The Greats And The Not-So Greats

Impressed with the first meal from Jamie Oliver's iPhone app, I was eager to get going and try a new one. Oh, but why not make it a "new meal with a beer and cheese sampler night!" Yeah! Great idea!

In short, the Sausage and Zuchinni Carbonara is a total keeper. Gut that sausage, stir fry it with the zuccs, and add it to the pasta with the carbonana sauce. Very easy. Very well done. Unfortunately, the bacon did not cook as well as expected. As it was eaten, it was gingerly picked out. I can't believe eating near-raw bacon would be a good thing! For future attempts, the bacon will be cooked either seperately or with the sausage. In any case, I'll be making it again.

Unfortunatley, the beers were not as good as the dinner. Raspberry Celis (#741) and Celis Grand Cru (#742) from the Michigan Brewing Company were average or below (a "3" and a "2" respectively). The Raspberry was just was too tart and "puckery". Sure, hops might pucker the ole kisser, but a fruit tartness in a beer doing the same thing? Boy, I'm not so sure. The Cru? I have no idea what to make of it. They claimed it was a Belgian Strong Ale, but I thought it was a just a powerful wheat. There was sort of a powerful alcohol bite to it. I just don't get it.

Keeping with the theme of "huh?", the Trout Slayer Ale (#743) from the Big Sky Brewing Company was, well, fishy. Right from the beginning and the barely present aroma, this beer just did not do much. While balanced, there wasn't much to balance. The body, the bite, and the finish were so subdued, I struggled to figure out what to call this beer. I can't say it was bad - there just wasn't much to describe. Moose Drool it is not. 2 out of 5.

Great pasta with 3 not-so-great beers. I'll guess I see what happens on Monday when I try some more new stuff......