Craft Beer Fest at Strawbery Banke

The best in regional craft beers and signature dishes from the Seacoast's top restaurants are coming together at Strawbery Banke Museum for this year's PASSPORT: A Craft Beer & Culinary World Tour on September 25th from 5-9pm. (Continued below)

 

PASSPORT will take guests on a sweet and savory tour featuring palate-pleasing stations where they can taste the leading craft beers thoughtfully paired with culinary creations that perfectly complement the flavors of the beer. 
 
"Beer is a beverage that holds its own in the culinary world. It can be a complex and sophisticated beverage capable of bold flavors, subtle nuances and layers upon layers of flavor. With over 73 different styles of beer, it would seem the possibilities to find a harmonious beer and food pairing are limitless,” writes the BetterBeerBlog. 

PASSPORT taps into the craft beer and food pairing movement and has brought the best craft brewers and chefs to the table for this unique event. The Smuttynose Brewing Company will be serving up its Big A IPA - a 9.7% alcohol by volume India Pale Ale, described as having an orange and citrus fruit, with a nicely balanced body, a hint of malt and a bunch of alcohol, and perhaps a hint of honey. The beer ends nicely with lingering hop dryness.  

This is a big beer to stand up to the roasted garlic demi-glace served with Oar House Chef Desi Moonsamy's lamb chops. Baker, Steve James, from Popovers on the Square will be preparing an orange marmalade and cheese tart that will have a graham cracker crust to play up the wonderful notes of orange peel and cardamom in the paired Allagash White Belgian-style Ale. Cardamom is what gives graham crackers their distinctive flavor and the fresh cheese curd provides a nice soft landing for the wonderful yeastiness of the Allagash White. 

Black Trumpet Bistro Chef Evan Mallett's own sausage made with locally-raised pork, first of the season apples and blue cheese served on a buttermilk biscuit will catch the malty, yeasty flavors of the Moat Mountain Brown Ale. In talking about the process to make his own sausage for this beer-pairing event, Evan states, "First, I started with a 318 pound pig from farmer Tom Hasty of Breezy Hill Farm in South Berwick. It was one of the most beautiful pigs I've ever seen. The marbling and fat content were fantastic. I can't wait to pair it with the Moat 

Mountain Brown Ale. The flavor of the pig is one of the best I've ever tasted. I'm thrilled to pair it with Wil's beer for the second year. I think his beers go very well with charcuterie. There's a saltiness in his brown ale that goes well with the curing spices for the sausage." Seafood pairings will also be offered at this Seacoast event and will include Jumpin' Jay's Fish Café's serving of local sole ceviche with tomatoes, green chilies, garlic & citrus paired with Boulder Brewing Company's Sweaty Betty Blonde- a Bavarian-style wheat beer, unfiltered and cloudy with subtle hints of clove and banana with a freshness to match. 

The Boston Beer Company is coming to PASSPORT with a beer from its Samuel Adams, Barrel Room Collection. Their Stony Brook Red is a Belgian-style, full-bodied brew with tart fruit notes, a rich malty taste and toasted oak character from barrel aging. The long dry finish is almost wine-like.  Additional bottle-conditioning adds to the complexity, making it a perfect accompaniment to the Three Chimneys Inn's butternut squash ravioli with amaretto cream sauce. 
 
All in all, over 20 craft beers will be served and paired with exceptional dishes at PASSPORT.  Participating PASSPORT breweries include: Smuttynose Brewing Company, Portsmouth Brewery, Allagash Brewing Company, Moat Mountain Brewing Company, Boston Beer Company, Boulder Brewing Company, and Tuckerman Brewing Company. Participating PASSPORT restaurants and food purveyors include: Black Trumpet, Blue Mermaid, Brazo, Cabot Cheese, Common Man, Flavor Concepts - Evan Hennessey, Galley Hatch, Jumpin' Jay's Fish Café, Lindt Chocolates, Mombo, North Country Smokehouse, Oar House, Popovers, Philbrick's Fresh Market, Portsmouth Brewery, RiRa, Rosa's, and Three Chimneys Inn. 
 
PASSPORT's unique venue at Strawbery Banke Museum also offers up a fascinating historic site to explore where guests can see cooper, Ron Raiselis, demonstrate his traditional craft, and only at PASSPORT, sample beer brewed in one of his handmade barrels. The noted Seacoast-based African drumming group, Foté, and the traditional Celtic music group, Ballymac, will also perform at the event.  Tickets for PASSPORT are on sale for just $50 and include a signature beer glass. VIP tickets are available for $85 and include an exclusive tasting hour from 4 - 5 p.m. led by local head brewers, with specially aged vintage beers from Smuttynose paired with Mombo's internationally inspired cuisine, as well as a VIP gift bag and beer glass. Designated driver general admission and VIP tickets are also available for $25 and $35. Detailed event information and tickets are available at the Strawbery Banke Museum WEB SITE. 

About Strawbery Banke Museum 
Strawbery Banke provides the opportunity to see how people lived for four centuries of New England history. Through restored furnished houses, exhibits, historic landscapes and gardens, and costumed role players, Strawbery Banke interprets the living history of generations who settled in Portsmouth, NH, from the late 17th century to the mid-20th century. Strawbery Banke Museum in Portsmouth, NH, is open May 1 through October 31, 10 to 5 daily. Call 603-433-1100 for more information  

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