a frothing half-litre of cloudy, malty Stiegl Paracelsus Zwickl on the ski-slopes in Kitzbühel

Friday 5 August 2011

a manor of drinking

Extraordinary IPA day feast last night at the Dean Swift, Lafone Street, London SE1. A gourmet treat of matching exquisite food with fine craft ales. Landlord Max Chater and head chef Momo Medi produced a gastronomic experience second to none. The last time I ate this well was at Raymond Blanc's Manoir aux Quat' Saisons in Oxfordshire, and to be honest I'm not sure it was quite as good.

Here is the menu, with ale matches:

Toulouse Sausage Scotch Egg (succulent herby sausage meat around a freshly boiled egg), accompanied by Kernel Black IPS and Brewdog AB:06

Calamari with sweet chilli sauce and a timbale of avocado and crayfish, washed down with (quirky choice) cans of Brewdog Punk IPA and Hawaian brewer Maui's Big Swell. (Both beers were better poured than drunk straight from can, though given the cans looked like lemonade we realised they could be drunk without challenge on the Tube!)

Baked goat's cheese with Kernel Centennial 100 and Kernel Centennial 2010 (which proved that local brewstar Evin's beers, even a year old, can be a remarkable accompaniment to food!)

Tandoori chicken with cauliflower velouté (possibly the best tandoori meat I have ever eaten but the surprise was the scrumptious velouté of cauliflower - a little smear of heaven across the plate) washed down with Stone Brewng CO's Ruination IPA, a perfect match with just enough astringency to cut through and complement the flavours on the plate.

Lamb Méchoui, probably Momo's signature dish - melt in the mouth slow-cooked lamb shoulder with grin beens, served with a challenging trio: SWB Kahuna (big, hoppy Kiwi-style brew from Yorkshire's Summer Wine Brewery), Sierra Nevada's Torpedo and Stone Brewing IPA. It was a tough decision but although for me the Kahuna was the best quaffing ale, we generally agreed that as a food match the slightly richer, less dry Torpedo won.

Raspberry and Limoncello Jelly Tartlet with the extraordinary and exotic Mikkeller Sorachi Ace, a beer brewed with Japanese hops that immediately present with an aroma of dried cep mushrooms!!! Amazingly the beer worked really well with the tart acidity of the dessert, far better than it would have done on its own.

All in all a remarkable, hugely well put together display of gastronomy and proof that beers can do every bit as good a job as wines in complementing fine food. An evening to remember. And considering I finished off with several pints of Kahuna, it's impressive that I do!!

Well done, Dean Swift. Can we have more please?

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