Taste WA Ice Cream and Beer Seminar
Welcome to the Alaska Chef's Stage at Taste WA. The line is queued up for people ready to learn about ice cream and beer pairings.
People really love free beer and ice cream from the looks of these lines.
Pairings are with Hoegaarden, Stella Artois Cidre, Leffe Blonde and Elysian Raspberry Stout.
And our hosts for today....Josh Reynolds from Bluebird.
And Beer Sommelier Michael Kelley from Stella Artois. He tends to get giddy when it comes to beer if you can't tell.
We have 4 different ice creams to try today. Fun fact, ice cream can be too cold. When it's too cold, it doesn't have its normal creamy texture and flavors are muted.
Michael is preparing himself for the stage by making sure the products are at proper temperature. He is not doing this out of his enjoyment of beer and ice cream.
Here's our stage for today's seminar. Get excited.
Seating is finally open. Let's get this seminar going.
The line was so long it took a few minutes for people to start filing in.
Michael loves to make an entrance but Josh is keeping it "cool". Hopefully their seminar is better than my bad pun.
Josh explains that good ice cream comes from good ingredients and less air. Cheaper ice cream has less cream content and contains more air as filler.
Michael is stunned by this revelation of ice cream filled with extra air...His grocery store ice cream fix will never be the same.
Notice how she pours about an inch of foam or "head". It's important for the beer to have head so you can get the full aroma of the beer. Foam releases aroma and keep oxygen out of the beer.
Josh prefers to drink as Michael continues to extol the virtues of a proper beer pour.
Most of our perception of taste comes from smell. Michael proves this by leading the class in an exercise in which you drink the beer with a plugged nose.
This is why when you're sick, food tastes more bland. This exercise is a lot fun, try it yourself next time by pinching your nose when taking a sip.
It's fun for boys, girls and the whole family.
Michael knows how make people smile. Or it's the large glasses of beer around everyone. I think it's the latter.
Most of us have tried root beer floats as kids. Being the adults now, try some beer with ice cream floats instead.
Beer and ice cream are able to extract other flavors from one another. The beer breaks down the cream to release aromas and flavors usually not released in it's normal state.
The highlight pairing was with a smoked maple ice cream with Stella Artois Cidre. This was my first time trying cider and ice cream together and it was surprisingly not overly sweet.
Stella Artois cidre is not an overly sweet cider. The apple flavor worked really with the maple to invoke an apple pie a la mode flavor in your mouth. Don't take my word for it though, just look at her face...
Smiling.
And drinking.
What is the deal with people who don't drink beer? Yup threw a Seinfeld reference in here.
Michael is holding an Elysian Omen Raspberry Stout. This is a great beer with notes of roast, chocolate, and raspberries that pairs easily with any dessert or ice cream. Get it now while you can.
Josh got to talk to which meant Michael immediately went back to doing what he does best.
Participants got to ask lots of questions in this open forum about beer and ice cream. When in doubt, tweet @stellaartois for some great advice on pairings.
If you're curious about making your own beer floats, don't hesitate. Bluebird creates their own in house ice cream and beers for floats. Stella Cidre, Elysian, Leffe and Hoegaarden are only a grocery store visit away. Thanks to Josh and Michael for this educational adventure.
If you ever meet Michael in person at an event, I encourage you to talk to him. He loves to talk about beer and food.
Or you can just keep on eating...
Thanks to all the hard working servers of Taste WA who made this possible.
Ooooh Blue Steel.
I leave you with dance party time.
