Justin and I went to Bierra Paradiso on the 28th for a stout dinner, where Greg, their "sommelier" of sorts, told us about the various stouts we were imbibing, and why he paired them with their chosen courses.
An excellent time had by all, even with the walk across the Key bridge to the Rosslyn metro...
After closing out our tap at the bar, Justin and I were led down to the basement, where Greg and the other staff were setting up. We already had our "control" stout, Guiness pub draught, and our first beer, Hitachino Espresso Stout, poured. Not the small 6 oz tasters of festivals past, rather something like a 6-8 oz fluted glass held each stout. Like the tasters one finds at the Vintage 50 or similar. The idea of the entire dinner was to pair the beers with compatible foods, the courses themselves made using their respectively paired stouts.
Here's what our hosts had in store for us:
Environment counts for a lot when enjoying food and drink, and certainly adds to the memory of it. Bierra Paradiso has a great environment for tasting beer. The upstairs has an open, warm feel, from the brightly lit bar with close but not cramped quarters, to the sky-painted ceiling (thanks for pointing this out Justin) and brick, and the glass windows to the outdoors, just large enough to people watch and let your memory paint a more interesting picture of the passers-by than let actual recollection interject reality.
The basement is a more homey affair, with small wooden tables and sturdy chairs, and a fireplace and a pair of leather chairs that were really inviting. We shared a table with a nice couple, and a latecomer sans wife; they had forgotten about the event, so we split her courses among us.
Greg introduced himself, and began by speaking about the Hitachino Espresso Stout, the control beer and then the servers began pouring all our beers, which I arranged in order on our table. They poured all but the world wide stout, which they reserved until dessert was served.
Hitachino Nest Espresso Stout
Appearance: Black with a medium-brown head rimming the glass
Aroma: Baker's chocolate or a nice european chocolate bar
Taste: Bittersweet chocolate, cold-brewed coffee, Roasty!
Brewery: Kiuchi Brewery, Japan
Rating: 9/10
Personal Notes:The Hitachino Espresso Stout was amazing - one of the most flavorful coffee stouts I've had, definitely way more complex than the control, Guiness. 7.5% abv.
They did advertise it as a speedy aperatif (the mozzarella ball and cherry tomato on a toothpick), but something inside of ten minutes was the expectation to quaff the Espresso Stout...and much too quickly did we move on to the appetizer. I didn't finish this stout until the end of the evening, it's taste was incredibly appealing and demanded revisiting. I would definitely recommend this stout to be paired with any piquantly-flavored appetizer or chocolate dessert, but keep it away from entrees that might detract from its intense flavor.
Old Rasputin Imperial Stout
Appearance: Black with a light-brown head
Aroma: roasted coffee, slight alcohol, malt
Taste: Vinous, bitter malt, roasted, alcohol is slightly overpowering, but hops leave it behind.
Brewery: North Coast Brewing Co., California, United States
Rating: 8/10
Personal Notes:This beer is on a Nitrogen line at Bierra (78% Nitrogen, 22% CO2), pouring an extra smooth draft. 9% abv.
The pairing with this stout was savory. Greg had paired Old Rasputin with a chicken-broth-based potato soup which the staff actually made with a base of the brew itself, true to the nature of the dinner. To top it off, a dollop of sour cream sat in the bottom of the bowl, ready to be stirred in at my convenience. Apparently, one should add 12oz of beer for every gallon of chicken stock. All too soon, we finished our soup and Old Rasputin and moved on to the Gnocchi.
Great Divide Oak Aged Yeti Stout
Appearance: Black with very small head; residual legs on the glass
Aroma: Fig, cherry, vanilla or sorghum
Taste: Molasses, bourbon, figs, cherries
Brewery: Great Divide Brewing Company, Colorado, United States
Rating: 9.5/10
Personal Notes:This beer is AMAZING. One of the fruitiest stouts I've ever had, an amazing array of roasted and fruity flavors. 9.5% abv.
The servers brought out the Gnocchi on a heated ceramic dish, looking more like a set of baked tofu squares than the normally sauce-drowned potato niblets I'm used to. An excellent pairing; the pine nuts and pistachios (I'm not just remembering incorrectly am I?) and tiny bits of green olive gave a salty contrast to the sweet, fruity flavors of the stout. Since our 6th dinner guest was not present, we shared her Gnocchi as well.
Victory Storm King Stout
Appearance: Simply black
Aroma: Incredibly roasty, mouthfeel a bit hoppy
Taste: Strong, roasty, slightly sweet.
Brewery: Victory Brewing Company, Pennsylvania, United States
Rating: 8/10
Personal Notes:almost a terse rebuke in comparison with the Yeti, 9.1% abv.
Greg paired this incredible stout with a margarita pizza, whose sauce was based on the Storm King. The tomato with stout taste was a pretty good combination, The stout seeming to sweeten the sauce. It doesn't hurt that this place is one of the few gastro-pubs worth mentioning in the area, having both excellent food and drink.
Bell's Expedition Stout
Appearance: black with dark brown head that stayed the entire dinner
Aroma: Chocolate cherry
Taste: roasted chocolate malt, definite alcohol taste.
Brewery: Bell's Brewery, Inc. Michigan, United States
Rating: 9.0/10
Personal Notes:10.5% abv.
By the time we got on to the second pizza, the "Expedition Cherry Pesto" as they put it, we were in heaven. The expedition stout was a great finishing entree stout and the dark sweet notes of the beer went incredibly well with the cherry pesto pizza brought out to accompany it.
Dogfish Head World Wide Stout
Appearance: Black, opaque
Aroma: Alcohol off the top, roasted flavors beyond that
Taste: Insane roast plums, blackberries, all other jellies, mahogany wash
Brewery: Dogfish Head Craft Brewery, Delaware, United States
Rating: 9.0/10
Personal Notes:18% abv.
Our final pairing ot the evening was a ramiken-housed dessert of baked pears with cinnamon and sauce. And with that I realized i still had half of my beers left, so we chatted and pushed on.
Greg let us know about the up and coming dinners. A beer/cheese pairing in April and a local craft-brew event in May appealed, but I'm not sure it would be wise to do something like this without Jean again; she'd like to be included and perhaps the sole participant besides myself. Around 11:30 we came to realize that if we didn't leave then and there for the metro (again, Rosslyn), we'd never make the last train. So we pushed out into the cold and fared good bye to the Paradiso. Good times.