket and spaetzel.

Speaking of smoke (SEGUE), Schlafly brought a smokey offering with the peaty 21st Anniversary Single Malt Scottish Ale. All of the barley malt for this beer came from a farm in Scotland owned by Schlafly's co-founder's in-laws, and the beer is aged in Scotch whisky barrels from a distillery only 10 miles from where the barley's grown. Very cool.

Boulevard's beer for this course wasn't smokey, but roasty. The Coffee Ale was brewed in collaboration with the Roasterie, using Ethiopian coffee beans that gave it a rich coffee flavor.

The third beer for this course was the Free State Ad Astra Ale. As Steve Bradt said, this is a beer that can go with dinner. Almost any dinner, but especially barbecue. A little sweet, a little malty, and really good with the smoked meat.

Unlike the first two, this was a course of three wildly different beers, and each of the three went well with the dish. Very cool how that worked.

Caramelized bananas foster with chocolate creme anglaise paired brought a fine end to the meal. I'm a sucker for bananas foster (another statement I say about a lot of food. I just REALLY LIKE FOOD). They didn't do the tableside flambe, but the bananas had crispy caramelization, and the chocolate creme anglaise rocked. A sweet, light dessert that went with a couple of heavy hitting beers.

Boulevard had their Sixth Glass, a 10.5% Belgian Quad. Schlafly matched that ABV with their Bourbon Barrel Aged Imperial Stout. At 6.5%, Free State's Brinkley's Maibock was almost sessionable compared to the two. Again, beers weren't as close to each other in style as the first two course, but they each worked with the dessert. The Sixth Glass and Maibock are both slightly sweet and malty, Sixth Glass and the Bourbon Barrel Aged Imperial Stout are both rich. This whole course was delicious. And the brewmasters showed had a good time with it, with Boulevard's Steven Pauwels talking about Brinkley's Maibock, Free State's Steve Bradt talking about the Bourbon Barrel Ages Imperial Stout, and Schlafly's Stephen Hale completing the circle by talking about Sixth Glass.

Schlafly's Steve Bradt, Beer KC's Randyl Danner, Schlafly's Stephen Hale, and Boulevard's Steven Pauwels
Come on, I was trying to not use a flash

Excellent meal all around. It's always so fun to see how much the brewmasters love not only their beer, but the friendly "competition" that they have. And really, it's no competition at all. These guys (and pretty much every other brewer I've been lucky enough to know/talk to/whatever) respect each other and the breweries and like to have fun and drink beers and talk about beers. A heartfelt thanks to Steve, Steven, and Stephen!

Keep an eye out, very, very cool stuff coming up soon with Beer KC!!

Three breweries, one Interstate UPDATE: SOLD OUT!

It's the first Interstate Highway built in the United States, with some sections of it in Kansas and Missouri being claimed as the first to be constructed. Connecting Cove Port, Utah to Baltimore, Maryland is the 5th longest Interstate Highway, I-70 (I've been on Wikipedia). And, luckily for us, there are some great breweries along it in our neck of the woods who are bringing their beers to the next beer dinner. 

In addition to our St. Louis friends at Schlafly, our pals from Free State will be making the quick jog from Lawrence on April 15th! It'll be a gathering of Ste(v)(ph)ens, as Boulevard's Steven Pauwels represents the George Brett Super Highway, Stephen Hale from Schlafly heads over from Mark McGwire Highway, and Free State's Steve Bradt comes from the... hmm I don't know, Danny Manning Highway?

Now THAT is a menu. Even without the beers, I think it would be a great meal. I mean, surf & turf with smoked trout and beef tartar, fresh Green Dirt Farm spicy chili cheese, smoked brisket with barbeque spaetzel(?!) and bananas foster. . . mmmm yes. But then add the beers and WHOA. Each brewery will be bringing it. Hopefully part of "it" that will be brought will a surprise from one of the breweries... Last year it was an experimental Oud Bruin from Schlafly, and it was delightful. Boulevard will have an unreleased "Grape Nelson" beer in the "IPA round," so that should be a nice treat. I'm looking forward to Free State's Coeur de Sasion, a beer I've yet to try. And the first pairing that really jumps out at me is the Schlafly Single Malt Scottish Ale with the smoked brisket. It's such a good, peaty beer so it should go well with the smokey meat. 

For $50 you can reserve your spot, including tax and gratuity! Call Beer Kitchen today for reservations, this one will fill up in a hurry - 816-389-4180. What better way to celebrate the end of tax season? UPDATE: This is SOLD OUT! We're looking forward to hosting everyone on the 15th!