This past Monday night Kickbacks Gastropub had their third Beer Dinner, this one featured 11 different beers from the Samuel Adams Brewery. The event started promptly at 6:30 and Jason, Joe(y), and Julio attended the gluttonous feast.Our first course was a Summer Ale paired with an Applewood Smoked Salmon Cake topped with an Avocado Aioli and served with Fried Tortilla Strips.
The Salmon Cake was GIGANTIC, like three times the size of a usual cake. The Salmon was pretty good, a tad fishy, but the avocado aioli toned it down a bit and contributed to a clean finish. The tortilla chips were unnecessary but we still enjoyed layering the salmon and aioli on them for a kicked-up nacho.
The next course was a Boston Lager with a Beer Cheese Soup. The Lager was used in the soup preparation.
No lie, this was the saltiest thing any of us had ever put in our mouths. We all took one bite of the soup and pushed it away. Kickbacks owner Stephen Flores popped by and asked how it was and we had to be brutally honest. Steve said he was aware of the problem earlier in the day but was under the impression that the saltiness had been toned down prior to service. It obviously hadn't been. The portion was more in-line with a tasting size.
The third course started out with a beer taste test between a Samuel Adams Pilsner and an Ale. We were served BBQ Pulled Pork with Black Bean and Corn Salsa, Homemade Guacamole, and Fried Pita Chips.
The pulled pork was pretty good, there was a strong hint of Nutmeg and it was pretty sweet. There were no complaints about the homemade guacamole, it was pretty tasty. The salsa had a slight heat to it, but not really too much and the pita chips were a good addition to even out the flavors.
The fourth course was a glass of Longshot Double IPA along with Sesame Seared Ahi Tuna, a nice mound of Wasabi Infused Mashed Potatoes, some Pickled Ginger, and a small Seaweed Salad accoutrement.
The flavors were pretty good on this dish. Unfortunately the seared tuna was overdone, there should have been a great deal of nice pink meat in the middle of each slice. We suspect that the plates hung out too long in the kitchen causing the tuna to continue to cook. The mashed potatoes, on the other hand, were quite delicious and a tad spicy, seaweed salad is always good.
Next up was the main course, this one consisted of three beers....Longshot Traditional Bock, Imperial Double Bock, and Triple Bock (vintage 1997). Roast Beef with Boiled Potatoes and Carrots and a special Gravy made with Chocolate Bock finished out the course.
The "bock" beers in this course were all quite robust and as the bock's increased so did the flavors. The special treat was the 1997 Triple Bock that is quite indescribable. So many flavors from sip to swallow, from chocolate to wine to port. It was a nice taste but we, admittedly, could never drink an entire bottle of the stuff. Which is good because there aren't many more bottles of this stuff left in the world. The roast beef was good and the boiled veggies were just...um...boiled. The gravy went well with the roast beef. We were quite full by this time but we had one more course to go.
The final course had three Wheat beers (Cherry, Blackberry, and Cranberry) along with a Strawberry and Rhubarb Cobbler.
All three beers were tasty with the Cherry Wheat being the standout. The cobbler was VERY good.
Overall, we had a great time. If we had to choose one word to describe the evening it would be overindulgence. We practically had to roll ourselves out of the restaurant to go home. We really want to give special thanks to Steve and Mike and also a resounding GREAT JOB to server extraordinaire Noel. If you think you've seen Noel before, you probably have if you are a fan of the television show Fear Factor. He was on it twice and won on his first appearance.
