Good Things Come in Pairs: Hot Knives and The Bruery + Cheese and Craft Beer

Last night the Verdugo Bar patio was turned into a classy-times symposium with pairings of cheeses and brews. Hot Knives and The Bruery teamed up at Verdugo Bar to present five courses of pairings in the name of LA Beer Week. Curry was involved, as was a gold medal-winning bottle of beer.

When Our Forces Combine

Hot Knives is the duo of former line-cooks Alex Brown and Evan George. The funky team devotes their skills and free time to food, especially any food that incorporates beer. When Alex and Evan combined forces with Patrick Rue and Jonas Nemura from The Bruery at Verdugo Bar, they made some magic.

The Noms of the Night

Andreer Traum with brewer’s candy paired with Seven Grain Saison — A very dry and sessional Saison that is draught only, made with barley, oats, wheat, rye, corn, rice and spelt.

This beer was paired with cheese that won the World Cheese Contest for 2010. Made in southern Switzerland, this unpasteurized cheese comes from animals that haven’t had their horns cut off. “Yes cows should have horns,” Alex reminded everyone. Reason being, cutting horns off alters the way milk is produced by the animal and “changes the molecular structure of the milk”. Whoa. Barley-malt syrup topped the cheese off providing a subtle malty sweetness

Brebis Rossiniere and arugula, strawberry, Szechuan peppercorns paired with Mischief — This raw cheese was made in the same area in Switzerland as Gruyere. The cheesemaker is a farmhouse producer, meaning he raises his own sheep which just so happen to feed only on flowers!

To make the cheese compete with the big Belgian golden strong ale Mischief, Hot Knives added strawberries, peppercorn and arugula in champagne vinegar to the pairing. Patrick explained Mischief is “a hoppier interpretation” of Duvel. Jonas expanded on the beers flavors which include apple, pear, citrus, resin, and a little bit of a numbing quality from its higher ABV.

Brugge Rodenbach cherry-ciabatta grilled cheese paired with Oude Tart — The first semi-industrially produced cheese of the night is made at the Brugge Creamery in Belgium. The rind of this cheese is not only made with Rodenbach, it’s also rubbed with Rodenbach.

The Bruery’s Oude Tart won gold medals at both the Great American Beer Festival and the World Beer Cup and was inspired by Rodenbach. Patrick added, “What makes it sour is bacteria, which sounds gross but, cheese is a fungus. Not something you wanna compare to what grows in your toilet.” Word.

Bavarian Limburger “ambient nachos” paired with Rugbrod - “Ambient nachos” we’re the product of a camping experiment. Hot Knives made a makeshift oven from an open metallic bag of chips topped with a hunk of cheese. After letting it sit out in the sun while they went swimming, they had sun-baked nachos. This version used Limburger cheese, which already has a melty consistency, topped with Korean chili powder.

The Bruery’s Rugbrod (pronounced kinda like Roog-Brol) meaning “rye bread” in Danish, is a spicy-caramely-roasty brew made with three kinds of rye, said Jonas.

Bleu Des Causses stuffed dates with red curry paired with Gunga Gulunga — This one sent people reeling. A giant Medjool date stuffed with Thai curry paste and “poor man’s Roquefort,” made from sheep’s milk.

Patrick elaborated on the name of his beer, explaining how Brewer and Sensory Analysis Coordinator Jay Goodwin suggested it, thanks to Caddyshack. He explained Thai ginger gives the beer a bit of a “Pinesol” scent and 100% Brett gives it a little funk and dryness. Gunga Gulunga is available at the Bruery Provisions.

Beer with a Side of Beer

Alex pulled out a little banana bread surprise, made with Franziskaner Hefe-Weissbier, to finish things off. He summarized the evening well: “This is really a scientific process where we all get drunk and eat a lot of fat.” I like science.

ryan sweeney pours the bruery at hotknives cheese beer pairing