It’s been a big year for Cuba St’s iconic fine dining restaurant.
When the Restaurant won the Supreme Restaurant of the Year award in 2009 there
was some mumbling in the beer world about the rather ordinary beer selection
that was on offer. Over the last year Head Chef Shaun Clouston has well and truly turned that
situation around. With a beer list that now features a wide selection of styles
ranging from zesty fruity New Zealand Pilsners from Emerson’s and Croucher,
spicy fruity wheat beer from Three Boys, a fruity Belgian style golden ale from
Tuatara, an aromatic pale ale from Epic, a striking India Pale Ale from 8
Wired, a huge Double India Pale Ale from Mikes, and the classic black IPA from
Yeastie Boys.
In July Logan Brown hosted the Emerson’s
Degustation Dinner, the winter menu featured Lamb braised in dark ale and more
recently Shaun used Mikes Whiskey Porter as an ingredient for a charity dinner.
During BrewNZ Logan Brown won the Beer and Chefs Challenge for matching Mussel
Inn Captain Cooker with a Rose Water Panna Cotta.
Logan Brown are now stocking limited release
beers as part of their Sommeliers Selection. Currently they have Epic
Portamarrilo on the Sommeliers Selection which is being matched with Line-CaughtSnapper with Kerala Curry, Onion Bhaji &
Green Bean Sambal.
Last week I was lucky
enough to get to try both the Snapper / Portamarrilo match and the Pannacotta /
Captain Cooker match. The zesty fruity acidity and slight smoked notes in the
Portamarrilo worked fantastically well with the rich fresh fish, the acidity
and hop character of the beer helped to cool the Onion Bhajis and the smoked
notes added complexity to the Sambal.
The Panna Cotta and
Captain Cooker combination was an absolute exercise in complimentary flavour
matching. The dessert consisted of a Cardamom and Rose Water Panna Cotta,
Pistachio Wafers and braised rhubarb. Mussel Inn Captain Cooker is an extremely
complex beer that has been spiced with Manuka tips creating striking flavours
and aromas of resinous wood, ginger, rose petal and sandalwood. The combination
of the Turkish Delight character of the beer and the creamy spiced character of
the dessert created an extremely smooth harmonious match, the biscuity malt found
a compliment in the pistachio wafers.
I think its great
that top restaurants are starting to show the same care for their beer lists as
they have traditionally shown to their wine lists, I applaud what Shaun and his
team have accomplished over the last year and encourage anyone who wants to
experience great food with great beer to give Logan Brown a visit.