One day after our monthly committee meeting a few of the members trailed me over to graze at the StarFire Restaurant and Rooftop Brewery. We had been herded this way before. On that occasion, I had lamb soup but there was no lamb on the menu that day. But I digress but not much since this is about food!
As we were sitting there waiting for our waitress or maybe our waiter, (clearly not germane to the topic; well …, ok, I digress again) we were greeted by a staff member (he probably had a title which eludes me) who began to tell us about some of his food items being prepared and about the “sheep beer” that would be paired with the dishes. Sort of like two baby lambs tethered together to have the stronger one take care of the weaker one! (I think ewe can guess which is the stronger one!)
It was such an enlightening whimsical conversation with him! And he then sent out this email to those who needed to know for the events. I’ll just let his words tell the rest of the story.
Howdy everyone!
I herd from some of our awesome residents this morning about the up-coming Sheep events in September all across the campus. They shared some more details regarding a StarFire event planned for September 5th, and they are hoping to have some amazing lamb dishes and a beer (or two) that pair well!
Here is a list of some classic lamb dishes with potential beers that can fit the pairing. Let me know if these pairings help shepherd in some creative juices, or if we should further ruminate on the details!
.) Shepherd’s Pie with a toasty/bready English Brown Ale; comforting and classic!
.) Chimichurri lamb sliders with floral/spicy Saison
.) Lamb barbacoa tacos with citrusy bitter IPA
There is a *BIT* of history with Sheep and beer (well, most technically goats and beer). In German, the word for “billy goat” is Bock, which is also a well-known lager beer style. Bocks come in a couple different styles, ranging from golden and crisp to amber and malty-sweet.
My goal is to brew a Helles Bock to have available the entire month of September, and then do one more beer for the StarFire event. (That’s a total of two sheep beers, just so nobody feels like they got fleeced)
Let me know if anyone of ewe have ideas!
(And if you are already sick of all my ovine puns, you haven’t seen mutton yet!)
Scott Plachecki
Advanced Cicerone®
More will be reported after the event on Thursday. I’m sure “we haven’t seen mutton yet!”
Until Thursday! And just once in awhile one must have fun with stories!
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