An Unlikely Bisque

At a recent Wynkoop Brewery beer dinner I had one of the coolest and tastiest soups. The meal was centered around Stone Brewery beers from Escondido, CA, and Stone co-founder Greg Koch was the entertainment. He's a really funny, honest and REAL guy. Kind of a craft beer celebrity of sorts. And his beers are just as awesome.

Our pairings began with Pear & Brie Soup. It was neither overly-creamy nor chunky. Toasted almonds floating in the star anise crème fraiche brought a smokey crunch to the smoothness of the bisque. I'm not very fond of brie and actually expected there to be crumbles of cheese bobbing in the soup. Luckily, the pear and brie are melted , blended and stirred to become a bisque. With only six ingredients and fairly easy prep, this could definitely become a mainstay for holiday dinners or a dish to one-up my foodie friends.

Pear & Brie Soup
From Wynkoop Brewery Denver, CO

• 2 large Bartlett pears, peeled, cored, sliced
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 8 oz. brie cheese, rind cut off, diced
• Pinch nutmeg
• Pinch ground clove
• Handful sliced almonds (flat, not slivered)

Combine sliced pears and chicken broth in 2-quart pan. Bring to a simmer and cook until pears are soft (approximately 10-15 minutes). Transfer broth and pears to blender and puree until totally smooth. Return mixture to pan over medium heat, add nutmeg and clove. Add brie a little at a time constantly stirring. The soup should be creamy and smooth. In separate pan, add almonds. No need for oil or butter. Toast almonds by moving around every 20 seconds or so, until light brown. When serving soup, top with almonds.

For this unlikely bisque, Stone paired its Cali-Belgique IPA. This hazy, caramel-colored brew has tropical fruit notes that complemented the soup great. Doesn't hurt (or maybe it will the next day) that it's seven percent alcohol.

"We're not trying to sell anything to you in the world of craft beer, we're trying to please you," Greg said.

The beer's definitely something I recommend to friends just getting their palates whet with craft beer. I'll absolutely pick some up this summer.

Follow the goings-on at Wynkoop by checking out their new website: www.wynkoop.com/happenings.

Cheers (from Dane, Greg and me)!

GABF: Thursday Night

Volunteering in the Brew Crew: One for you, one for me.

Dane & I were stationed with Diamond Knot Brewing Company. I loved their blonde ale, Dane dug the Shipwreck XXXIPA. Here he's with co-owner and founder Brian Sollenberger.

Madison, WI's Great Dane Brewing Company got a visit from the greatest Dane there is!



A pilgrimage to Dogfish Head. You shoulda saw the line of people
waiting to taste their outta-the-box beers and of course, shake Sam's hand.



Dogfish Head taps.



The reason why we came here: Sam and his awesome beers! (Dane's hero!)

We're headed back for more this Saturday. The plan: weiss, wheat and totally-out-there brews. And handing out the GourmetGlee business card!

Fishing for Dogfish at the GABF

let the craft beer revolution commence

The Great American Beer Festival (GABF) begins tonight at 5:30 p.m. and I'm getting there at 4:45 p.m. Am I VIP? Did I receive a special invitation from Coors? Do I have "Beer Geek" tattooed across my forehead?

Nope, just good ol' American volunteerism! The hubby and I are finally making our way to the GABF and what better entry than pouring beer for 5.5 hours, schmoozing with the brewers and getting a comp ticket to enjoy the revelry of Saturday night! In addition to our "brew crew" pouring duties tonight we volunteered to distribute event posters around Denver about a month ago (don't ask about the liquor store heist on West Colfax).

Our goal of the whole event is to stop by the Dogfish Head Brewery post and meet Sam Calagione (Dogfish Head's founder and President), who happens to be a major beer hero/entrepreneur mentor to the husband. It doesn't hurt either that he's a hunk. Sam recently co-wrote a book about beer pairings, too. Watch the clip on The Today Show (wow, great publicity!).

We discovered Dogfish after seeing the documentary "Beer Wars" which pitted the craft brewers' small business plight against the corporate brewers
- such as Anheuser Busch and Coors. A kind of David vs. Goliath story. It really sparked our interest in craft beers outside of Colorado and Minnesota and introduced us to high alcohol content suds like Dogfish 90 Minute IPA and Arrogant Bastard Ale, two favorites.

The GABF brings America's best brews to Denver and I couldn't be more excited and intimidated at the same time. We've got the pretzel necklaces made, maps marked up with must-stop booths and our palates prepped. Watch for updates following tonight's volunteering and then our attending on Saturday.

Cheers!