After interviewing Chef Nick Leahy about our
upcoming beer dinner Thursday, it’s the brewmaster and founder of Three T’s
turn. Learn what the new brews are on deck for the rest of the year too!
Hey Craft Beer Sippers!
When laying the groundwork to do a beer dinner with Executive Chef Nick Leahy at his
wonderful restaurant, Saltyard, one
of the objectives was to go local regarding the brewery we wanted to work with. While there are truly
some fantastic brewers from around the city of Atlanta we could choose, Three Taverns was not only one of the
newest to hit the streets, but also provided a traditional Belgian-style twist
to what they are distributing throughout Georgia. To add, everything from their
refreshing Single Intent to their
strong, dessert-like Quasimodo quad have consistently reaped accolades and pair perfectly with various types of cuisine. Ultimately,
Chef Nick agreed it was a match made in beer heaven, so I gave Three Taverns
Owner and Brewmaster Brian Purcell a
ring and he was down immediately.
After celebrating his brewery’s first birthday this past
July, Brian happily made our beer dinner on Thursday, August 14th at 7 p.m. his top priority. (Did you
make your reservations yet? If not, you better hurry and call the Saltyard at 404.382.8088! Walk-ins are welcome, but it wouldn't hurt to call
ahead.)
In Part Two of
my interview series (Part 1 was with
Chef Nick here), I sit down with Brian
aka Busy B and talk about how gangster this upcoming beer dinner is going to be
through his eyes. Here we go!
Me: After looking
at the menu, what pairings excite you from this upcoming dinner?
 |
| Brian and his better half, Susie. |
Really, the pairing that excites me most is Three Taverns
beer and Chef Nick Leahy. Nick's cultured international experience and global
perspective alongside his commitment to local sourcing is a perfect match to my
open-minded American approach to traditional Belgian-style beers. Like Nick, my
travels overseas and experience with old world beer and food culture has influenced
my love for the time-tested monastic approach to brewing, and the Belgian love
affair with beer and food cooked with beer.
It doesn't get more Belgian than the way Nick has used
our beers as one of the ingredients to the amazing dishes prepared for this
dinner. While the Fresno chile-spice character in the mussels paired with A Night In Brussels has me salivating,
I'm probably most excited for the grand finale—the desert made and paired with
my personal favorite Three Taverns beer, the indomitable Quasimodo, a savory
Belgian-style 10 percent [ABV] quadrupel.
Great answer on
all fronts. I dig it. Let’s talk about the new beer you are bringing to the
table during the first course.
The reception begins with Pils Mundial, our newest beer that we brewed to commemorate the
World Cup [Copa Mundial]. It is a crisp Euro-style pilsner dry hopped with
Falconer's Flight 7C's for a distinctly American citrus hop aroma and bite.
While this is the only non-Belgian style beer in our portfolio, it is the beer
of choice throughout Belgium and the rest of the world for sports. In fact, it
was so well received and heavily lauded during the World Cup, we've decided to
rename and relaunch it as our newest
core beer at the end of the month.
We'll be introducing the new Pils Mundial name and packaging
design for the first time at this dinner. Coming to market on draft and in six-packs
the first week of September, we hope to inspire a new love and appreciation for
the beer sensation first brewed in 1842 in the bohemian city of Pilsen which now
represents 90 percent of the beer consumed in the world today.
I purposely waited
to get my first sip on at the dinner. I can’t wait to see you got down with that!
Speaking of new brews in your portfolio, what's next for Three Taverns including
the second coming of Recluse?
We definitely have some new beers coming in the next few
months, including the second season [of Theophan
The Recluse. [Yes!]We just brewed this season's first batch of the Recluse,
our dark and mysterious Belgian-style Russian Imperial Stout that will be ready
for release in October. This year's version will have everything that was loved
last year with even more depth of body and intensity of flavor.
Before the Recluse there is Le Peche Mode, our new saison fermented with natural Georgia peach
juice from Lane Orchards conditioned
in 750ml bottles; that releases the end of August. But I may be most excited
about a very limited release: It’s a Bourbon Barrel Aged version of Quasimodo we're calling Heavy Bells slated for a September
release. The first preview of this beer was a huge hit at our one-year
anniversary, and it will be available at select bars on draft and in the big
750ml bottles as well.
Oh, and I can't forget this year's release of Feest Noel, our Christmas quad that was
only available on draft during last year's winter holiday season. We are
working on what may be our most beautiful label yet with this year's release in
the big bottles and on draft in November and December.
You know I am an
artwork fanatic so that’s what’s up! As for the upcoming brews, you have my
readers drooling for real. Any closing words before the big event tomorrow?
[Laughing.] I'm just excited about hanging out with you
and Nick, along with the crowd that comes for the dinner. I love people and
nothing beats those moments when we gather around the table over good food and
drink and a kind of magic happens. I'll drink to that. Cheers!
Cheers bro!
As I always say, I loooooooove beer dinners. This
one is going to be a good one! Like I said, if you can't make reservations here, walk-ins are cool, plus, if you have a thing
with pork, we can take care of that too. Just come through and have a blast
with us for the love of beer...and gourmet fare!
Tot ziens! [Look it up.]
Ale
