Belgian Beer Dinner at the Come Back Inn in Jeffersonville, December 15.

The holiday season always is jammed with top-quality beer events (have I mentioned Saturnalia?), but this beer dinner at the Come Back Inn is looking especially good. Chris Smith and company are partnering with World Class Beverages, with the majority of beers coming from the Wetten Importers portfolio (the only exception is the Chimay).

The beer selection includes the relatively rare St. Louis Gueuze Fond Tradition, and overall, I'm more excited than usual about the choices, primarily because the September beercycling adventure took in all three of the breweries handled by Wetten (thanks again, Pete).

The Curmudgeons will be there. For beer information, visit the sites of Wetten Importers and Chimay.

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Come Back Inn—Belgian Beer Dinner
Monday—December 15, 2008
Beginning at 6:30 p.m.
Six courses and seven Belgian beers, with souvenir glass
Cost: $70
For reservations, please call 812-285-1777

Aperitif Beer
Delirium Noel

Beef Tenderloin Tip Skewer with Gouden Carolus Ambrio
Served over Arugula with a white wine vinaigrette

Langostino Bisque with Gouden Carolus Grand Cru
Creamy tomato base with baby lobster tail with homemade crotons made from garlic flat bread

Fried Goat Cheese Salad with St. Louis Gueuze Fond Tradition
Served on a bed of baby greens tossed with a lemon honey thyme vinaigrette, garnished with Julienne roasted red peppers

Duck Breast Cacciatore with Kasteel Donker
Chris’ own version of “Hunters Stew” served over rigatoni

Cheese Plate with Chimay Triple
Selection of 3 cheeses: ,Bleu, Aged Cheddar and Chimay cheese

Chocolate Cheese Cake with Kasteel Rouge
Served over Chambord garnished with raspberries and mint

A credit card is required for guaranteed reservations. Gratuity is not included in the dinner price.

Belgian Beer Dinner is presented by the Come Back Inn and World Class Beverages.

Come Back Inn
415 Spring Street
Jeffersonville, IN 47130
(812) 285-1777

Saturnalia MMVII pre-orders: Belgians.

NABC's annual Saturnalia draft festival, which kicks off this year on Friday, December 7, is a winter solstice celebration designed to run most of December and into February. In the fashion of our other draft fests, I seek to acquire numerous kegs which are tapped, drained and replaced roughly 15 at a time until all are depleted.

For me, Saturnalia is the most fun of all, and not just because I get to publicly espouse paganism during Christmas.

During Saturnalia, I look for as many holiday-themed and winter seasonal beers as possible, but there's also room for fun things that don't always fit at other times. Spiced and fruit-flavored beers are not resisted as they would be at other times of the year. Hoppy beers are recognized in October (Lupulin Land; ongoing), and big beers in late winter/early spring (Gravity Head; February 29), but at Saturnalia, "festive" beers of all stripes have a place.

I'm particularly fond of Belgian holiday ales, and so far, shopping for these has gone exceedingly well. A record list is shaping up, and here are the pre-orders; no guarantees of success in procurement, but fingers crossed. In the coming days, I'll publish the pre-orders for other imports and American microbrews, the latter just now falling into place.

Biere de Miel (Dupont)
De Dolle Stille Nacht
De Glazen Toren Canaster Winter Scotch
De Glazen Toren Cuvee Angelique
De Ranke Pere Noel
Delirium Noel
Dupont Avec les Bons Voeux
Gouden Carolus Noel
Kasteel Rouge
La Rulles Cuvee Meilleurs Voeux
N’Ice Chouffe
Scaldis Noel
St. Feuillien Cuvee de Noel
Urthel Bock

Nifty Belgian beer tasting tonight at Keg Liquors.

Did Todd Antz request a shameless plug, or have we been paying attention to the announcements that come our way? Only the Curmudgeon knows for sure.

Keg Liquors is offering an excellent Belgian beer tasting tonight:

Join us Thursday, April 26th as we hold a very special beer tasting and run the gamut of Belgian beer styles. From Flemish Sour Ales, to Dubbels and Tripels, every style that we can get in the store will be sampled.

Looks like they're from World Class Beverage, which means that Bob Mack and Tish Deam should be there for expert commentary.

Examine the lineup and details here.

Extreme Belgian is in the books.

Pictured above are more pours of draft Urthel Hop-It at one sitting than Louisville's ever seen, much less New Albany. They were among the ales and kindred spirit (and chef) Clancy's delectable cuisine at Monday's Extreme Belgian beer dinner at Bistro New Albany.

Apologies for not having the camera primed for capturing a view of rabbit, and note that barrel-conditioned, Belgian-style Scotch ale (Allagash Musette) does go very well with chocolate tart. Thanks to all in attendance, and next up is out projected "Best of Communism" May Day beer, wine and Tokaj dinner.

I'm not joking, comrade.

Extreme Belgian: Swapping Rocheforts.

As of tonight, Chef Dave Clancy reports a dozen seats available for our Extreme Belgian Beer Dinner at the Bistro New Albany on Monday evening, March 5.

Examine the bill of fare here, and be aware that I’ve been forced to make one change in the beer list.

Rochefort 10 – one of my all-time faves – is an unfortunate "scratch," as my Indiana wholesaler and dinner co-sponsor World Class Beverages hasn't received any for quite some weeks, and in fact has recently been informed that "maybe" 10-15 cases (12 to a pack) are coming for the entire state of Indiana to last the next three months.

I'll be substituting the same brewery's 8, which is the second best beer at a brewery that makes one of the best beers (the absent 10) in the world. Note that there’s no shortage of the 8. However, if it ever approaches the top of the charts at Rate Beer and Beer Advocate, all bets are off.

Given the demand that such notoriety generates for beers that are produced at such small quantity levels, it’s a shame that with occasional laudable exceptions (see: Three Floyds), beer and wine operate under very different consumer value systems, i.e., it is far more difficult for a beer producer to permit the market to adjust pricing, and be willing to pay the piper, than for a wine producer.

Are you seeking a worldwide top-ten wine selection? The bottle might cost hundreds of dollars, and wine drinkers and collectors are quite accustomed to paying for the quality accrued.

Are you looking for Westvleteren 12, the savory Belgian Trappist ale from West Flanders, which currently is at or near the top of the on-line rating? It’s still only a few Euros in Belgium – if you can get it.

Obviously, Trappist brewers aren’t supposed to be in it for the money, but the analogy holds. By and large, the perception of beer’s value for both brewer and consumer is that even the best in the world should still be priced like … well, like beer, as opposed to wine.

Digressions aside, I hope to see many readers at Monday’s dinner. Just don’t mention King Leopold, and you should be okay.

Complete details: Extreme Belgian beer dinner at Bistro New Albany, March 5, 2007.

February 19 - 27: PC's in Europe. Be back soon. Ciao.

Bistro New Albany and the New Albanian Brewing Company are proud to present “EXTREME BELGIAN,” a six course meal and eight ales that celebrate Belgium's finest cuisine and brewing traditions.

Cheese Course
DeuS Brut des Flandres … Sparkling “Champagne Method” Ale (Buggenhout, Belgium)

Brusselae Kasse Frommage de Bruxelles/Beauvoorde/Herve/Limburger

Starters
Panil Barriquee … Flanders-style Oak-Aged Red/Oud Bruin (Torrechiara, Italy)

Mossels Gekookt en Hun Eigen Nat
(Mussels cooked in natural juices)

Soup Course
Urthel Hop-It … Belgian-style American India Pale Ale (Berkel-Enschot, Netherlands)

Karnemilk Soep Met Appelkes
(Buttermilk Soup with Apples)

Salad Course
Ommegang Hennepin … Belgian-style Saison (Cooperstown, New York)

St. Jabob Schelpen Opeen Bedje Van Witloof
(Bay Scallops with Belgian Endive)

Entrée Course
Drie Fonteinen Schaerbeekse Kriek … Belgian Lambic (with cherries) (Beersel, Belgium)

Konyne Rug met Kriek Bier en GedRoogde
(Slow roasted Rabbit with Cherry Beer)

Sides
Savooikool op Z’n Vlaams
(Flemish style Savoy Cabbage)

Nieuwe Aardappelen met Peterselle
(Parslied New Potatoes)

Dessert Course
Allagash Musette … Belgian-style Scotch Ale (Portland, Maine)

Tart Flamiche met Chocolat
(Sugar Tart with Chocolate)

Closers
Avery “The Reverend” … Belgian-style Quadrupel (Boulder, Colorado)

Trappistes Rochefort 10 … Trappist Ale, brewed by the Abbaye Notre-Dame de St. Remy(Rochefort, Belgium)

What you need to know:
The meal begins at 6: 00 p.m. on Monday, March 5. The Bistro New Albany is located at 148 East Market Street in downtown New Albany. Please place and confirm your reservations with Bistro New Albany at (812) 949-5227.

The price is $65 per person (18% gratuity), and includes 2-oz or 3-oz samples of the featured beers. The Publican (Roger A. Baylor) will introduce the beers, while Chef Dave Clancy holds forth in the kitchen. Many of the beers also will be priced for consumption during the meal, including Urthel Hop-It, which will be the only draft of those being featured. Each diner will receive a complimentary Belgian beer glass as a keepsake.

Special thanks to World Class Beverages, Cavalier Distributing and The Keg Liquors for kind assistance and consideration.

Beer lineup for Extreme Belgian 2007.

Here is what, barring the unexpected, should be the final beer list for the Extreme Belgian dinner, to be held on Monday, March 5 at Bistro New Albany. The ball's now in Chef Dave Clancy's court, and when his side of the ledger is complete, so will the pairings.

Opener:
DeuS Brut des Flandres … Sparkling “Champagne Method” Ale, brewed in Buggenhout, Belgium.

Beers with cuisine (not in order):
Panil Barriquee … Flanders-style Oak-Aged Red/Oud Bruin, brewed in Torrechiara, Italy.

Drie Fonteinen Schaerbeekse Kriek … Belgian Lambic (with cherries), brewed in Beersel, Belgium.

Urthel Hop-It … Belgian-style American India Pale Ale, brewed in the Netherlands for the Belgian De Leyereth brewery.

Ommegang Hennepin … Belgian-style Saison, brewed in Cooperstown, New York.

Avery “The Reverend” … Belgian-style Quadrupel, brewed in Boulder, Colorado.

Allagash Musette … Belgian-style Scotch Ale, brewed in Portland, Maine.

Closer/parting glass:
Trappistes Rochefort 10 … Trappist Ale, brewed by the Abbaye Notre-Dame de St. Remy outside Rochefort, Belgium.

Preview: Killer Belgian ale & appetizer evening at Caffe Classico, February 10.

On Saturday, February 10 at 7:30 p.m., I’ll be emceeing another beer and food pairing at Caffe Classico, Louisville’s bastion of continental-style coffee. It’s located at 2144 Frankfort Avenue in Louisville, and is a must-visit whether or not you attend the function described here.

Owner Tommie Mudd offers elegant Italian-roast espresso, a solid café food menu of soups, salads and paninis, short lists of beer (including Duvel and often Chimay) and wine, and eclectic evening entertainment on weekends.

The price per person for 3-ounce samples of seven different Belgian ales and the mouthwatering appetizers described below is $38.

Call Tommie at Caffe Classico to reserve your spot. As of yesterday, the event was almost half subscribed (absolutely maximum is 40 people).

1. " pan tumaca"
toasted blue dog pugliese bread with spanish olive oil, tomato rub and shaved manchego cheese.
Oud Beersel Gueuze

2. “baccaloa moderne"
salt cod fritter, with blood orange and aioli
Abbaye de Leffe Blonde

3. "mussels muniere"
mussels sauteed in garlic, tomato, shallot, parsley and butter Hennepin Farmhouse Ale

4. "risotto frito"
deep fried risotto balls with sofrito
Duvel

5, "flemish"
sausage, red cabbage on potato cake
Duchesse de Bourgogne

6. "curso fromagio"
port salut, and alta nivel manzanilla olives
Chimay Blue

7. "pan chocolat"
toasted baguette slices with chocolate, olive oil and salt
Dessert beer to be announced