The Village and Buckbean Brewing Company host second Village Craft Beer Festival Saturday, September 19

Event benefits The Muscular Dystrophy Association of Southern Nevada

The Village (MonteLago Village at Lake Las Vegas) and Buckbean Brewing Company, the largest production microbrewery in Nev., host the second Village Beer Fest on Saturday, September 19, from 2 p.m. – 6 p.m. Tickets for the festival are available at the event for $20 per person which includes an engraved commemorative glass, with proceeds benefiting the Muscular Dystrophy Association of Southern Nevada (MDA).

Riding waves of success from the March 2009 festival, Buckbean Brewing Company and MonteLago Village anticipate crowds of more than 2,000 attendees, and expect to exceed the nearly $30,000 raised previously for the MDA.

The Village Craft Festival showcases craft beers from around the U.S. served along The Village’s cobblestone streets with waterfront views. Jazz music is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. to cap off a great day where guests can enjoy these hand-crafted brews in support of a great cause.

Guests wishing to take advantage of MonteLago Village Resort’s luxury lakeside lodging can do so by calling 888-600-2688. Complete with scenic balconies, full kitchens and living areas, lodging at the resort starts at only $99 per night, plus resort fees and taxes. Mention “Beer Fest” when calling to receive the special rate. A special Beer Festival package is also available and includes an overnight stay and two passes to the event for $125, a 35 percent savings (plus resort fees and taxes).

For more information on this event, please visit www.montelagovillage.com. For sponsorship information during any MonteLago Village event, please call 702-564-4785.

ABOUT BUCKBEAN BREWING COMPANY:

Buckbean Brewing Company recently expanded into the Las Vegas and Northern California markets. The craft beer company produces its two signature beers, Original Orange Blossom Ale and Black Noddy Lager, in 16-ounce, environmentally-friendly cans, giving beer fans the opportunity to take their favorite brew with them hiking, biking, golfing and boating without the worry of glass breaking. http://www.buckbeanbeer.com

ABOUT THE VILLAGE:

Located just 17 miles from the heart of Las Vegas, The Village (MonteLago Village) creates the calm and leisurely pace of a Mediterranean town with cobblestone streets, sweeping mountains views and more than 30 unique shopping and dining options along the way. A perfect lakefront location for a celebratory dinner, a night out with the ladies or a romantic weekend away – The Village is the perfect escape from the hustle and bustle of the city. MonteLago Village Resort offers world-class accommodations located within The Village and Lake Las Vegas. Services at The Village and Lake Las Vegas include shopping, dining, boat cruises, spa services, gondola rides, fishing, golfing and other activities. http://www.montelagovillage.com

ABOUT MDA:

The Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA) is a voluntary health agency – a dedicated partnership between scientists and concerned citizens aimed at conquering neuromuscular diseases that affect more than a million Americans. The MDA of Southern Nevada serves over 455 families affected by muscular dystrophy in Las Vegas and surrounding areas. MDA funds worldwide research, provides free clinics, assists with the purchase and repair of wheelchairs, leg braces and communication devices, provides loan closets, facilitates support groups and provides the MDA Summer Camp for youngsters. http://www.mda.org

Chef Brian Owenby, Yazoo Brewery present Craft Food and Craft Beer Tasting at Southern Food & Wine Festival

The first to be held at the Opryland Hotel, the Southern Food & Wine Festival was a great success. According to Kim Keelor, Director of Public Relations at Gaylord’s Opryland Hotel in Nashville,

We felt the Food Network Southern Food and Wine Festival year was a great success, especially considering the fact that it was the first time we have undertaken such an expansive event with our Food Network partners. Our guests had positive comments and seemed to really enjoy it. The food culture is remarkably strong, evidenced by the popularity of the network and its celebrities, and the fact that we had guests attend the festival who drove from as far away as Abilene, Texas. We are looking into having a second festival next summer.

Approximately 7,000 guests attended the festival, and as far as I’m concerned, approximately 6,985 of the guests missed the best part. No offense to Alton Brown, the Neelys or Bobby or Jamie Deen, but the Craft Beers and Craft Foods event, held in a VIP room behind Findley’s Irish Pub, was the best part of the entire festival.

The food and beer event was capped at 40 people, but there were only approximately 15 people in attendance, including hosts Linus Hall, owner of Yazoo Brewery, and his gracious and lovely wife, Lila. Chef Brian Owenby, executive chef of the area of the resort known as The District, absolutely wowed us with his selections. Some of the meal pairings featured a dish and a beer designed to complement each other’s flavor profiles, while other combinations were designed to show a contrast in flavor.

Passed Hors d’oeuvres
Most of us in the tasting were previously unknown to each other, so we modestly sampled the hors d’oeuvres. Modesty was gone with later courses as we happily devoured practically everything placed before us. Pimento cheese and Ritz crackers were served, as were deviled eggs with pulled pork and barbecued ham biscuits with raspberry jelly. This was paired with Yazoo’s  Hefeweizen (see my review), which I have had before and thoroughly enjoy. Wonderful yeast and wheat, as well as banana flavors, are found on the nose and the palate, and it is just an excellent hefeweizen. Excellent flavor and smooth and delicious.

First Course
Our first course consisted of a chicken liver and pork paté featuring cranberries, along with house made crackers and pickles. I’ve never had paté before, but it was quite good. I’m no food critic, so I’ll spare you any review of the dish. It will suffice to say it was rich and creamy, and the richness was complimented by the richness of Yazoo’s dark, richly brown Sly Rye Porter.  I had never tried this beer before, but I am a fan of porters, so I was eager. The first nose hit me and I was in love! I picked up dark plummy fruit and good slightly sweet and smoky maltiness. It was even better on the palate. You could really pick out the plummy fruit flavors, as well as some cherry and good, slightly smoky malty goodness. On a couple of sips I thought I picked up hints of chocolate as well. It was full bodied and had a crisp and very clean finish.

Second Course
The second course was a play on bacon and eggs. House cured pancetta was paired wih a fried farm egg and romaine hearts. It’s hard to mess up bacon and eggs, but judging by Chef Owenby’s efforts, it’s possible to make them terrific. This was paired with Yazoo’s Pale Ale. Their pale ale is their most popular beer. It features Amarillo hops, which give it more of a citrusy and grapefruit profile than beers using English hops. This is very clean and smooth pale ale and worked very well to cut through the fat and richness of the bacon and eggs and cleanse the palate.

Third Course
The third course was a Pig Trotter Terrine served over lentils and topped with maché salad. (Here is one recipe for the dish, to give you an idea of what it is, because I couldn’t describe it accurately enough). This was very rich as well and was served with Yazoo’s Hop Project (#16). This IPA style beer had a very hoppy nose, full of juicy citrus and grapefruit. The taste was very dry, clean and floral, with hints of citrus and grapefruit.

Fourth Course
The fourth course was a Southern Style “Porchetta“, served over braised greens, corn and heirloom tomatoes. This was very well seasoned with rosemary and perhaps cloves and the fat of the pork melted in your mouth. This was paired with Yazoo’s Dos Perros, which is a style of beer Linus Hall is accused of making up: Mexican Amber. It is made with chocolate malts and also features some flaked corn to make this a lighter bodied beer, despite it’s rich dark color. This beer complemented the dish well, with corn in the dish and flaked corn in the beer.

Fifth (and final) Course
The fifth and final course was, of course, dessert. We were served a single scoop (by this time, any more would have been impossible to consume) of malted chocolate and hop ice cream. It was made with bitter chocolate and crushed Whoppers candy and was served with dark cherries. This was paired with Yazoo’s new high gravity beer, Sue.  Yes, a beer named Sue. A sort of homage to Johnny Cash? Sue is a smoked porter and is 7.5% ABV. The barley used in making the beer was smoked with cherry wood, which imparts good sweet and tart flavors to the beer. The beer has a mildly smoky nose and is quite smoky on the palate. I have only had one other smoky beer before (Rogue’s Smoke Ale) and hated it. I had reservations about this beer, and while I don’t know if I’ll ever try it again or not, it is a very well crafted beer, and was a great complement to the ice cream and a good beer with which to end the tasting.

Overall
As a beer lover and self-designated beer snob, this was an amazing experience. The food and beer in and of themselves was amazing, but having it all with Linus Hall of Yazoo made it even better. My eternal gratitude to Chef Brian Owenby, Director of Public Relations Kim Keelor, and Linus and Lila Hall for making this event possible. The whole event blew me away and I can’t thank them enough. Should they offer this event next year, I encourage everyone reading this to make reservations as early as possible and plan on attending. The cost was $65 per person, and I don’t believe anyone in attendance would argue with me when I say it was worth far more than that.

Beer Review: Buckbean’s Brewing’s Tule Duck Red Ale

As promised, my package from Buckbean Brewing Company did arrive, and boy was I happy to see it. I’ve been looking forward to this for 2 months! Along with the Original Orange Blossom Ale I have been eagerly awaiting, I received a tall can of Tule Duck Red Ale. Here’s what their Web site had to say about this beer:

This deep red, robust ale combines a silky smooth, rich body with a fruity, caramel malt flavor and a soft, herbal dry hopped finish. A full flavored, classic beer that pairs well with hearty foods of all types.

Sounds great, right? Well, I’ll be the judge of that!   ;-D

The Pour
This looked almost thick coming out of the can. It poured to a one finger head, which is a light brown color, somewhat like the color of brown rice lightened up a notch. The head was somewhat short-lived, and the lacing was of a decent amount. The beer itself is a reddish-tinged lightly chocolatey color and is quite opaque.

The Nose
There is a definite maltiness present, that gives the nose a caramel and roasted malt intro with woody hints. It smells very tasty, and clean and crisp but with a good (not overly cloying) sweetness.

The Taste
Something of a sweet coffee taste is what I noticed right up front. Roasty coffee and woody flavors linger a while on the finish in the back of the throat. As the beer warms and multiple swallows are taken, mineral notes and a pleasant mustiness make their presence known. Halfway through the can, and also as it warms, a little bit of floral hop flavor is also detected. This beer seems a tad shy of full bodied. It’s crisp but it does soften on the finish as the Buckbean Web site mentions.

Overall
I actually haven’t had a lot of red ales in my day. In actuality, the only red beer I can even think of that I’ve ever tried is Killian’s Irish Red, and that was so long ago I don’t even really remember what that was like. But this beer was not what I was expecting. But overall, I think this is a very good beer. It’s a good, malty brew with enough hoppiness to dry and crisp it up and avoid being nothing but malt. The depth of flavor comes through as you drink the beer, which is always a good thing. I liked this beer very much!

Recommended: Yes, if you can get this, it is worth every penny of whatever you have to pay for it. Buckbean Brewing Company comes across to me as a brewery that knows what it’s doing and does it their own unique way.

Price: Unknown (sample sent for reviewing)

ABV: Unknown, but from drinking it, I would have to say it is 6% or higher. Could be the fact that I drank it on an empty stomach, though.