Terrapin Gamma Ray + Creamy Basil Parmesan Chicken Pasta

Eek.

The beer was good.  And the pasta was good.  But the combination, not so much.  Which is the whole point of this blog.  To explore these pairings and see what works and what doesn’t.

Wheat wine is an interesting topic.  It still is not an officially recognized style by the Beer Judge Certification Program, the closest thing there is to a sanctioned entity determining what is and is not technically a “beer style.”  But several breweries have been experimenting with it for a few years and it is emerging.

The gist of a wheat wine is that it is an exceptionally high alcohol beer brewed with 50% or more of wheat malt.  It is obviously a parallel to a barleywine, which is a high alcohol beer brewed with just barley malt.

I’ve had a few but Terrapin’s is the first I’ve had fermented with hefeweizen yeast.  Honestly, I’m impressed they got a hefe yeast to survive up to 11% ABV.  All yeasts have a certain alcohol tolerance, above which they will die out, and I know they reused the same yeast they used to brew their SunRay Hefeweizen, which is a traditional Bavarian hefe.  They used the SunRay batch as  a “yeast starter” to grow enough yeast cells for the Gamma Ray.  Hefeweizens are typically not more than 5% ABV, so to have a hefe yeast survive to 11% is quite a feat.

The dominate flavors in the beer are honey, the hefe yeast, and the alcohol bite.  It’s really an excellent brew, quite unique.

But sadly, it was not destined to work with the Italian pasta I cooked up tonight.  Regarding this pasta… what’ll they think of next?  First, gordita kits.  Now, Macaroni Grill, at home, in a kit.  Seriously people, this was good.  The kit includes linguine pasta, a packet of grated parmesan and romano cheese blend, basil and cheese seasoning, creamy sauce, and sun-dried tomatoes.  Time-wise, it wasn’t any faster than most pasta dishes I whip up off the cuff.  But this didn’t require any thinking about what to cook, and it was a solid meal.

It was definitely up to par with what you could expect to get at Macroni Grill.  Not that that is the pinnacle of Italian food, but you know you like it.  They have some good stuff.

Unfortunately, this was a star-crossed pairing. Not really good, at all.  And I put some thought into it.  I have recently acquired a spare fridge on the super cheap via craigslist, and so now I have the space to keep a wide variety of beer chilled.  I perused my fairly substantial variety of beer and decided I wanted to try the Gamma Ray with this meal.  And it just didn’t hold up.  Harsh flavors in the combo.  Sigh.

I suspect we’ll hit this kit again sometime, and I think I may spring for a Belgian beer next time.

Tags: Creamy Basil Parmesan Chicken Pasta, Gamma Ray, Macaroni Grill, Terrapin Beer