Krausen Rising

After the “Five Guys and a Barrel” beer dinner April 20th, which was too epic, incredible, and over-the-top to begin to describe, particularly since it’s long gone, I wasn’t sure I’d be able to handle another of the Beer Chef’s extravaganzas. Fortunately, Mr. Paton gave us a couple months to recover. The Schooners beer dinner was announced somewhat late, and that coupled with the relative obscurity of the small Antioch-based brewery, meant there were a total of 20 people at dinner, including chef Bruce Paton and Craig Cauwels (Schooners’ head brewer). I’m sure the low attendance wasn’t good for profits, but it meant more beer and a much more intimate setting for those of us lucky enough to attend.

The snack selection was great - gazpacho soup with bay shrimp, barbecue chicken sliders, rack of lamb, awesome tiny cheese sandwiches, and deviled eggs (the one snack from which I abstained). All of those were served with the Schooners IPA, a nicely hopped West Coast style IPA, and a Belgian-style Whit, another solid beer, somewhat spice fragrant and very refreshing. I mostly limited myself to one of each, though Jen grabbed an extra cheese sandwich that we split, and I did the same with a slider.

The meal itself was only three courses, a huge relief after the incredibly rich and weighty meal served last April. Up first was a caprese salad with fresh mozarella (may have been homemade) and peaches instead of tomatos. On the side was olive oil with some herbs and a sour cherry vinagrette. I wasn’t sure about the peaches until I tried them, and they were great. The thing about that course, though, was the Vindecation, Schooners’ dry stout supplemented with sour cherries then aged with brettanomyces and some other bugs (I believe pediococcus and a couple others). According to Cauwels, lab analysis put the ABV at 11%(!!), up from the standard 5% of the original dry stout. The Vindecation was my favorite of the night. I don’t think I’ve had a better beer in a long time. I honestly think it gives some of the Russian River sour beers a run for their money. Cauwels said they’ll be bottling the stuff at some point, and to check their website for updates. Which I’ll be doing. This is also where the small group made for such a great night. Each beer arrived in a five gallon keg, so there was far more than enough to go around. I think I had two refills, then drank a good portion of Jen’s when she was done. So good!

Then there was some pork, very nice, with barbecue sauce and something they called a potato risotto, also good. That was served with the dry stout, a solid beer that unfortunately couldn’t hold a candle to its heir, Vindecation.

Last was a bread pudding with butterscotch. It went very well with the barleywine, which had been aged to the point that it wasn’t syrupy or cloying at all (it was a 2006 barleywine). Another delightful brew, it couldn’t beat out Vindecation, but I loved it.

Cauwels was very friendly and willing discuss his beers and brewing in general. He is an avid homebrewer, and came in to brewing from biotech (maybe he was a chemist - I forget). He described his job as “yeast farmer, with beer as a side product” (or words to that effect). I also spoke with Brian Yaeger, who was also very friendly and happy to discuss his new book (Red, White, and Brew), beer, and his experiences interviewing people like Fritz Maytag for said book.

It was an excellent beer dinner, and very good after what had turned into an exhausting and stressful Saturday. We didn’t get any pictures (we forgot our camera), but you can find some at The Brookston Beer Bulletin.