Beef and Beer Tasting Dinner @ Mumu Grill, Crows Nest

I’m no die-hard romantic but I get all giddy and happy for great couples… in food (of course!). Chocolate and hazelnuts are an awesome duo but here’s another that I love… beef and beer. That is why my favourite meals are usually an old-fashioned Aussie barbie, or a pint and a hearty dish at a British-style pub or German Beer Hall. Meat and ale – it’s a comforting combination that gets me every time.

But that wasn’t not the only reason why I enjoyed this particular night immensely. The Beef and Beer Tasting Dinner at Mumu Grill had everything – awesome company, good food, good grog and great surroundings. It’s the kind of dinner that I prefer – a casual, laidback get-together over a comforting meal talking with like-minded people about my favourite subject.

Launching in March, Chef Craig Macindoe will host a monthly Beef and Beer Tasting Dinner in the brand spanking new private dining room at Mumu Grill. Tonight was a test run of sorts amongst friends and an array of social media personalities and of course, a fewofyourfriendlyfoodandwinebloggers.

The concept is simple. There is more to beer than your average pint on tap at the local pub. And believe it or not, my Aussie friends, there is life outside of VB, Tooheys, Coronas and (gawd help me) Crown Lager! Similarly there are also greener pastures if you are willing to put down your wine glass. Wine is a wondrous thing indeed but as I’ve just learnt, there is also a lot to appreciate when it comes to boutique beers.

Or co-host is Beer Snob Dan Hampton, whose love of all things beer is plain for us to see and his enthusiasm of the magic ale is infectious. We started off with cool glasses of Hefeweizen by Moo Brew in Tasmania and I’d be the first to lovingly proclaim the beautiful crispness and slight effervescence. I like my German wheat beers and this was one of the better ones that I’ve ever tasted.

But a cheap drunk such as myself needs food with her grog and I just couldn’t wait to descend our private dining area. Especially if the starters involve 18-month Jamon Serrano. Oh baby, this stuff is gold! Alongside were plates of garden-grown Ox-Heart tomatoes (they were huge!) and house-made Herb bread. I’m never one to fill up on pre-dinner carbs but I just couldn’t resist this soft but slightly dense bread with the salty herb crust.

Our education of beer then began with Dan teaching us the ways to tasting and appreciating the ale. The trick is to pour the beer slowly to avoid too much head and then begin the swirl before checking out the colour and clarity of the beer. And then sniff, sniff again, sniff some more then taste. Being a happy wine drinker, I managed through this part of the lesson with no problem!

Our second beer was a Murray’s Pilsner, which I didn’t really like. I loved the initial aroma, which I thought was citrus but I found the aftertaste a little too bitter for my liking. I’m not a fan of pilsners or any beer that strongly taste of hops.

Our next offering was a surprise. I’m also not a fan of dark ales but I actually liked Marston’s Oyster Stout, which hails from the UK. i couldn’t help but think vegemite and soya sauce when I drank it but drank I did… happily. What else to pair with such a worthy beer than fresh Pacific and Sydney Rock oysters au natural? I loved it with a squeeze of lime and a sprinkle of rock salt and both Helen and I were secretly glad that a majority of diners at our end of the table weren’t oyster-loving people i.e. more for us!

Hello piggy! Our next course had to be my hands down favourite and it epitomised everything I love about comfort food. Our pork shoulder that was cooked for 11 hours in our next beer offering was utterly tender and paired brilliantly with bacon-baked cannelini beans and topped with tempura battered sage leaves, which I couldn’t get enough of.

This was paired with the appropriately named Pigs Fly Pale Ale from Bowral NSW. I apologise that I have no recollection of this but I’m a cheap drunk, and soon after a few, the beers started to taste the same!

But the star of our Beef and Beer dinner was the 1.2 kg grass-fed Angus T-bone cooked in a tagliata style with chunks of garlic (oh drool) and rosemary. If you’re curious, tagliata is Italian for carved or cut and it’s an awesome way of marinating and cooking your beef.

Tonight it was beautifully rare and melt-in-your-mouth tender and was also accompanied by potatoes roasted in duck fat. I said it before and I’ll say it again, everything should be roasted in duck fat!

I think at this stage the beers (and I) were starting to become a blur but I think the beef was accompanied by a bottle of Enterprise Knappstein Brewery Reserve Lager from South Australia.

But the highlight is always dessert and this was one delectable chocolate tart! The pastry was moreish with its crumbly biscuitty crunch and the chocolate filling wasn’t too sweet nor too rich. The best part was when you came across juicy pieces of sour cherries or crunchy hazelnuts.

It was so good that Helen, Billy and I would immediately eye off any leftovers and with permission we gleefully had seconds, even though we were bursting from dinner. I even forgotten that we had hazelnut gelato with it!

Our final beer was a Moo Brew Dark Ale from Tasmania. I’d never would’ve considered beer with dessert before but this was one that exuded undertones of coffee and chocolate. Suddenly the idea doesn’t seem so far-fetched! Personally I’d still prefer a cold sticky or a fortified but I couldn’t stop marvelling at how good this beer was with a chocolate tart.

The combination of good conversation, company, food and alcohol is always a winner and when you match it with an educational talk and tastings of alcohol, it’s even better. I also loved the intimacy of the new private dining room at Mumu Grill and it felt like I was having a dinner party at a friend’s house rather than being at a restaurant. Why oh why couldn’t there be educational classes like this in school or uni?!

The Beef and Beer Tasting Dinners are set to commence in March 2010. Check out the Mumu Grill website or the blog for details.

Citrus and Candy attended the Beef and Beer Tasting Dinner as a guest. Many thanks to Mumu Grill and Craig Macindoe for the invite.

Mumu Grill

70 Alexander St
Crows Nest NSW 2065
(02) 9460 6877

Open 7 days for dinner 5.30-10.30pm
Open for lunch Wed-Sun 12-3pm