Beer and Smoked Meats at the ICE

For a Christmas present two years ago Mr. T and I got tickets to see Garrett Oliver, Brewmaster of the Brooklyn Brewery, teach a class on beer at the ICE. We had a great time and learned a lot of good info about the beer making process and the different styles around the country. So when I saw he was doing a class again, this time with cured meats and beer, I knew we had to go.

We got there about 10 minutes early and got a seat at one of the front tables. The session was set up just like the last one with nine wine glasses in front of each person for tasting.



There was also a sheet on the table listing all of the beers and meats we were going to try throughout the evening. Mr. T and I have gotten a lot more into beer since the last class and unfortunately there was only one beer on the list, the Smuttynose Baltic Porter, we had never tried before. I guess we know too much about beer now!



However we were excited because one of our favorite new beers was on the list- the Brooklyn Local 2. This is a Belgian strong dark ale that truly tastes like it?s from Belgium. It has a deep caramel and fig flavor that is incredibly smooth. This beer is so tasty and easy to drink you would never imagine it carries a whopping 9% abv.

The Spatan Optimator and Saison Dupont are also two of our favorite beers. So although we were upset we couldn?t try new stuff, we were quite pleased with his selections.

For the tasting we started out with a fantastic piece of Applewood Bacon from Niman Ranch. Niman Ranch bacon ranks up there as one of my favorites so I was pretty happy.

Then they brought out the platter of meats that would accompany the rest of our drinks.



Bresaola, Ham, Sopressata, Speck...it was a cured meat fest! My favorite pairings were the Nadine Country Ham with Sammy?s Smiths Nut Brown Ale and the D?Artagnan Smoked Duck with Schlenkerla Rauchbier. Smoked Duck with a Smoky Bacon beer it amazing!

Once again Garrett was funny, informative and entertaining. My only gripe was that while Garrett served the front row, the ICE servers poured for the rest of the crowd and they definitely got much more beer than us. Next time I will stick to the back like I usually do. I think Garrett is so focused on his information that he doesn?t exactly pay attention while he serves.

The ICE is a great place to have a fun night out and learn something new. Check out their site and you?ll see some interesting classes. These make a great gift as well for the food and drink lover in your life.