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

CPC's Shawn Vest recaps last week's Belgian beer dinner at Corbett's.

Having been overwhelmed recently in every significant way, I just haven't had the time to report on last Tuesday's excellent Belgian/Wetten Importers beer dinner at Corbett's - An American Place.

I previewed the dinner here: March 4 Corbett's beer dinner menu and pairings.

I rode over the Louisville's vast East End exurb for the evening with Shawn Vest, owner of Charlestown Pizza Company, who later posted a quick review at the Louisville Restaurant Forum. I'm reprinting it here, and earnestly hope that Shawn doesn't mind my doing so. His review sums it up for me, too.

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Delirium Tremens with Duck Confit in Brick Pastry, Pear-Ginger Marmalade was fantastic, the marmalade was perfect with the confit and the delirium's sweetness balanced the flavors well

Parsnip Soup, Creme Fraiche/ Gouden Carolus Ambrio - better than i expected, although i'm not sure if i'd like the parsnip without the cayenne oil, the ambrio played very nicely with the parsnips and accented the creme fraiche and cayenne oil

the short ribs were very nice with the kasteel, the flavors really popped with the reduction using the beer, the short ribs were actually huge and the meat was incredibly tender and well seasoned

Floris Apple Wit Sorbet, Apple Chipperfect, the floris was lighter than i expected and melted with the sorbet, while the apple chip added nice textures (the floris may have also been good over ice cream as a float), the sorbet was made with the floris and the flavors of course were very complimentary

Braised Veal, Hoisin Glaze, Peanut Lo Mein/ Gouden Carolus Cru of the Emperor, 2007

my favorite pairing of the evening, the peanuts and the hoisin really accentuated the nuttiness of the beer, and flavors improved as the dish and the beer intermingled

Thyme Brulee, Rhurbarb Gelee, Chocolate Beignet/ St. Louis Framboise

my least favorite of the evening, the framboise was very pleasant, but the dishes were not as good as i had hoped they would bemy bias could be related to a distinct apathy for rhubarb and serious doubts about the words "thyme" and "brulee" being used together; but the chocolate beignet was not the exception, too bitter and too chewy for methe gelee was much better than expected, but the thyme and brulee were not the greatest combination although the blueberry sauce on the brulee was excellent and the texture of the brulee was good, these dishes though were not elevated by the framboise, and thus a disappointment

overall though a great evening; a decent drive from Indiana, but worth the effort and the cost, and excellent service

elegant seating - we were in the cellar, a very old world european feel, stone walls, exposed floor joist in the ceiling, stone floors ... nice ambient music at the right levels

A fine example of what great beer can do in a fine dining setting

Pete Larsen, Dave Gausepohl, & Carrie Crouch did a great job of hosting and educating - thanks

Good beer, good food, a thread and a beer dinner at Corbett's.

I'll try to make a long story short.

Earlier this year, there was a spirited discussion at Robin Garr's Louisville Restaurants Forum: Can a great restaurant serve mass-market beer? This was followed by an article here at PC. Here's the link, followed by an excerpt:

A thread: Can a great restaurant serve mass-market beer?

Can you give me some examples of what would be high quality beers that should be served at a high quality restaurant?

I've thought about this a lot at various times, and the answer tends to change based on recent experiences. The fundamental thing is to offer a variety of styles, not just a variety of labels/brands. Knowing the difference between styles and labels is the first jumping off point for me.

I'm returning to this thread for two reasons. First, my current commission for "Food & Dining" magazine is to write 900 words on the topic, so I've been reviewing source materials.

Second, there is to be a beer dinner March 4 at Corbett's "An American Place", a new restaurant in Louisville that somewhat inadvertently was drawn into the original thread about good beer and good food.

PR: Belgian beer dinner March 4 @ Corbett's (forum posting)

Corbett's "An American Place" invites you to an evening of Belgian Ales and lambics paired with Chef Chris Howerton’s cuisine. Hosted by Pete Larsen of Wetten Imports.

Tuesday March 4th at 7 p.m.
Reservations 327-5058
5050 Norton Healthcare Boulevard

The cost of this one is $55 per person plus gratuity, and I don't yet have a food menu, but Wetten has excellent Belgians: The Delirium line, Gouden Carolus ales and Kasteels.

Looks like another combination of business and pleasure coming my way. Aw, shucks.

Soon adding more Wetten imports to the beer list.

Yesterday I had the pleasure of entertaining Pete Larsen, the Midwest sales representative for Wetten Importers, Inc.

The Virginia-based importer has a small but high-powered portfolio of European classics: Samichlaus, Kasteel, the Delirium line and Gouden Carolus, to name just four.

The current Rich O’s/NABC bottled beer list includes Samichlaus, Delirium Tremens and Delirium Nocturnum, and I’ve been meaning to add the Gouden Carolus line for quite some time, along with the two high-octane Kasteelbiers and Eggenberger’s Nessie (a whisky malt lager specialty).

Look for these additions to happen in the coming weeks.

And: Look for a stylishly redecorated sling for my healing left arm, courtesy of Pete's critical donation of a brewery apron for cannibalizing ... a photo will be posted soon.