Food Meets Beer At Cru, Fort Myers

Congrats to Fort Myers Brewing Company for winning Best Larger Brewer in Florida and five medals at the Best Florida Beer Championship Brewers Ball in Tampa last month (March.)

When the brewery teamed up with one of my favorite Fort Myers (Florida) restaurants, Cru, to put on another amazing beer dinner, this wine lover just had to go.

Some in attendance argued that beer is even more complex than wine, therefore better with food. While I'm not convinced, Chef/Owner Bob Boye certainly made the discussion a valid one with pairings that complimented flavors and transformed textures

I was tickled that the cocktail hour featured the refreshing Gateway Gold served in Champagne flutes. Passed appetizers included hickory smoked salmon, sweet and salty blue crab wontons with truffle honey, and a decadent miniature ice cream cone filled with maitake mushrooms cornets and goat cheese--wow.

Mango IPA/Diver Scallop

Our first course was a seared diver scallop with macerated mango in an herb emulsion. It really brought out the fruit flavors in the Mango IPA. This beer has the base grains for Fort Myers Brewing's High Five, then fresh, local mangos are added.

Next was a crisp, fatty and meaty piece of pork belly, marinated and cooked for 24 hours before it reached out happy plates along with with grilled peaches and a savory graham cracker. The Half Fast IPA was fresh and aromatic, hops forward with citrus and pine. It cut through the fat nicely.

Pork Belly

The third course was the one that knocked my socks off; duck confit, duck & foie glace and the most flavorful, delightful king trumpet mushrooms from Oregon. The Red Tape Amber Ale was malty, perfect with the rich meat. It mellowed with the earthy dish to form an absolutely seamless pairing where nothing overpowered the other. A sip, a bite, it was one you did not want to end.

Eating the lamb loin in the fourth course was like having a fine New York strip. The meat was perfectly cooked and served over braised collard greens with a hint of bacon and spice. The Incognito IPA, a black IPA, was hoppy with roasted malt and that roast really came through for a nice partnership with the meat.

Churrasco style tri tip

The final meat course, a churrasco style tri tip, came with Cru's new steak sauce and the  OYA Double IPA. OYA stands for On Your Ass so you can make the appropriate assumption here. It' s citrus hop that had flavors of grapefruit and went surprisingly well with the tender steak and bacon braised Yukon potato.

The Toasted Coconut Porter almost took on an effervescent feel with the sinful dessert; smoked fruit with coconut Pot de Creme. A seasonal beer, this one tasted of coffee grounds and vanilla. It was another great transformation with the food which had everyone at my table literally licking the bowl.

If you think beer dinners are going to be too filling, too much of anything, you should book a table at the next one hosted by Cru. The staff and chef's really know how to do it right.

Cru Crushes The Ballast Point Beer Dinner

The craft beer business is booming and so are events that feature it, including beer dinners. Most foodie-types are intimately familiar with wine dinners, however, many have the belief that drinking beer with multiple courses of food would be way too filling.

If that is you, you haven't met Chef Bob Boye at Cru in Fort Myers, FL. This beer lover prepared a beautiful seven course tasting menu that left guests wanting more, rather than feeling over served and bloated.

The courses were small bites and the Ballast Point beers were manageable tasting pours, just the right amount. Sometimes dinners like this offer big portions and big pours, which are nice, but by the last course I often find my taste buds getting weary, my belly expanding and my cell phone handy for an Uber ride home.

Not only was this perfect in portions, but pairings.

In our first course, the batter hugging each Apalachicola oyster was made with the same Longfin Lager it was served with. The Beer was light with citrus, a crisp, pleasant pairing with the salty fried oyster.

Longfin Battered Apaloachicola Oysters

Octopus, tender deliciously prepared octopus, was the star of the second course. It was served over a Meyer Lemon and strawberry marmalade. The Even Keel Session IPA had a bitter aroma and a bitter finish that was fun with the all of the flavors on the plate, including the nutty and bitter arugula. There was a bit of pepper that a was a beautiful compliment to the strawberry. A favorite course for many at my table.

Grilled Octopus

Next up was a fabulous gulf shrimp escabeche. The sweet shrimp with a nice snap, contrasted with the spicy chimichurri gelee it was served with. This was a great combo of texture and flavors that held up to the Grunion American Pale Ale. It had a pungent nose and flavors of orange peel.

The miso seared black grouper with hazelnut broth and sticky rice (4th course) actually tasted better with the beer than on its own...that's the magic of the pairing. The Calico Amber Ale smelled and tasted like caramel, with a pleasing bit of toast.

Miso seared Black Grouper

The smoked olive oil scallop sous vide was another table favorite. The char was perfect, the grilled grapefruit offered nice acidity and the thai basil brought it home. Served with Ballast Point's Grapefruit Sculpin IPA, the beer also had a hint of pineapple. It's grapefruit flavors were even more pronounced with the food

Smoked Olive Oil Scallop

Course six brought the heat. Maryland blue crab & habanero, served over greens and with the Habanero Sculpin IPA. If you like it hot, you will love this beer...it is not subtle.

Perhaps the biggest surprise of the night and one of my favorites was dessert. The curry and dark chocolate soufflé with toasted coconut was incredible. Add to it the Indra Kunindra Curry Export Stout and this blew me away. It's nose was intoxicating and inviting. I could taste curry, cayenne, and lots of cumin. This was a perfect pairing and nothing I would have ever thought to try on my own.

Curry & Dark Chocolate Soufflé 

Although wine still has my heart, I'm becoming more and more impressed with the craft beers I've been tasting, their complexities, layers of flavors and the how well they work with food. Many of these beers I would not drink on their own, they NEED food in my opinion.....just like some wines.

Congratulations Chef, Austin from Ballast Point and the entire staff of Cru for putting on a well thought out and executed beer dinner that converted many of my fellow "wine snobs" who were in attendance. CHEERS!

Pairing Wine And Beer

This time last week I was preparing to go to my first beer/wine combo dinner. I've been to hundreds of wine dinners and a handful of beer dinners, but never one that embraced both; apparently no one else at this event had either.

When I took my seat at the funky 7th Avenue Social in Naples, the gentleman next to me was conflicted, not knowing which flight he would choose, the beer or the wine. You should have seen his relief when I assured him the restaurant would never be so cruel as to make him choose, he would get BOTH.....wink, wink......because I know people.

We got a glass of wine and one of beer with each course. Not only did the beverages pair seamlessly with each dish, they also complimented each other, proving that like dogs and cats, beer and wine can sometimes get along too.

I really wasn't sold on the idea until I took a sip of Fort Myers Brewing Company's signature, Gateway Gold, a blond ale,  followed by a taste of the award winning Balletto Pinot Gris. Both were fresh and light with lots of citrus.....wow, this is gonna work. When paired with the ceviche tacos (poblano crema and pico de gallo) the food and wine geek in me got giddy with excitement!

The diver sea scallops (pictured below with Fresno, saffron creme anglaise, micro greens, poached quail egg and lardons) were served with a small production Ehlers Estate Sauvignon Blanc and a high Five IPA. Another beautiful combination that had diners licking plates and draining glasses.

Then came the house smoked duck rillete with drunken fig jam, served in a glass jar that seemed to be bottomless. The hops in the Red Tape American Amber came from Willamette Valley, Oregon; same place as the grapes found in the silky Coleen Clemons Pinot Noir.

4th course was a petit filet with blue crab, béarnaise, glance de viande, pencil asparagus and twice baked fingerling potatoes. What a savory dish, served with two toasty, complex beverages: the Tamiami Tan brown ale and the Baer Callisto blend of cabernet sauvignon, syrah and petit verdot grapes. The groans of delight were getting louder with each course.

Then came the grand finale, put a fork in me! A PB&J empanada was plated with salted caramel ice cream and served with a Peanut Butter Porter and Delaforce Ruby Port from Portugal.

This dinner was an amazing three pronged punch of pleasure. It's rare in these types of dining events that every course hits the mark....this one did.

Bravo to Heather Smith from Opici Wines and Fred Malone from Fort Myers Brewing Company for working together, sharing tasting notes and picking the perfect wine and beer match ups. The triangle was then completed by 7th Avenue Social's amazing chef, David Lani, who created dishes full of flavor and texture to compliment the beverage combination.

When is the next one?