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Best in Fest - LAB Brewing/Twisted Oak Tavern - Abuelita Mamacita

6/2/2017

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Honorable Mention

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Food and beer pairing for:

Abuelita Mamacita
Russian Imperial Stout
12% ABV

Description: 
House brewed imperial stout aged on vanilla bean, bourbon barrel ages coffee, Spanish cedar spirals, and Mexican chocolate
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Jason Hendrick: 
 Grilled portabello sandwich with caramelized onions and wash rind cheese
Erin Peters:  Oysters, venison, brownies
Kevin Pratt: Lamb meatballs, pork with mole negro, shrimp with peanut sauce


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Best in Fest - Five Threads - 'Lil Bliss

6/1/2017

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Food and beer pairing for:

'Lil Bliss

Pale Ale
6% ABV


Jason Hendrick: Croque variations, using savory and sweet to accent hops and cleanse the palate
Jorge Alem: Cauliflower tacos
Erin Peters: Pasta with white sauce
Kevin Pratt: Tofurkey, lamb vindaloo (mild), lox
Monie Wickenden: Carbonara with hot Italian sausage
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Best In Fest - Telegraph Brewing Company - Variable Frequency

6/1/2017

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Food and beer pairing for:
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Variable Frequency 
Unfiltered IPA
6%

Jason Hendrick: Chicken masala (spicy) or seafood stew or crab cakes
Jorge Alem: Panko breaded chicken breast with lemon and olive oil
Erin Peters: Crab tostada, salmon
Kevin Pratt: Peking Duck, spicy tuna sushi, stuffed peppers.
Monie Wickenden: Pizza
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Best In Fest - Institution Ale Company - Coherence

6/1/2017

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Food and beer pairings for:

Coherence
Session IPA​
A more "sessionable" IPA with huge hop character and medium bitterness. Mosaic, Citra, Simcoe and Amarillo hops.

ABV: 5.5%
Jorge Alem: Pad Tai or pizza
Erin Peters: Cheese burgers, cheddar or gouda
Kevin Pratt: Korean BBQ or chili Colorado
Monie Wickenden: Pad Kee Mao with Thai Basil

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BEST IN FEST - Casa Agria - Fruta Mixta

6/1/2017

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​Food and Beer pairing for:
​Fruta Mixta 
Saison / Farmhouse Ale
8.4% ABV

Description: Fruta Mixta ages our Saison de la Casa from the foeder on a blend of apricot, peach, and raspberry. Following several months of re-fermentation Fruta Mixta was back blended to the preferred balance with young and old saisons.

Jason Hendrick: Summer salad with fruit  with spiced or candy pecans and creamy cheese
Erin Peters: Roasted chicken with Haitian seasoning
Kevin Pratt: Mushroom tortellini with basil marinara or soft ripe cheeses
Monie Wickenden: Kimchi or pork belly tacos
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Best In Fest - Ladyface Ale Companie - Brett Blossom

6/1/2017

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Food and beer pairing suggestions for:

​BRETT BLOSSOM
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French Bière De Mars W/ Brett
Aged 22 Mos In Napa Cabernet Barrels
7.5 % ABV

Jason Hendrick: creamy mushroom chicken with pollenta
Erin Peters: Penne pasta with sausage, pork belly,  or sauteed trout
Kevin Pratt: Cassoulet with duck confit or green curry pork with pad Thai
Monie Wickenden: croque madame​
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Best In Fest: Inaugural Beer Competition

5/5/2014

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PictureClick to purchase your tickets.
This is the 21st year of this annual event and to celebrate its coming of age, beer has been "officially" included in the title of the event.  Casa Pacifica Angels Wine, Food & BREW Festival kicked off its 2014 festival with a commercial beer competition on May 3rd.

To make the introduction of beer something really special, we added a commercial beer competition to the mix to highlight local and regional breweries. We thought this would be a great way to bring attention to the growing craft beer movement and give you a chance to explore new beers or beer styles and plan your beer tasting experience once you step through the gate. 

All of the beers that entered the Best In Fest competition will receive a full pints&pairings write up that will feature food pairing suggestions for each beer.  The two runners-up and the winner will get full pints&pairings podcasts to help you better plan your beer and food experience at the Casa Pacifica Angels Wine, Food & BREW Festival on June 1st. 

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Photo Credit: Kristin Palos
Before I get to the competition recap, I want to thank the festival's brewery co-chairs, Jess Card (far left) and Manny Gallo (second left).  Their behind the scenes work is why there will be a festival full of beer this year. Thanks, guys!

I would also like to thank my judging crew. They took time out of their busy Saturday morning schedule and put their palates and beer knowledge to the test for me.  Believe me, it's no easy task judging commercially produced beers. You can read more about the judges HERE

Last, but not least, a big THANK YOU to Kristin Palos (behind the camera) who is the events coordinator for Casa Pacifica and the person who gave me the opportunity to get involved with such a great organization. Thank you, Kristin.

Now, let's get to the competition. 
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Round 1

Seven local breweries entered into the inaugural Best-In-Fest competition. To ensure the integrity of this competition, the beers were poured out of sight (called blind judging) so the judges didn't know anything about the beer in front of them except its style. In this round, each beer was evaluated against its own style and given a score based on its aroma, appearance, flavor, mouthfeel and overall impression.

The scores were entered into spreadsheet and added together and the three highest scoring beers moved to the second round.  Only 18 points separated the bottom scoring and top scoring beers.



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Round 2

The identity of the beers that moved on to the second round were kept a secret, again to ensure an unbiased evaluation. Round 2 doesn't use score sheets, rather a round-table style of discussion was used to choose the best of show beer.

The conversations in this round ranged from style accuracy to food pairing possibilities to drinkability before the winner of this round was picked. 

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Best in Fest 

In the end, it was Institution Ale Company's Restraint that won Best in Fest. Their American Brown Ale got top marks by all the judges for its food pairing possibilities and drinkability.  

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Visit Institution Ale Company
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Happy Hour ep. 2: Four Brix Winery

12/9/2012

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In our second episode we interview Gary Stewart of Four Brix winery and discuss three wines he brought to taste!  We get geeky on microclimates, grape varietals and Thai food pairings!  Click the link below to learn more about Four Brix Winery.

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Click the file to the right ---->
to listen or save for later.
hh-ep2-final.mp3
File Size: 48142 kb
File Type: mp3
Download File

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<--- click the link to listen to Happy Hour live on Thursdays from 7-8 on mybuzzradio.com.

Use this great driving service and get home safe!

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