On Bastille Day, July 14, a 5-course French-inspired Biere de Garde dinner at Bank Street Brewhouse.

On Wednesday, July 14, the Bank Street Brewhouse will honor France’s national holiday, Bastille Day, with an exclusive five-course, fixed-price French menu prepared by Chef Josh Lehman and his intrepid kitchen staff.

As before, this year’s Bastille Day meal comes complete with flavors of French-brewed Bieres de Garde, as well as American craft versions of Northern France’s famous specialty style of malty, food-friendly ale.

In 2010, we’re adapting a changed Bastille Day format of a single-seating beer dinner, and pairing the beers with the food in an order yet to be determined as of this writing. The Publican will provide comments on the beers. Note that mussels and frites will be available on the 14th for those seeking a lighter bill of fare.

Advance reservations for Bastille Day are highly recommended, and can be made by calling 812-725-9585 or e-mailing steve@newalbanian.com. The price is $65 each, service non compris (not including service).

MENU

Passed hors d'oeuvres

Salad Lyonnaise -- Frisse Lettuce, Shallots, Lardons of Bacon, Poached Local Egg, Lemon Vinaigrette

Capriole Goat Cheese Soufflé -- Lemon , Thyme, Mornay Sauce

Bouillabaisse -- Lobster, Clams, Mussels, Fingerling Potatoes, Saffron Broth, Rouille

3-D Valley Farms Beef -- Gratin Potato, Roasted Shallots, Wild Mushrooms, Dijon Mustard Veal Stock Reduction

Chocolate Mousse -- Local Fruit, Pistachios, Basil

BEER

Brasserie St. Germaine Page-24 Blanche (France; bottle)
Theillier La Bavaisienne Blonde (France; bottle)
Lost Abbey Avant Garde (USA; bottle)
Schlafly Biere de Garde (USA; 2009 bottle)
La Choulette 'Les Sans Culottes' (France; bottle)
NABC’s USA vs. Algeria – Maghreb Biere de Garde (USA; draft)

These Bieres de Garde will be paired with the courses in small portions. NABC’s draft Maghreb will be available throughout the evening for full pours, and additional bottles (varying quantities) of the preceding will be available for purchase at market prices, along with small quantities of other fine Bieres de Garde: Jenlain Ambrée French Farmhouse Ale, Jenlain Blonde Bière de Garde, Thiriez Blonde and Thiriez Extra. Naturally, NABC's lineup of house beers will also be on tap like always.

As a personal note, two previous Bastille Day dinners in conjunction with the late, lamented Bistro New Albany were among my favorite beer dinners ever, any place, any time. We at NABC are proud to revive and perpetuate the Bastille Day tradition in downtown New Albany.

Two announcements: Bastille day at BSB is on, Lambic by the Glass is postponed.

I've had my usual special-order problems getting enough lambic stocks to properly do Lambic by the Glass, and so will wait until later in the summer. When I'm able to get Lambic by the Glass on the calendar, it will include a Pizzeria & Pub tasting on a Saturday night, and a Bank Street Brewhouse combo lambic/food event on Sunday, utilizing Chef Josh Lehman's fully appropriate cuisine.

Also, the annual French-inspired meal from Chef Lehman is "on" for Bank Street Brewhouse on Wednesday, July 14. Mark your calendars now for this 5-course meal paired with Bieres de Garde from France and America. This year, there'll be one seating only. Complete course and pairing details will be announced quite soon. Reserve your place now by e-mailing Steve.

Bastille Day recap 2: Gallic pleasures at the Brewhouse.

Following is a submission from reader Amy Clere, who attended the Brewhouse's Bastille Day function. Thanks for the review, Amy -- it brings joy to the heart of this inveterate Europhile.

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Your Bastille Day extravaganza was a delightful surprise! Indeed, Roger, you’ve got the best-kept secret in New Albany. Thank you for hosting a Bastille Day dinner, and thanks for embracing so enthusiastically the glorious culture of France!

On those occasions when I’ve been in France on Bastille Day, I’ve gone to dinner with friends where we could watch les feux d’artifice (fireworks). Bastille Day in France is typically called le Quatorze Juillet (the Fourteenth of July), just as we refer to Independence Day as the Fourth of July.

Because I am less enthusiastic about beer than about all things French, I hadn’t yet visited your new Brewhouse and I see now that I’d been missing out! When Ed and I arrived there last night, we were most graciously greeted by both your waitress and the atmosphere you’ve managed to create out of what was once a local bread-box of a building. The décor is wonderful, the colors are warm and inviting, your set-up (the bar, your mini-bars around the room, and the congenial set up of tables) made it easy to socialize with friends…On top of that, we admired your brewing vats (visible behind the glass wall in back), and the terrific set-up with the garage doors. Ed and I could easily imagine how it would look arranged like a European café, with seats indoors and out on the nicely widened sidewalk in front. We also appreciated that it is an adaptive reuse of the building in a way that makes it a contributing part of our historic downtown.

And, oh, la, la….la gastronomie! (And Wow! The food!)

One look at the menu, and we knew that your Executive Chef Joshua Lehman had planned a treat we’d not soon forget. It was a difficult choice, actually, but after les Gougeres, I chose Pâté. It was very good, and I tasted some of the Vichyssoise (Ed’s choice), which was wonderful! After that, Ed had your favorite, the Cassoulet. I tasted this too, but liked even better the Quiche Lorraine (which was PERFECT!). Oh, how suddenly I felt I was back on la Rue de la Liberté in Dijon at my favorite café. When I lived and worked there (as a photojournalist), I would take my lunch hours—because, in France, you get two or three hours for lunch—and dine happily on Quiche Lorraine while watching passersby.

The cheeses were just right, and went very well with the beer I chose (La Choulette “Les Sans Culottes”), and the Mousse au Chocolat was tasty and pretty at the same time.

Chef Josh had done an exceptional job in his presentation of these tasty courses, and I tell you quite truthfully that I have not experienced such a delicious meal since the last time I visited France, in 2007! All was absolutely wonderful!

Add to all this the collection of Francophones you’d gathered together for this event, the willingness of our waitress to learn a French phrase or two (and she did well, too!), and the European travel stories shared by you, our host, and it was quite an evening on Bank Street!

Ed expressed what I’m trying to say in fewer, and better words: This was the most sophisticated meal we’ve EVER had in New Albany. Indeed, the meal was sophisticated without being pretentious, and it was French while appealing to the American palate.

Chef Josh came to our table and shared his daily lunch and dinner menus. Oh, la, la encore une fois (Wow once again)! For lunch, he offers Croque Monsieur and Croque Madame (traditional must-try lunch fare at French cafés), among other tasty treats (soups, salads, les Pommes Frites).

Dinners promise to be as delicious as our Bastille Day experience where he and Sous Chef Andrew Gunn offer small and large plate meals to tempt just about any palate. You can order Duck Confit , Mussels, Beef Short Ribs, Scallops, Pesto Lasagna, and Croque Madame. Chef Josh told us he occasionally makes the delicious, and now famous, dish, Ratatouille.

Needless to say, we’ll be going back soon! Roger, bonne continuation! That is to say that we hope you keep it up and we wish you the best!

Thanks again for celebrating le Quatorze Juillet!

Amy

Bastille Day recap: Gallic pleasures at the Brewhouse.

Thanks to those attending last evening's Bastille Day event at the Brewhouse, and to the cast and crew for mkaing it possible. We served more than 30 of the fixed-price, five-course meals, and exhausted the supply of French Bieres de Garde. Only a few Schlaflys were left over, and they'll be gone soon enough.

I was surprised, delighted and gneuinely touched that several French speakers in attendance congregated during and after the meal to chat in their acquired (in one instance, native) language. It's easy to spot the lazy Francophobia in American society, but we tend to forget that French culture has its fans, too, both here and elsewhere.


Chef Josh's cassoulet (above) was my personal favorite. There's nothing wrong at all with sausage, ham, beans and cheese together in one dish.

Obviously, we'll do this again next year. Schedule permitting, we won't wait as long to be part of a French-themed happening. I might finally learn a few words of French.

Bank Street Brewhouse: Tonight's Bastille Day list of Bieres de Garde.

Here is tonight's Bieres de Garde list for the Bastille Day dinner at NABC's Bank Street Brewhouse. The menu is here.

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All bottles listed below are 750 ml. Choose one to accompany Chef Josh Lehman’s five-course Bastille Day meal. Because there are varying numbers of each, supply is contingent on demand. I have not made pairing suggestions, primarily because these Bieres de Garde share characteristics, and should suit the cuisine as a whole. I encourage those sharing a table to select different Bieres de Garde, share the beer, and conduct your own pairings.

France’s famed Bieres de Garde originally were produced by farmhouse breweries located in the north of France, near the Belgian border. Climactically and historically, it is a transitional zone, where wine-making meets brewing, and Bieres de Garde came about as the thoughtful solution to the problem posed by summertime heat, which rendered brewing almost impossible in the age before temperature-controlled fermentation.

The farmers brewed ale during cooler weather, bottled it in used wine and champagne bottles, and cellared the bottles for drinking during summer until the heat subsided and brewing could resume. Bieres de Garde had to be sufficiently ample and alcoholic for cellaring, but not too heavy in body for warm-weather drinking. They also had to go well with food (it’s France!), hence the complex maltiness of the style’s better, enduring examples.
-- Roger A. Baylor, NABC

Castelain Blond (6% abv)
From the celebrated Castelain brewery, which led the way in restoring an international reputation for traditional Bieres de Garde. Firm and malty sweet, but balanced, with grassy and citrusy hop character.

Jenlain Ambree (7.5% abv)
First brewed by the Duyck brewery in 1922, Jenlain Ambree uses three malts and three hop varieties, all French-grown (the latter in Alsace). Biere de Garde’s malt complexity is showcased to great effect here.

Jenlain Blonde (7% abv)
Ambree needed a sibling, and Jenlain Blonde came along in 2005 to much acclaim. A shade milder and lighter than its older brother, with a subdued hoppiness.

La Choulette Ambree (8% abv)
Flagship amber Biere de Garde from a brewery founded in 1885, and revived during the 1970’s. Delicious maltiness, and versatile pairing possibilities.

La Choulette Blonde (7.5% abv)
Malty, but with a drier, spicier edge than the brewery’s flagship amber.

La Choulette “Les Sans Culottes” (7% abv)
Tawny golden to amber in color, and displaying an all-purpose elegance with food. From the Shelton Brothers website: “This, the brewery’s masterpiece, proudly pays homage to Les Sans Culottes – the “trouserless” craftsmen who could not afford uniforms but unflinchingly did the handiwork of the French Revolution. A number of brewers were included in their ranks.”

Schlafly Biere de Garde (7.5% abv)
Our sole American-made entry is a worthy version of the style. Bottle-conditioned, with a slight yeastiness in younger examples like these, yielding to polished maltiness with age.

C-J previews Bastille Day dinner at the Bank Street Brewhouse (Tuesday, July 14).

In each Saturday's Courier-Journal, Steve Coomes gathers local food and restaurant news, including a brief preview of Bastille Day at the Bank Street Brewhouse this coming Tuesday, July 14:

Brewhouse serving Bastille Day menu

Bank Street Brewhouse (415 Bank St, New Albany, Ind.) is serving up a special Bastille Day menu paired with several French beers Tuesday from 5:30 to 9 p.m. The pub will offer a five-course menu centered on simple French classics prepared by chef Josh Lehman.

The meal begins with gougeres (cheese-filled pastry), followed by a choice of poached egg salad, vichyssoise or country-style pâte. Entrees include a choice of cassoulet, bouillabaisse or quiche Lorraine, followed by an assortment of cheeses. For dessert, guests can choose chocolate mousse or crème brûlée.

Each guest will receive a 750-milliliter bottle of a French-style beer, and co-owner Roger Baylor hopes guests will share tastes with each other.

"I hope people will do their own flights. It'll make it more communal than having me speaking during the meal like I do at beer dinners."

Price is $55 in advance, $60 at the door (one 750 ml beer and service both included).

Call (812) 725-9585 or e-mail.

FOR MORE DETAILED INFORMATION:

Bastille Day menu and matching Bieres de Garde at the Bank Street Brewhouse on Tuesday, July 14.

Vegetarian options will be available on Bastille Day at the Bank Street Brewhouse.

Vegetarian options will be available on Bastille Day at the Bank Street Brewhouse.

I was supposed to get back to you with this, and I'm a bit tardy.

I've conferred with Chef Josh, and he will have vegetarian options available on next Tuesday's special Bastille Day menu at Bank Street Brewhouse. Note this is "vegetarian," not vegan and/or lactose intolerant. The example he used during our chat is vegetarian Quiche Lorraine.

Bastille Day menu and matching Bieres de Garde at the Bank Street Brewhouse on Tuesday, July 14.

Bastille Day menu and matching Bieres de Garde at the Bank Street Brewhouse on Tuesday, July 14.

On Tuesday, July 14, NABC’s Bank Street Brewhouse (415 Bank Street in downtown New Albany) will honor the French national holiday of Bastille Day with an exclusive, 5-course, fixed-price French menu prepared by Chef Joshua Lehman and his “magnifique” kitchen staff.

A 750ml bottle of Biere de Garde from a list (see below) chosen by NABC owner Roger A. Baylor is included in the price of each meal, which will be served between the hours of 5:30 p.m. and 9:00 p.m.

Mussels and frites also will be available on the 14th for those seeking a lighter bill of fare.

Price and Reservations

While not required, advance reservations for the Bastille Day meal are recommended, and can be made by calling 812-725-9585 or e-mailing gregg@newalbanian.com.

The price is $60, service compris (including service), but if you reserve and pre-pay for this meal at the Bank Street Brewhouse prior to Bastille Day, you’ll receive a special advance price of $55, also including service.

The Beers.

A selection of Bieres de Garde from the Castelain, Jenlain and La Choulette breweries in Northern France, alongside Schlafly’s craft-brewed American version of this traditional, malty style, will be offered.

Castelain Blond
Jenlain Ambree
Jenlain Blonde
La Choulette Ambree
La Choulette Blonde
Schlafly Biere de Garde

Bieres de Garde pair superbly with food, and Bastille Day diners may select one of the preceding to accompany the meal -- and to share samples with friends. Additional bottles will be available for purchase at market prices. Naturally, NABC's lineup of house beers will also be on tap like always.

The Menu:

First Course:
Gougeres

Second Course (choose 1):
Poached Egg Salad
Vichyssoise
Country-style pâté

Third Course (choose 1):
Cassoulet
Bouillabaisse
Quiche Lorraine

Fourth Course:
Fromages (assorted)

Fifth Course (choose 1):
Chocolate Mousse
Creme Brulee

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As a personal note, two previous Bastille Day dinners in conjunction with the late, lamented Bistro New Albany were among my favorite beer dinners ever, any place, any time. I'm proud to revive the tradition in downtown New Albany.

Photos: Bastille Day Biere de Garde Dinner at Bistro New Albany.

2nd annual Bastille Day Biere de Garde Dinner at Bistro New Albany on Sunday, July 15.

On Sunday, July 15, Bistro New Albany & NABC are co-sponsoring our 2nd annual Bastille Day Biere de Garde dinner, to be held at Bistro New Albany – we hope on the patio; we'll move inside if there's rain or undue heat. Starting time is 6:00 p.m.

Chef Dave Clancy's five-course French menu will include hors-d ‘oeuvres, soup, salad, and entree and dessert, and will be paired with beers selected by the Publican (that's me) from Brasserie Thiriez, Brasserie Duyck (Jenlain) and Brasserie Artisanale La Choulette. As a bonus, we'll have draft vintage French cider from Normandy: Cidre Bouche Brut E. Dupont 2002. Ales will be poured in 4-oz portions, and I’ll have a few comments with each.

The price is $65 per person (service non compris), and reservations can be made by calling Bistro New Albany at 812-949-5227.

You may view the event poster here. The menu, including beer pairings, follows.

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Bastille Day aperitif

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Hors- d ‘oeuvres

- Canapes de Gravlax que Saler en Duchene avec Crème Fraiche et Ciboulettes (Canapes of Duchene Cured Gravlax with Crème Fraiche and Chives)

- Escargot que pate a frire en Jenlain Ambree avec Citron-Chervil Aioli (Jenlain Ambree Battered and Deep Fried Escargot with Lemon-Chervil Aiolli)

- Bouchees avec Chevre et Lavande (Boucheés with Chevre and Lavender)

Jenlain Ambree (6% abv)
A classic amber Biere de Garde from the Duyck brewery.

Thiriez Blonde (6% abv)

Farmhouse blond brewed in French Flanders, near the Belgian border.

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Soup Course

- Vichyssoise avec Celeri et Noix de Grille (Chilled Potato, Leek, and Celery Puree with Toasted Walnuts)

Thiriez Extra (4.5% abv)

Farmhouse bitter with French barley and English hops.

St. Druon de Sebourg Abbey Ale (6% abv)

French barley, wheat and Alsatian hops combine in a tribute to a nearby church named for a “homeless, pious orphan.”

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Salad Course

- Salade de Chicoree avec des Poires de Pocher, Roquefort, et Miel-Thym Vinaigrette (Endive Salad with Poached Pears, Roquefort, and Honey-Thyme Vinaigrette)

La Choulette Les Sans Culottes (7% abv)

From the importer’s website: “This, the brewery’s masterpiece, proudly pays homage to Les Sans Culottes – the “trouserless” craftsmen who could not afford uniforms but unflinchingly did the handiwork of the French Revolution. A number of brewers were included in their ranks.”

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Entree Course

- Veau de Grillade avec Truffe Parfumer Pomme de Terres Lyonnaise, Asperges, et Sauce a Chasseur de Tomate d’Heritage (Char Broiled Veal Chop with Truffle Scented Lyonnaise Potatoes, Asparagus and Heirloom Tomato Chasseur Sauce)

Cidre Bouche Brut E. Dupont 2002 (5.5% abv)
Classic artisanal cider from Normandy. The Dupont family orchard contains 6,000 trees of typical regional apple varieties, including Saint-Martin, Binet, Noel de champs, Mettais, Frequin and Rouge Duret.

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Dessert Course

- Chocolat Noir-Grand Marnier Mousse avec Framboise et Crème (Dark Chocolate-Grand Marnier Mousse with Raspberries and Fresh Cream)

La Choulette Framboise (6% abv)

Fresh raspberry juice is added to the brewery’s Ambree.