Last week marked the second annual Dark Horse Beefsteak Dinner at McGreivey’s. This laid back beer dinner hasn’t changed much from last year’s event, which is a good thing. The seat price is an absolute steal considering the amount of food, including all you can eat filet, and beer is served at the event. I didn’t have as much freedom to move around to take as many pictures like I did last year so make sure you check out that post with a little more in depth commentary as well.
Tuesday may have kicked off Saratoga Beer Week but at that night’s Hudson Whiskey & Rye Beer event, the whiskey stole the show. Ryan and Sonja McFadden of Henry Street hosted us while Ralph Erenzo from Tuthilltown Spirits led us through a series of Hudson Whiskey spirits and Jared Kingsley from Remarkable Liquids shared a handful of beers from their portfolio all of which tied rye into the recipe.
Hudson Whiskey is an interesting brand. It started life on farm land in Gardiner, NY owned by Ralph Erenzo, and he has no qualms about telling stories of trials and tribulations of getting production off the ground. Difficulties were met while dealing with uncooperative neighbors who were against the idea of having a distillery nearby, and production issues arose when the honey-melting tank they used to mash their grain lacked a drain, attributing to their unique process of leaving the grains in during fermentation. This gives the final product its signature grainy flavor, a process they still use today.
While still produced by Tuthilltown, the Hudson Whiskey brand is now owned Scotch whisky giant William Grant & Sons, who also own recognizable brands such as Glenfiddich, Balvenie, and The Mcallan. The 375ml wax dipped bottles generate some controversy in the whiskey world as the pricepoint fetches near $80 for its 750ml equivelant, but I assure you, it’s worth the price of admission for a special occassion. Let’s take a look at the whiskies and beer we tried that night.
On Monday night a whole slew of friends braved the impending “storm” to head out to The City Beer Hall’s Artisanal Beer Dinner (you can check out fellow blogger Kim’s post on dinner here). The storm that night ended up being a dud, but thankfully Chef Dimitrios and his crew, pictured above, put together a dinner and pairings that were anything but.
It’s been a while since my last beer dinner at The City Beer Hall and unlike most of the Wild Game Nights that center around the lineup from a specific brewery, this was open to the full range of offerings from local distributor Remarkable Liquids. It was nice that some limited releases were brought in just for the event and were poured for the first time or not available elsewhere in the state. Let’s take a look at the pairings of the night: Continue reading
Thursday night was the latest of Jared Kingsley of Remarkable Liquids’ beer dinners, this time at McGreivey’s in Waterford, featuring the beers from Dark Horse Brewing Company. Dark Horse, out of Marshall, MI, is known in the craft beer circles for their citrusy IPAs and big, roasty stouts. Oh, and turning down having their beer featured in a Nickleback video because “It’s shit rock and roll that doesn’t deserve to be on the radio”. Just awesome.
matthew 'fuj' scher 