Beer and Food Pairing: Iron Hill Brewery
Author: Sudz | Filed under: Brewpub Review, Food
Iron Hill Brewery and Restaurant Part 2
Time of arrival: 5:45
Atmosphere: Early dinner, a little on the quiet side. By the time I left 7:30 the restaurant was buzzing.
- Harvest Salad
Seasonal greens, spiced pecans, granny smith apples, poached pears, dried cherries, gorgonzola and sherry-maple vinaigrette.
Beer Pairing Selction: Tom Selleck’s Moustache (TSM) and Iron Bound Pale
Tom Selleck’s Mustache:Beer Style Specialty Porter?
ABV: 4%
Dark With strong, roasty, cherry infused flavor. Well balanced brew, I would describe this as a specialty porter. Strong roasty flavors and subtle hint of cherry. Surprisingly lighted bodied with a nice clean finish.
Ironbound Pale Ale
Beer Style: American Pale Ale:
OG: 1050, ABV: 4.7, IBU 50
Awards: 2005 GABF Bronze
Medium bodied and pleasantly hopped. (see notes from first night’s tasting)
Taster’s notes:
I really appreciate the marriage of sweet and tart flavors and the varying textures of the crisp greens, crunch of the apples, and crunch of the pecans. The touch of gorgonzola wakes up those taste buds!
Havest Salad Pairing with TSM
A bite of the salad followed by a sip of Tom Selleck’s Mustache pairs well. The subtle sweet cherry notes plays well with the sweetness of the sherry-maple vinaigrette. I just took a bite of salad that had a good helping of the gorgonzola and followed it up with another sip of the TSM, this time, the strong flavors of gorgonzola really brought out the roastiness and subtle sweetness of the TSM.
Havest Salad Paring with Ironbound Pale Ale
Another bite of the salad this time paired with the pale ale. Probably not the best pairing for this salad as the spiciness of the IPA was a bit overpowered by the strong flavors of the gorgonzola. I tried another bite of the salad, this time carefully not including any gorgonzola but the pairing didn’t do well. The flavors of TSM did a much better job of bringing out and complimenting the flavors of the salad.
Entrée – Pan Seared Lemon Pepper Sword Fish
Served with grilled veggies, boursin cheese-potatoe croquettes and fresh herb aioli. This was noted as one of Iron Hill’s signature dish.
Taster’s notes:
Beautifully seasoned, well prepared tender sword fish, the herb aioli is out of this world and compliments the sword fish well. The grilled veggies provide a nice texture to the sword fish, I would definitely enjoy a bowl of the veggies by itself. Fresh flavors, and gorgeous colors and contrast, this photo doesn’t do it justice.
I cant get enough of the boursin cheese-potatoe croquettes, a wonderful contrast of textures, wonderfully crisp outside with a deliciously software and flavor inside.
- Beer Pairing Selection
Belgian Pale Ale
Much like the traditional Belgians, this golden beauty has the characteristic trade mark spice aromas that us Belgian fans have come to love. The Belgian spices are subdued and well balanced by a nice hoppy finish. Light bodied and refreshing crisp finish! Belgian Pales are well paired with a variety of different foods such as cheese, mussels, chicken and spicey dishes. I thought the Belgian Pale would do well with the spice of the lemon pepper seasoning and the spice of the aioli and it do very well.
- The winning pair
No question that my pick for favorite pair this evening is The Harvest Salad and Tom Selleck’s Mustache for the reasons above. This is not to take anything away from the fantastic pairing of the Belgian Pale and Lemon Pepper Sword Fish it was a matter a preference at this point.
The general rule of thumb when pairing food and beer is to match intensity of flavors. Overall I just felt the salad and TSM edged out the entrée. You cant go wrong either way!
Okay, if you’re watching your figure, you better not look below…
Double Chocolate Hill
This one needs no introduction…bring a friend to help – this one is to share…warm chocolate cake, warm peanut butter center, chocolate ganache and vanilla ice cream.. enough said!
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