Artisanal Imports Beer Dinner at Caribe

Sarah McGee / Heavy Table

Caribe (a St. Paul Caribbean bistro that we reviewed fondly) hosted a seven-stage beer and Caribbean food dinner last Friday night, and photographer Sarah McGee was on hand to document it. The meal consisted of seven Belgian / Trappist beers presented by Adam Schulte of Artisanal Imports, paired with five Caribbean-inspired courses by Chef Tony Panelli of Caribe. Below are Sarah’s notes:

“The beers and food:

1) DeuS Brut Des Flandres, a Champagne-like beer.

2) St-Feuillien Saison was fermented with red wine yeast for a spicy, fruity flavor and paired with a yucca croquette. Chef Panelli said that traditionally, yucca (aka cassava) fritters are stuffed with ground beef, but these were not.

3) La Trappe Dubbel was served with the beef pepperpot soup (over jasmine rice) — the family recipe of a Caribe server’s mother from Guyana, South America.  Made with molasses from the yucca plant, garlic, and beef.

4) Triple Karmeliet was paired with grilled wahoo with spicy escabeche. The escabeche was a mixture of Jamaican and Puerto Rican style, with pickled carrots and peppers and plantains.

a collage from the Artisanal Imports beer dinner at Caribe in St. Paul
Sarah McGee / Heavy Table

{Palate cleanser — passion fruit sorbet}

5) Pauwel Kwak (below) came paired with pan-seared duck breast, guava glaze, grilled asparagus, and everyone’s favorite of the night — gingered purple yam puree topped with carrot chips. I had a couple bits of the yam and it was amazing.

Kwak beer at the Caribe beer dinner
Sarah McGee / Heavy Table

6) La Trappe Quadrupel was served with a rum pecan spiced brownie (made by neighboring St. Paul Classic Cookie Co.), topped with dulce de coco, drizzled with chocolate sauce. The brownie was rich without being too sweet, and the dulce de coco made it taste more like a German chocolate cake.

7) La Trappe Quadrupel Oak Aged was a hard-to-come-by beer and we each got a very small taste, and it was delicious. It is aged one year in port barrels.”

Caribe will be hosting a wine dinner on November 7; details will be forthcoming on the restaurant’s website.

Sarah McGee / Heavy Table

 

Comments are closed.