Pics - Trappist Beer Dinner

Last night was yet another succesful Brewmaster's Dinner. This month's event featured beers from 6 of the 7 Trappist breweries, which are brewed in monasteries located in Belgium and the Netherlands under the control and guidelines of Trappist monks. Each dish featured autum-inspired ingredients that paired wonderfully with each of the bigger, bolder, higher alcohol beers. Many, many thanks to those of you who made it out, but for those who didn't, here's what you missed:

Guests began pouring into the Foundry around 6:30.

First course: hazelnut encrusted Chevre goat cheese truffles with rosemary honey.

A goat cheese truffle with Chimay Tripel - 8% ABV.

Round #2: Pumpkin ale soup with sage croutons, nutmeg whipped cream and Orval - 6.9% ABV.

Onlookers watch as Guffy is about to break into the Running Man while collecting empty glasses...

Third course: roasted duck salad with sun-dried cherries, candied walnuts, Roquefort cheese and Trappistes Rochefort 10 - 11.3% ABV.

Achel Bruin prefers it with the lights down... - 8% ABV.

Seared diver scallop over butternut squash with brown butter sauce, prosciutto & Achel Bruin.

Owner James Westphal explaining how flavorful some of the Trappist beers are: "they taste THIS big!"

Westmalle Dubbel - 7% ABV. Truly a remarkable beer; available at the Foundry.

Braised beef short ribs with shiitake mushrooms & parsnip-turnip puree, paired with Westmalle Dubbel.

Double-layer butternut squash pecan pie, apricot glaze and maple whipped cream with Koningshoeven quadrupel - 10% ABV. Koningshoeven is an absolutely incredible beer - find it & drink it!

Class in a glass, baby!

'til next time - cheers!

Hey!

Hey everybody - just wanted to remind you to grab tickets to the Trappist Beer Dinner if you haven't already! We've got just a few seats left and want to make sure YOU get them before anyone else. Stop by for a pint (or 4) and secure your spot on what is sure to be one of our best Brewmaster's Dinners yet! More info on that here.

A few other noteworthy items: more information on the bottling of Ursa Major coming very soon; the incredibly delicious Imperial Steam Lager will be on in the next week or so; and something I'm really looking forward to in the next couple weeks is the release of our Coffee Oatmeal Stout - our ridiculously smooth oatmeal stout infused with coffee beans from Broadway Coffee! Oh, and speaking of coffee beers, the Foundry is just dying to tap a keg of Founders Breakfast Stout once we polish off the Schlafly Pumpkin Ale...

See you soon :)

Now On Tap - Pilsener

A pilsener (also "pilsner" or simply "pils") is a type of pale lager. It takes its name from being developed in the 19th century in the city of Pilsen, Bohemia (Plzen in the Czech Republic). Until the mid-1840s, most Bohemian beers were top-fermented, dark & cloudy. The taste and standards of quality often varied widely, and in 1838, consumers dumped whole barrels to show their dissatisfaction. The officials of Pilsen founded a city-owned brewery in 1839, called Bürger Brauerei (Citizens' Brewery - now Plzensky Prazdoj), brewing beer according to the Bavarian style of brewing. Bavarian brewers had begun experiments with the storage (German: "lager") of beer in cool caves using bottom-fermenting yeasts, which improved the beer's clarity, flavor & shelf-life.

The Bürger Brauerei recruited the Bavarian brewer Josef Groll (1813 – 1887) who, using new techniques and the newly available paler malts, presented his first batch of modern pilsener on October 5, 1842. The combination of pale color from the new malts, Pilsen's remarkably soft water, Saaz noble hops from nearby Saaz (since 1918 Zatec) and Bavarian-style lagering produced a clear, golden beer which was regarded as a sensation.

Improving transport and communications also meant that this new beer was soon available throughout central Europe, and the Pilsner Brauart style of brewing was soon widely imitated. In 1859, “Pilsner Bier” was registered as a brand name at the Chamber of Commerce and Trade in Pilsen. In 1898, the Pilsner Urquell trade mark was created to put emphasis on being the original brewery.

A pilsener is generally regarded as different from other pale lagers by a more prominent hop character, particularly from the use of Saaz noble hops. While pilsener is best defined in terms of its characteristics and heritage, the term is also used by some brewers (particularly in North America) to indicate their "premium" beer, whether or not it has a particular hop character.

Our Pilsener follows the Bohemian tradition. We use imported Pilsener Malt and a lot of Czech Saaz hops to produce a refreshing crisp, hoppy lager that you’ll want to drink all day. This beer was brewed in July and has been lagering since. It is filtered to show off its brilliant golden color.

Brewer's specs:

Malt:

Pilsener Malt
Carapils Malt
Crystal Malt

Hops:
90% Czech Saaz
10% Hallertauer (another 'noble' hop known for it's flavor & aroma)

Fermented under 50C for 14 days using our house lager yeast

OG 11.3 Plato
4.4% ABV

Random Photos

Yesterday we recieved over 200 lbs. of raspberry puree for our Raspberry Wheat:

The fermentation tanks in the alley behind McCoy's (named after Brewmaster Keith Thompson's kids):

GABF Medals: Newcomb's IPA (Bronze 2002 & 2004 - English Style IPA) and Ginger Shandy (Silver 2001 & 2003 - Specialty Beer):

The Brewhouse inside the restaurant:

Have a good weekend - cheers!

Trappist Beer Dinner - 11.03.09

Join us Tuesday Nov. 3 at 6:30 for our most exciting Brewmaster's Dinner yet! We'll be offering a 6 course meal paired with beers from 6 of the 7 Trappist breweries. For those of you not familiar with Trappist beer, they are brewed under the control & guidelines of Trappist monks at their monasteries located in Belgium & the Netherlands. Of the the 7 Trappist breweries, all are available in the United States with one exception - Westvleteren, which is only available at their Belgium monastery. But we've got the other 6 - Chimay, Orval, Rochefort, Achel, Westmalle & Koningshoeven! These are full flavor, high alcohol brews that will go great with the cool weather and our Autumn-inspired menu. Tickets are only $50 person. Be sure to call us at 816-960-0866 or stop by to get your tickets ASAP as reservations are very limited.

Stout-oberfest!

Given the recent decline in temperatures, these seasonal brews couldn't have come at a more appropriate time. It is with much pride and excitement that we announce the return of Ursa Major - our Russian Imperial Stout (which happens to be my favorite McCoy's brew), as well as our nitrogenated Oatmeal Stout. That gives us a total of 3 stouts on tap right now - Ursa Major, Oatmeal Stout & our year-round offering, Thompson's Dry Stout.

Ursa Major Russian Imperial Stout

An Imperial Stout, or Russian Imperial Stout, is a strong dark beer that was originally brewed by Thrale's brewery in London for export to the court of Catherine II of Russia; known then as "Thrale's Entire Porter". Ursa Major is a rich, intense brew with big, complex flavors and a warming finish due to the high alcohol content. At 10.5% ABV, the "Big Bear" name is certainly appropriate. This beer has been recieved so well we're going to be bottling a small amount of it this year in our 30 oz. flip-top bombers. More info on that soon - check out the label art:

Brewer's specs:

Pale 2-row Malt
Crystal Malt
Roasted Malt
Chocolate Malt
Black Malt

Brown Sugar
Belgian Candied Sugar

20 lbs. East Kent Goldings hops from England

Fermented with McCoy's House Ale Yeast

OG 26 Plato

85 IBU

10.5% ABV

Oatmeal Stout:

Oatmeal Stouts are generally medium to full bodied stouts that have a remarkable smoothness to them from the addition of oats to the mash. The oats not only add a lot of smoothness to the mouthfeel, but also give a touch of sweetness that is unlike any other type of stout. Ours is very smooth and delicious with assertive dark malt flavors. This batch was nitrogenated to make it incredibly creamy!

Brewer's specs:

Pale Malt
Carapils Malt
Munich Malt
Roasted Malt
Black Malt
Honey Malt

Oats

Bravo & Willamette hops from the Pacific Northwest

Fermented with McCoy's House Ale Yeast

OG 15.5 Plato
45 IBU
6.1% ABV