Mead, beautiful mead

[kurtisk]

Mead Jamboree?  Can't wait.  We don't have to sing camp fire songs though do we?

←

No, but anyone can feel free...

k.

[kurtisk]

Ok,

PM me if you'd like to come by Aurora to try some of our Mead samples with us next Wednesday November 2nd between 5:00 and 6:00. We don't have a ton of it, so I've only got room for a dozen or so people. Jeff will provide some cheeses, nuts and sweet things to pair with the samples we have on hand. This will be a very casual, just-standing-around-the-bar thing and we ain't even gonna charge you for it. Anyone who'd like to stick around for dinner afterwards, we'd be more than happy to have you.

k.

[Daddy-A]

[host]

Thanks for the generous offer Kurtis!

As per the eGullet Event Policy please be sure to contact kurtis via PM only! Any "Count me in" threads will be removed.

Thanks!

[/host]

[kurtisk]

Thanks to everyone for comin' out! Getting feedback on what you liked/disliked about 'em is much appreciated.

Special thanks to Chris Stearns for steppin' into the ring for his shortest bartending stint ever!

k.

[*Deborah*]

Thanks so much for the tasting, Aurora!

I think I tried them all: the Cyser (apple and honey mead), the Ginger and Green Tea, the Cranberry, the Lavender and ...what was the second ingredient? I also had the Plum and Rhubarb, and the Harvest. Oh dear, I think I'm missing one. Another cranberry blend perhaps?

My favourites were the Cyser, which I could see working very well with food, specifically plain and hearty sort of food; and the Ginger and Green Tea, which had a lovely nose and interesting flavour, and which I think would go well with Asian food or some nice seafood or fish, not too spicy. The Lavender one tasted good with gin (!) as per Zucchini Mama's brainwave, pop a little twist of orange zest in there, and you've got quite the little cocktail! and then the Harvest mead, the red one, had a rich sweetness that would work well with chocolate desserts, I think.

I was very happy to try all of those, and to find your Merridale cider on tap! well! delicious. Now it will become even more difficult to decide what to drink at Aurora.

Good to see you fud, Little Frog, mtigges, and Zuke, and nice to meet Chris, who seems to be as good a raconteur as he is a bartender, and very knowledgeable.

If only I had not driven, I would have stayed for supper. But another time

[mtigges]

You're welcome Kurtis, and THANK YOU. Michelle and I had a great time. The meads were very enjoyable. My favourites were definitely the ones that tended towards dryness; the cyser and the cranberry.

I was the one with the odacity to ask Chris to step behind the bar. I asked him if he was capable of making the best martini I'd ever had. He delivered. And was gracious and enjoyable behind the bar to boot. Thanks to Kurtis and Jeff for not minding, and thanks to Chris for the martini.

We stayed for dinner and had an excellent meal. The appetizers were the highlights, both the soup and the smoked salmon cheesecake were out of this world. I loved my main too though, the smoked sablefish. I had the opportunity to enjoy a blue cheese tart that I likely would have never ordered (due to a miscommunication, but a happy accident) ... it was delicious. Thanks Jeff.

Great to meet everyone that we hadn't yet. Even to meet with an old friend that I hadn't seen in maybe ten years.

Kudos to Little Frog for starting this ball on its course.

M.

[kurtisk]

Yes, Little Frog, you're sweet as pie (tarte?) and I meant to throw you out a big thanks for making this all come together.

It looks like the Cranberry/Lavender & Green Tea/Ginger were the favourites of the bunch, you can expect to see those pop up on our cheese/dessert list soon.

k.

[chrisstearns]

Thanks to everyone for comin' out!  Getting feedback on what you liked/disliked about 'em is much appreciated.

←

Kurtis and Jeff, thanks for hosting. Great to meet all the eG-ers face to face.

Special thanks to Chris Stearns for steppin' into the ring for his shortest bartending stint ever!

←

One drink! I'm just happy I didn't break anything.

As for the meads, I was surprised at how dry and light they were--even the sweeter wines had good acidity and weren't cloying.

I wonder if the cyser or cranberry mead might be fun with turkey dinner this Christmas?

I agree with the lavender and gin cocktail; good stuff. I think it would be great with Hendrick's gin, which has rose and cucumber notes. The salal/Oregon grape/blackberry might be a good match too, since it's so floral.

Edited November 3, 2005 by chrisstearns (log)

[Little Frog]

Kurtis and Jeff, a big heartfelt thank you for hosting us! It was a very enjoyable evening and it was great to meet everyone.

We really enjoyed tasting so many different meads, especially while surrounded by people who all had interesting insights to contribute to the conversation.

Maybe Basil and I were biaised because we had already tried and loved the lavender mead a few months ago, but it was our favourite by far. I also quite liked the green tea and ginger one (he found it a tad too alcoohol-y) and the wild harvest one, which was on the sweet side and would pair very well with chocolate- or custard-based desserts.

I found these meads well-balanced, without too much residual sugar. One could tell they were well-crafted; I would be very interested in knowing what yeast the meadmaker used.

After the mead tasting, we stayed for a very nice dinner. I started with a beautiful bison carpaccio, very lean yet flavourful. I then had mushroom risotto, which was exactly what I needed on such a rainy night. Very clean flavours and slightly al dente, the way I like it.

Kurtis was kind enough to pour us a glass of ice wine at the end of our meal; I had never tasted ice wine with such a prominent hazelnut note. I unfortunately did not write down what it was...

We will definitely be back at Aurora Bistro soon; thanks again to our gracious hosts!

Little van den Frog

[kurtisk]

Kurtis was kind enough to pour us a glass of ice wine at the end of our meal; I had never tasted ice wine with such a prominent hazelnut note. I unfortunately did not write down what it was...

←

Tinhorn Creek 2003 Kerner Ice Wine. Deee-licious!

k.

[Little Frog]

Thank you Kurtis!

[fud]

Thanks Kurtis. Good fun and due to low tolerance I spent the next hour shopping for food with sandy drunk as a skunk certainly made it more entertaining. I think the butcher thought I was a wacko.

I sobered up as soon as the car wouldn't start in the pouring rain.

Ok so my shake:

~ Green Tea / Ginger / Honey

Yumm. I like it because it's dry and has an almost asian nose to it (ginger). I'd drink this again with dinner.

~ Salal / Oregon Grape/ Blackberry / Honey

Smells a little like Ribena as mentioned by others. Similar to Cassis but it has something else. I liked this one too but I'd say if you are going to stock it, you might want to choose either Cassis OR this not both.

~ Lavender / Cranberry / Honey

Nice tang to it. Really good with them blue cheeses mmmm reminds of the Elephant Island - Crabapple. OMG this wine with blue cheese is a match made in heaven.

~ Plum / Rhubarb / Honey

Sweet. Too sweet for my liking.

~ Cyser: Apple / Honey

Did I try this? I don't remember ;p

~ Cranberry / Honey

This was dry which I thought was interesting because it's also tart. Tart AND dry makes my tongue no so happy.

Thanks Kurtis for the invite and mead it was cool seeing everyone and meeting Chef Jeff! (Come to Class next monday! )

I really would like to come down for some brunch as the reviews on the sablefish hash and truffle eggs sounds too good to be true.

[Zucchini Mama]

Okay, imagine you're in a cozy country inn deep in the Cotswolds. There's a rabbit roasting on a spit in the fireplace, and a treacle tart baking in the oven. The cook's made a strudel with roasted root vegetables, and a rocket salad with a nice bitter bite. What would you be drinking? Mead. It's got that olde worlde flavor tasting of flowers and apples and sunshine. When you add spice or herbs you're definitely taking it in a specific direction, since its basic flavor is quite subtle. Mead has a similar anti-oxidant health benefit to wine made from grapes, and for those who believe in apitherapy, it may have other health benefits. According to the winemaker at Tugwell Creek Meadery in Sooke, honey does have a great deal of acidity.

So now you're in a candlelit bistro on Main Street where the staff are friendly, creative and open minded enough to try out this medieval brew. How can we bring it into this century? The answer may be in researching some of the old recipes from medieval cookbooks and updating them. I'm thinking barbecued rabbit and creme fraîche cheesecake with quince curd. The possibilities are intriguing.

Now imagine you're in an enclosed English country garden, surveying your watercolor painting of the lavender, tea roses and bluebells. A warm breeze tries to gently lift the straw hat on your head. Other than the hat, you're completely naked-- since Britain is full of enthusiastic bare nekkid people who call themselves "naturalists," (which sounds so much more elegant and cultured than "bare-assed", don't you think?). What are you drinking? A cocktail that reminds you of your grannie's 4711 Eau de Cologne. It's made with lavender mead and gin. A heady floral mix with, I would say a twist of lemon. It's the Lavender Rinse, it's the LOL (L'il old Lady--*Deborah's* idea), it's Granny Chic.

Back to Aurora. I loved the green tea and ginger mead and will try to order some for Christmas. I did like the lavender mead as well, but I'm thinking it would be a seasonal-summer drink for me. I can see the Tweed Triad sipping these LOL's in our backyard next summer--(fully clothed of course). Although, I am curious to see what the lavender mead and quince dessert combo would be like, and since I do have some quince I may order a bottle of that too.

The caramelized crab apple was so buttery and burnt sugar lovely-thank you Jeff for that little Halloween treat. The cheeses were great-can you tell us what they were again? I am always up for caramelized pecans as well. I make them at home and put them on salads and porridge all the time. Actually, crabapples remind me of honey because my dad used to keep bees with a man who had a magnificent crab apple tree, and I remember the day we extracted the honey the crabapple tree was resplendent with the rosy fruit.

We had the Lentil flour Encrusted Fanny Bay Oysters, which I've raved about before. I had a glass of the Kettle valley 2003 Viognier-which was all "Come up and smell my apricots sometime. " It went so well with the amuse: duck bacon wrapped around Honshumishi (sp?) mushrooms in a plum wine reduction-did I get that right? Best amuse I've ever had. This is coming from a woman who LOVES mushrooms.

I had the pine mushroom risotto with veg. tempura-lovely-creamy crunchy, foamy-all my favorite elements. There was enough tempura for a bite of it with each forkfull of risotto. I had the Laughingstock 2004 Chard with my risotto, but it was not a great match somehow. I should have stuck with the Viognier. The wine's a strange beast-Chardonnay nose, but more grapefruit on the tounge-more like a Sauv Blanc finish-probably better with fish or something.

"P" had the bison special, which he devoured.

I had the Creme Fraîche Cheesecake with frozen Concord grapes-very lovely and not too sweet, but I could have used a tiny bit of coulis to mop up with the cake as a foil to the creamy texture.

Kurtis sent over a glass of the 2003 Township 7 Late Harvest Pinot Blanc, that had such a long finish-it was squirting lemon into my mouth long after I'd drunk it. Wow. This wine was so concentrated I could hardly believe it was Pinot Blanc. I've got to get a bottle for my father in law for Christmas if there's some left.

What a warm, generous evening. Thanks so much everyone at Aurora. Nice to meet more eG'ers. Lovely memories.

Zuke

P.S. The word "honeymoon" comes from the tradition of giving a newly wedded couple a month's worth of mead.

I'm not sure about the addition of cranberries to the lavender mead. I'm tasting white cranberry juice in lieu of the tartness one would expect from red cranberries. The mead I would drink on its own would be the ginger and green tea. The lavender mead might mix nicely with strong jasmine tea in some kind of cocktail or quince preserve.

Reading Fud's comments made me think that a crab apple cyser would be something interesting to create. I like my cysers mit bubbles. Merridale cyser is dear to my heart.

Finally, in my opinion, if you like mead you should taste the wine from Tugwell Creek Meadery in Sooke.

[fud]

P.S. The word "honeymoon" comes from the tradition of giving a newly wedded couple a month's worth of mead.

←

I'm getting married soon. So should I invite you guys so we get a month's worth of mead? (for me that would be 2 bottles)

[chef jeff]

Just wanted to say thanks to everyone who came out last night. It was nice to meet some new EGers see some of you again.

Zuke, your writing always makes me smile. I was sitting nekkid in an english country garden there for a bit! Someone should give you a column. Maybe they should get rid of that Morrison fellow (I love you andrew ), and let you review restaurants. Imagine the dining allowance!

The cheeses were great-can you tell us what they were again?

The cheeses were: Poplar Grove Tiger Blue, Hillary's Blackberry Port washed rind goats(I forget the actual name at the moment), and Armstrong 3 year reserve cheddar

We will start playing with some Mead cocktail and food recipes soon, as well as cheese and mead pairings. We'll let you know.

Cheers, (raising a goblet of mead)

Jeff

[fud]

The cheeses were: Poplar Grove Tiger Blue, Hillary's Blackberry Port washed rind goats(I forget the actual name at the moment), and Armstrong 3 year reserve cheddar

←

I KNEW it! It was such a mild Blue I was thinking "could it be poplar grove blue tiger?" and it was! No wonder I was thinking elephant island crabapple when I ate it. I swear those two Naramatians were corroborating on those two items together.

The Blackberry Port was very nice too. Reminded me of "John's Mistake" from Barry Bay Cheese Factory in Akaroa, New Zealand. He was uhh drinking port while making a harvest moon type cheese and spilled the whole bottle into the cheese. What a "mistake"!

[Ling]

I wish I were there, but I had crabby students to teach.

Can't wait to taste the meads soon, though.