And the Winner is....Gulp Wine Pairings! (May 2011 pairing)

Hello my Fellow Gulpers, Bx Gang and Guests!!

First let me say a HUGE Thank you to Sally and Bx Beer Depot for playing host to our most recent Gulper event...Beer v Wine.   You and your team are amazing hosts!

click here for more pictures from this event

Secondly I cannot say enough about the delectable food Coreen and Cory created for our gastronomic pleasure.    If it wouldn't be totally tacky to insert four letter expletives to really express how great the food was I would be saying right now, FanF#e33kingtastic,  Holy S$%^^&t Batman that was good and G$d Da$# that was F%^#@ing delicious, but everyone knows I am not tacky!  Thank you guys!  You Rock!

I won't keep you in suspense and I will tell you that Wine beat Beer by one course.  I didn't get the official breakdown but I do plan to give a play by play of the event with my scoring.  Please feel free to insert your scores in the comment field at the end of the blog!  Please Please Please say something at the end so I know you visited!

Onto the event!

I don't know how many of you have visited Bx BeerDepot but this best kept secret in Lake Worth was the host for this Soiree and in fact the opposing team in this contest of Beer v Wine.

1st Course:  A soft cheese and fruit tray was up.  Saga Bleu/brie cheese, edam, domestic brie took the field along with huge raisins, dried apricots and grapes.  Pistachio nuts played the backfield.
Beer Depot sent out it's sweetest player, Lindeman's Frambois.  Don't let that amazing sweet raspberry bubbly goodness fool you.  This is a real beer called a lambic.  Lambic beer is produced by spontaneous fermentation: it is exposed to the wild yeasts and bacteria that are said to be native to the Senne valley, in which Brussels lies. It is this unusual process which gives the beer its distinctive flavour: dry, vinous, and cidery, usually with a sour aftertaste.  
Gulp chose a prosecco we have enjoyed in the past.  Riondo Prosecco is bubbly, citrusy and crisp.  For me, the Prosecco paired better with the cheeses by a very slight margin.

Second Course: Smoked Gouda and water crackers were up.  There wasn't any wine in this course so it was an easy score for the Weihestiphaner Korbinian.  This dopplebock beer was strong with malty, chocolate and burnt carmel. This was a very yummy rich beer and I personally believe it was so good wine just couldn't match it so it just gave up this course to the Korbinian.

Third Course: Forget about the wine or the beer with this course!  Sampson whipped together a home run with this shrimp, artichoke and olive salad!  Holy Briny Vinaigrette Batman!!! This light and tangy salad would pair beautifully with a glass of water but it got paired with Lagunitas Pils and a Rosabianca Garganega. Lagunitas Pils is an amber colored lager with apple and peach notes.  It is a crisp light beer and at least half the crowd thought it was the beverage of choice for the salad.  The Garganega was pale yellow in color and not much on the nose.  It is 80% garganega and 20% pinot grigio.  The initial taste is very light and then it finishes with a lovely bright apple, lemon and pear.   Obviously the other half of the crowd sided with the wine.   I liked the wine better.  I thought the vinegar in the salad clashed with the lager while I think it enhance the wine.  So no score on this inning.

Fourth Course: Just when you thought Sampson had outdone himself with the shrimp salad he outdid himself with a fish chowder that tasted like the ocean, tomato, pepper and love.  Then he shocked us all by saying he used only a little bit of olive oil when he baked the fish and that was it.  The darn stuff was Healthy!!!   Joining the chowder on the table was Martinelli Chardonnay. (Did you know?  The wine is fermented with wild yeast in 75% new French oak barrels.. The grapes, juice, and then wine are minimally handled. This Chardonnay is neither heat nor cold stabilized and is unfined and unfiltered.) The buttery Chardonnay really complimented the deep oily flavor of the salmon and snapper.  This was so very delicious!

Fifth Course: The Sweet Thai Tilapia was probably my favorite dish.  The mixture of the mango salsa with the thai sweet and spicy fish was just perfect.  To compliment this flavor party was Helios Saison/Farmhouse Ale and Barton & Guestier Rose' D'Anjou.  For a rose' this was sweeter than I expected. It was filled with the flavor of bright strawberries and a hint of vanilla.  The Helios Saison/Farmhouse Ale was no slouch either.  Tropical flavors of lemon and melon joined with  banana notes to created a lovely refreshing beer.  Wine was the winner of this course.




As we head into the 5th Course Stretch the score is wine 3, beer 2.

Now that we have all rubbed our tummies to ease the stretching onto the Sixth Course:
Asiago Andouille Burgers with grilled onions, peppers and sun dried tomato aioli and it is as long in flavor as in description.  Oh Man that was a good burger!  This course was paired with Cory's home-brewed smoked porter and Cruz Alta Malbec.  The beer was dark chocolate brown in color which complemented the chocolatey, bitter, coffee brew.  The Malbec was also dark in color and flavor.  Flavors of blackberry, pepper and a hint of cloves blended together for a full mouth sensation.  While the Malbec rocked I have to give Cory's beer the win in this match up.  Which is appropriate since the beefy, porky, spicy goodness was created by Cory.

Seventh Course:  Coreen's panna cotta was light and creamy and oh so delicious.  The mix of basil and lemon really complimented the creamy goodness creating the perfect summer treat.  She paired this with a Bordeaux Sauternes.  OMG, it was liquid gold both in color and flavor.  Honey coated my tongue and just added that extra special touch to the dessert.  Yummmm.

Eighth and Final Course: It has been a tight contest and a lot of excitement and surprises but it is the last course pairing up to bat,  Ginger Carrot Cake!  Ok, I am biased here.  Carrot cake is my favorite and this version didn't dissapoint.  It was moist and sweet and spicy without the ginger being overpowering.  It was paired with Stoudts Double IPA.  This is a dark amber brew with carmelly notes on the first taste and then the longer in the mouth tropical fruits like pineapple show up.  I think it paired very nicely with the cake.


So there you have it my friends.  All the courses and pairings.  As I said at the beginning the official score was Wines 5 - Beer 4. I think the real winner in this contest was us because we shared a balmy Sunday afternoon with good friends, good food and new flavors.  
Hey Sally!!  We got you some Converts!!!

The next Gulp Event is June 26th @ 4pm.  Andy is once again our host.  Thank you Andy!