3 of my favorite things: Bigg, Lakefront Brewery and Milwaukee Brewing Co beers (these are the owners, not the bier’s.)
I’ve written (numerously) before about how much we enjoy the local craft brews here in Milwaukee. My first favorite upon arrival was Milwaukee Brewing Co. Their beermasters are on their game and I have yet to taste a MKE brew that I haven’t enjoyed. When we were out and aboot one night, I noticed the Lakefront Brewery’s Fixed Gear tapper at the bar. I thought, let’s try that. And of course I loved it. I also enjoy their IPA, I haven’t tried their ESB but I do enjoy me an ESB so it’s on the list.
Anyways.
Liking them on the FB means I get to see upcoming releases and special events. I noticed last week or so that the Milwaukee Ale House up in Grafton was hosting their March Beer Dinner. Beer Dinner? Ummmm, yes please. That was before seeing the menu. A five course dinner with a pre-dinner drink that included cake at the end paired with the only barley wine that I’ve liked, to date. Cake. Beer. Tons of food in between, giddy up. Talking Bigg into it was as hard as tagging him on their FB post and he had us signed up in record time.
Our pre-dinner drink of MKE’s Outboard Cream Ale with cider and ginger liqueur at first taste was ok. A bit watered down. But then Matt told me to stir it up to get the ginger and cider taste. I did and OHHHHHHHHHHH! Nummy! I see pitchers of this in our summer future. Delicious, refreshing, and here’s a bonus; we had an empty chair at our table so we had an extra drink (this was before we knew we could ask for a big glass of anything we wanted. Rookie mistake, we’ll know more next time.) Talk about our table, of course ours was the most fun. The three gentlemen closest to us were fun, funny, and incredibly interesting. We stuck around afterwards for at least another half hour or so just talking with them. Sitting at a dinner with a table of strangers is a bit on the scary side, but it’s worked out well for us.
Anyways, moar food and bier!
Our Charcuterie course, my favorite. Moussse, Pate’, pork rilletes, and bread. And Lakefront’s My Turn John dark lager with cherries.
I had to google Charcuterie after we got home. All I knew in that moment is that I wanted more. The man across the table from me only ate about half of his, I was ready to grab the rest of it. It was by far one of the most delicious things I’ve ever eaten. The Beer Cheese Soup we had for our next course had a slice of pork belly in the bowl before they came around and poured the soup in. Pork Belly, in my cheese soup. Yup.
Our Smoked Trout course was paired with the Fixed Gear Red Ale, I really love that beer. OH! It had picked apples and they were fantastic. This is something we’ll definitely do at home when Bigg is smoking a pork shoulder to have with sandwiches. I had never heard of such a thing but it sounds incredibly easy. I can’t recommend it enough.
Our Steak course was absolutely stunning…
It was very good but came out a bit on the cool side. That was probably the only bummer of the night. I quickly moved on from my disappointment when I realized that I was about to get cake. CAKE! I was skeptical of the Barley wine, so far those that I’ve tasted are too sweet for me. We’ve been in the liquor store when there have been tastings and Matt will try it, look at me, and quickly shake his head. If HE thinks it’s sweet, it’s sweet. But this one was very, very good. Good enough that we’ll pick some up. The HoHo cake was good. I don’t think it’s the best cake I’ve ever had (Marie Fitzsimmons in Dassel, Minnesota. That’s the best cake I’ve ever had. Giving someone a Marie cake means you care enough to give the very best. Fact) but our cake was just fine.
Overall it was an incredible and interesting dinner. The only thing wrong with it was that my Strongman was still starving afterwards. What do you do when your Strongman is starving after dinner? Finish the night at McBob’s, duh. A Highlander and half a Patty Melt later and he felt much better.
OH! Here’s a bonus. When I went to go grab my eggs this morning out of the fridge, the Growler of bier we bought on our way out (and that I had ‘forgotten’ about) was sitting there. Score!
I fear the man who drinks water and so remembers this morning what the rest of us said last night.
Benjamin Franklin
tosabarbell 