Wednesday, October 10, 2007

Monk's Beer Dinner 10/9/07 : Nørrebro Bryghus & Dogfish Head

One could say that things certainly were not going my way yesterday. Here's a recap of what was a mixed-bag kind of day for me. ~ An extra bag search by a TSA agent at TF Green airport in Providence, RI ~ An extra slow boarding process due to folks trying to cram their obnoxiously oversized carry-on baggage into the overhead compartments ~ Delayed in Providence sitting on the plane for roughly 3 hours due to a "ground stop" at Philadelphia International ~ Cancelling my Monk's dinner reservation for a highly anticipated beer dinner and leaving my friend Mark in the lurch ~ No on-board food service (nothing, nada, no nuts for you) ~ Circling Philadelphia waiting for clearance to land ~ Being informed that the plane, after landing, was 36th in line just to simply reach the gates ~ After an hour of sitting and taxiing on the tarmac, waiting another 15 minutes or so for the jet bridge operator to meet the plane ~ Learning that the pilot had "gone to the wrong gate" (thus eliciting about 32 WTF's throughout the main cabin) ~ SEPTA's scheduled airport service mysteriously missing = cab ride...more expensive, but faster and more comfortable NO! These are not a 'few of my fav-or-ite things.' But, they did unfortunately contribute to the way my day went after about 2pm eastern time. Once I completed a pleasant cab ride from PHL and walked through Monk's doorway at 264 South 16th Street, things brightened up (that is, all except for the skies!). Now, these are certainly more along the lines of my favorite things! ~ being greeted warmly by Tom Peters and company at Monk's upon my arrival ~ graciously being seated for the last 2 courses of the meal (happened to be Anders Kissmeyer's seat, but who am I to argue when I'm told to sit!) ~ an incredible cheese plate, chocolate dessert for dinner...who can argue?! ~ sampling some of the beer from Anders' Nørrebro brewpub in Denmark (an IPA, a porter, and a coffee stout) ~ tasting the recent batch of Pangaea, a spicy mouthful of malty, ginger beer ~ being wowed by the softness (and sneaky potency) of the World Wide Stout from Dogfish Head (and a 2003 version, at that!) ~ hearing Sam work the crowd, bringing his message of love from LoDel ~ spending 60 minutes in the presence of great food, beer, and people...somehow it made the day alright in the end Unfortunately, Anders never showed since he encountered the same issues I did with travelling into Philadelphia, though probably worse. He was rerouted to D.C. So, since the "collaboration beer" that he and Sam Calagione brewed was his travelling companion, it never showed either. I'll be hopeful to try some if and when it ever makes it way to Monk's. Though, considering TSA and baggage handlers and the whole issue of rerouting, there's a chance it may never be heard from again! As usual, here follows a transcript of the event's food and beer pairing. I hear the food and pairings were great, particularly the pairing of Pangaea and Scallops. 1st Course Dogfish Head Festina Peche - Amuse Buche; Beet Salad 2nd Course Dogfish Head India Brown Ale - Quail with Lentils 3rd Course Dogfish Head Pangaea - Pan Seared Diver Scallops with a Chowder Sauce 4th Course Dogfish Head 90 Minute IPA & Nørrebro North Bridge Extreme - Lamb Shank Confit with Shiitake Mashed Potatoes and Bitter Greens 5th Course Dogfish Head Raison d'Etre & Nørrebro Skargaards Porter - Stilton, 3-year Cheddar, and Taleggio Cheeses with Fruit Compote 6th Course Dogfish Head World Wide Stout (2003) & Nørrebro La Granja Espresso Stout - Chocolate Cheese Cake

4 comments:

Adam said...

Whoa! A game of planes, trains and automobiles eh?

I stopped over at The Drafting Room in Exton to taste the Hop Stoopid from Lagunitas last night. What did I find? A very dark scene...no really the power was out. No matter. Beer taps are not reliant on electricity! So I bellied up to the bar and got Hop Stoopid in the dark with...

Ok...this is getting weird. It was damn good though!

Dan Bengel said...

Never and I mean never take a plane on the east coast for anything. Take your car or the train. Don't let the airlines cut into your drinking. It's hard enough work as it is.

Anonymous said...

Sorry to hear you missed most of the dinner Bryan. It sounds like the lineup was pretty damn good.

Bryan Kolesar said...

Dan, truer words, man...truer words!

Greg, I saw the rest of your posse there and while they appeared to be mourning your absence, they still seemed to have a great night anyway! Glad to hear things have gone well for you so far in Luxembourg. Drink a 50 cent Rodenbach for me too :)