I had a one night stand. It just kind of happened. Lobster was his name and it's not going to happen again.
I hope this does't get me thrown out of Maine but I've honestly never had a lobster roll before. Last night, at approximately 7pm, that all changed. I think lobster are so flipping cute (not in a snuggly way but in an ecological eccentric crustacean way) so much so that I almost never allow myself to eat them. My non-date buddy and I attended the "8 Great Plates" event at Allagash Brewery. Eight restaurants paired some of their best dishes with eight phenomenal brews. Here's a breakdown of what went in our tummies.
Nosh: Our first hit of the night. Pork belly always gets my vote. It's melt in your mouth amazing, which probably has something to do with all that animal fat. The meat, coupled with smoked rhubarb jam and a bit of fried onions, was fresh off the grill and onto a round white roll. Paired with Allagash Avance which is REALLY good and aged for three years in bourbon barrels with strawberries. 10.8% ABV.
Eventide: One word = butter. This lobster roll was chocked full of brown butter and juicy lobster. I had three mini rolls and could have eaten many more. Stopping at three was a good choice considering what lay ahead. Paired with Allagash Curieux, this brew is aged in bourbon barrels with coconut and vanilla notes. 11% ABV.
Thirsty Pig: Giant pieces of sausage doesn't usually impress me but this was a nice combination of beer infused meat, a touch of mustard, with a couple sauteed onions thrown on there. The cherry on top was a pig shaped piece of cheese (literally a piece of cheese cut into a pig shape with a cookie cutter) and put on the griddle to crisp up. Fold the cheese around the sausage like a taco and go to town on that beast! Paired with Saison, which is a Belgian farmhouse style with a dry finish. 6.1 ABV.
Rosemont Market: Potentially my favorite dish...French toast with chicken. What else do you need? The bread was soaked through with the egg mixture and then set on a hot griddle with butter to brown and crisp up. It was then topped with smoked chicken, maple-tinged soy sauce and scallions. Lord was it good! Paired with FV13, which is a rare and delightful beer that Doug finds irresistible. It was pretty damn tasty...but also requires four years of patience per batch. 8.9% ABV.
PB&ME: This was a Thai peanut sauce brushed chicken wing with beer batter fried fiddleheads and fluff. I've literally never heard of this place but anyone who infuses marshmallow fluff with habanero goodness is ok in my book. Just don't keep it on your lips too long when you put the fluff on as lipstick.......Plus seeing an ornithologist eat a avian wing is quite interesting. Paired with Allagash White, which is light, citrus-y and good anytime. 5% ABV.
Winter Hill Farm: Mmmm cheese...soft cheeses coupled with Doug's impressive plate acrobatics made this pairing entertaining for both my mouth and my eyes. Yes, you had to be there. Paired with Allagash Tripel, which is a strong golden ale with banana, honey and passion fruit notes. 9% ABV.
Gelato Fiasco: Six fantastic flavors, including a Dubbel beer infused choice, fresh raspberry, salted caramel, strawberry balsamic, espresso chip and resurgam (almond, burnt sugar, caramel and chocolate flavors in one freaking tasty gelato). The salted caramel was the best and would have only been tastier if it had chocolate chunks in it. Chocolate in anything makes it better. Paired with Allagash Dubbel, hence the gelato flavor. The beer itself is malty and dry with classic Belgian fruitiness. 7% ABV.
La Creme Chocolat: This was a super tasty milk chocolate and hazelnut truffle made with Allagash's Black stout with hazelnut praline on top. Paired with Allagash Black, an approachable stout with chocolate malt and caramelized candied sugar notes. 7.5% ABV.
This was a fantastic night at a great venue, with great beer and company to match. Visit these restaurants/venues and drink Allagash when you get a chance! And thanks to my non-date for all his great pictures and mad beer knowledge.
I hope this does't get me thrown out of Maine but I've honestly never had a lobster roll before. Last night, at approximately 7pm, that all changed. I think lobster are so flipping cute (not in a snuggly way but in an ecological eccentric crustacean way) so much so that I almost never allow myself to eat them. My non-date buddy and I attended the "8 Great Plates" event at Allagash Brewery. Eight restaurants paired some of their best dishes with eight phenomenal brews. Here's a breakdown of what went in our tummies.
Nosh: Our first hit of the night. Pork belly always gets my vote. It's melt in your mouth amazing, which probably has something to do with all that animal fat. The meat, coupled with smoked rhubarb jam and a bit of fried onions, was fresh off the grill and onto a round white roll. Paired with Allagash Avance which is REALLY good and aged for three years in bourbon barrels with strawberries. 10.8% ABV.
Eventide: One word = butter. This lobster roll was chocked full of brown butter and juicy lobster. I had three mini rolls and could have eaten many more. Stopping at three was a good choice considering what lay ahead. Paired with Allagash Curieux, this brew is aged in bourbon barrels with coconut and vanilla notes. 11% ABV.
Thirsty Pig: Giant pieces of sausage doesn't usually impress me but this was a nice combination of beer infused meat, a touch of mustard, with a couple sauteed onions thrown on there. The cherry on top was a pig shaped piece of cheese (literally a piece of cheese cut into a pig shape with a cookie cutter) and put on the griddle to crisp up. Fold the cheese around the sausage like a taco and go to town on that beast! Paired with Saison, which is a Belgian farmhouse style with a dry finish. 6.1 ABV.
Rosemont Market: Potentially my favorite dish...French toast with chicken. What else do you need? The bread was soaked through with the egg mixture and then set on a hot griddle with butter to brown and crisp up. It was then topped with smoked chicken, maple-tinged soy sauce and scallions. Lord was it good! Paired with FV13, which is a rare and delightful beer that Doug finds irresistible. It was pretty damn tasty...but also requires four years of patience per batch. 8.9% ABV.
PB&ME: This was a Thai peanut sauce brushed chicken wing with beer batter fried fiddleheads and fluff. I've literally never heard of this place but anyone who infuses marshmallow fluff with habanero goodness is ok in my book. Just don't keep it on your lips too long when you put the fluff on as lipstick.......Plus seeing an ornithologist eat a avian wing is quite interesting. Paired with Allagash White, which is light, citrus-y and good anytime. 5% ABV.
Winter Hill Farm: Mmmm cheese...soft cheeses coupled with Doug's impressive plate acrobatics made this pairing entertaining for both my mouth and my eyes. Yes, you had to be there. Paired with Allagash Tripel, which is a strong golden ale with banana, honey and passion fruit notes. 9% ABV.
Gelato Fiasco: Six fantastic flavors, including a Dubbel beer infused choice, fresh raspberry, salted caramel, strawberry balsamic, espresso chip and resurgam (almond, burnt sugar, caramel and chocolate flavors in one freaking tasty gelato). The salted caramel was the best and would have only been tastier if it had chocolate chunks in it. Chocolate in anything makes it better. Paired with Allagash Dubbel, hence the gelato flavor. The beer itself is malty and dry with classic Belgian fruitiness. 7% ABV.
La Creme Chocolat: This was a super tasty milk chocolate and hazelnut truffle made with Allagash's Black stout with hazelnut praline on top. Paired with Allagash Black, an approachable stout with chocolate malt and caramelized candied sugar notes. 7.5% ABV.
This was a fantastic night at a great venue, with great beer and company to match. Visit these restaurants/venues and drink Allagash when you get a chance! And thanks to my non-date for all his great pictures and mad beer knowledge.