Bike and beer

It's a surprise when you dismount your bicycle at the western terminus of the W&OD bike trail in Purcellville, Virginia. Because there you'll find Magnolias at the Mill, a marvelous restaurant converted from a old stone and timber-hewn grain mill.

At the Great American Beer Festival, Denver 2006
(l to r): Magnolia Mill bar manager Jason, Chef Mark,
Clipper City's Brewmaster Ernie, banquet manager Kim

Maggie's (the nickname which the regulars have for their favorite restaurant) banquet manager Kim Ross and Executive Chef Mark Marrasco have invited Clipper City Brewing Company and me for a 6 course beer dinner, pairing their food creations with the beers of Clipper City, on Thursday evening, 17 May.

Here's a Washington Post review of Maggie's, and below is the menu for the Cask Ale Dinner:

• Small Craft Warning Uber Pils: welcome beer
• Clipper City Gold Ale (cask): Artichoke, oven-dried tomatoes, and hearts of palm salad.
• Red Sky at Night Saison: Fried green tomatoes with pistachio relish, tasso ham, and goat cheese.
  
• Holy Sheet Uber Abbey Ale: Fisherman Seafood sofrito, with chorizo sausage, saffron, and fried plantains.
• Peg Leg Imperial Stout: Ancho Espresso rubbed Beef Tenderloin with three bean fricassee.
• Loose Cannon Hop3 Ale: white chocolate-lavender mouuse with blueberry parfait.
  

Of note:

1. I'll be tapping a fresh cask of Clipper City's Gold Ale ... and using the opportunity graciously given me by Kim and Mark to give a mini-lecture on cask ale. This beer, in its cask version, comes close to tasting like a British best bitter.
   
2. The draft that evening of Holy Sheet Uber Abbey Ale may be the last anywhere (including at the Clipper City brewery). The abbey ale was our spring seasonal and won't be brewed again until 2008.
3. Many beer dinners end with a stout, usually accompanied with fruit (contrasting taste) or chocolate (complementary flavor). Instead of that, Andrea, Magnolias Mill's pastry chef is pairing our IPA - an exuberantly herbal and aromatic beer - with a white chocolate-lavender mousse and blueberry parfait. Can't wait!
4. The dinner is an 'official' Clipper City event as part of the week-long celebration of American Craft Beer Week.
   

For more information and to make reservations (required), click below.