A PORTER WORTH SWIMMING UPSTREAM FOR

As part of an ongoing weekly post yours truly will be picking one food menu item and pairing it with one of our 150+ bottle beers from our monster beer menu. Stay tuned each week for an informed, tried and true suggestion.

This weeks' winning couple is:

Mudville's Salmon Burger and the robust St. Peter's Old-Style Porter

 

+

The Chemistry:

Before you head off to that faraway, distant home-made meal for the Holidays (or as you're getting back from your food coma), do your body a favor and try out my latest pairing. Yes, it's a burger, but it's a salmon burger. That being said, who doesn't crave something a little different every once in awhile? Take a break from your usual and dip this tasty treat into Mudville's daily fresh homemade tartar sauce. And it's no stretch to see that I've chosen a Porter to mate with this Atlantic Salmonidae morsel.
This porter in particular is very robust. Being that it's a classic British Old-style, there are no bells and whistles here. Simply, WYSIWYG - what you see is what you get. The toasted, almost smokey, malt though is what drew these two together in my head. The brew really draws out the grilled smokiness in the fish without masking any of the notorious fishy flavor salmon is known for. And traditionally porters have that nice hop bitterness in the end. This is no different. Here that hop cuts through the oiliness of the salmon perfectly giving you a nice balanced palate with every round of your bite-sip.

Bon Apetit!

P.s. Add on some delicious grilled asparagus to round out this "lighter burger" meal.

Cheers!

VEGANS DESERVE GOOD BEER TOO

As part of an ongoing weekly post yours truly will be picking one food menu item and pairing it with one of our 150+ bottle beers from our monster beer menu. Stay tuned each week for an informed, tried and true suggestion.

This weeks' winning couple is:

Mudville's Vegan friendly Veggie Burger and the ever accommodating Allagash White

+

The Chemistry:
To you Vegans out there (or even cautious eaters in general): sure, it took a while but menus are becoming more accommodating throughout the foody-verse. BUT what if you want to enjoy a nice craft beer in a place with 18 digital screens and screaming football fans? Well you can have your veggie cake and eat it too at Mudville.  This week I've chosen a pairing that will fit you right in with the carnivores for gameday.

The first of the pair is a no-brainer. We've created this veggie burger specifically for you. It's made from scratch with 100% vegan ingredients (you know...carrots, tofu, beans, rice and a plethora of secret spices). If you're a vegetarian we'll add a dollop of tzatziki sauce on the side.
Now, for the significant other to this pair you might be wondering why one couldn't choose just any beer, right? I mean, after all, according to German Law Reinheitsgebot beer is supposed to be just grain, hops, water, and yeast right?! These are ingredients that any vegan/vegetarian can eat. Though these ARE the main ingredients for most beers of the world the lesser known fact is that there are some types of beers (ESB's for example) that may use isinglass as a clarifying agent. Isinglass is derived from cod bladder and so would not be considered a compliant food. And for those of you who thought "cask-conditioned" or "hand-pumped" ales are vegan friendly - think again. These brews are usually made with some sort of gelatin. So, I've chosen the totally vegan friendly White beer out of Maine's Allagash Brewery. According to my sources, Allagash Brewery and a vegan wine and beer source I like to reference, this beer is bona-fide vegan. Oh yeah, and this beer tastes great! Moreover, the style is very complimentary to the veggie products in the burger. There aren't lots of malts overpowering the flavors of carrot, rice and tofu. The crispness of the citrus notes in this particular white add a nice extra zing and the yeasty flavor resonate perfectly with any essence of roasted vegetables. At last!

Bon Apetit! 

P.s. For a nice vegan side addition ask for our grilled asparagus!

 Cheers!