BrüFrou Preview 2015

Forty culinary chefs matched with 40 Colorado brewers have been putting their heads together to develop over 50 unique pairings to bring to you. The second annual BrüFrou [broo-froo] event will take place this Saturday, April 25. The WWII-era airplane hangar at Wings Over the Rockies will set the scene for this event. An interview with co-founder John Heins allowed me to gain some insight on how this event started, example past pairings to make you salivate, and tips for attendees.

BruFrou

The Beginning

Founders Myriah Conroy and John Heins put this event on for the first time last year. They own an agency together called Idea Trading Company which specializes in events. A lot of their events are around the nation, even with being based in Boulder, and so they wanted to create something “more Colorado and for the local community”. They were sitting at a brewery (obviously!) one day when they noted the big beer and culinary trend in Colorado and the need for an event that will capitalize on both. They set out to visit breweries across Colorado to begin “researching” ones to be a part of this event. All the breweries and restaurants are selected for this event.

BruFrou2

Tasty Pairings

Once selected to participate in the event, chefs and brewers match up to begin creating delicious pairings. They must choose from a category and the number of dishes from each category is limited so that their is a variety of options. Once the category is selected and the brewer and chef are paired together, they run away with their idea.

Heins shared with me a few of the many delicious pairings from last year:

A citrus-y sushi roll with sriracha and topped with citrus aioli (iFish) was paired with a Peach Pale Ale (Lone Tree Brewing).

Hazed and Infused Dry Hopped Ale (Boulder Beer) was paired with “Da Killa’ Carrot Cake” donut (Glazed and Confuzed). The donut had ginger infused cream and was topped with toffee walnuts.

Made special for this event last year, Wild Woods brewed a Molasses Brown Ale to pair with a Campfire Ice Cream from Basta.

BruFrou-sushiroll
[Photo courtesy of Ken Hamblin for Westword.com]

The Set-Up

Beer will be accompanied with its food pairings so that you can easily sip and bite together. There is both an afternoon and evening session which allows for a more distributed crowd. Heins mentioned that the space is large and everything is spread out. Lines are not an issue due to the two sessions and the limit on the number of people that can attend. Something that they added new this year is the Tasty Talks which will be before the first session. For more information visit their website.

Schedule:

11:00am – 12:30pm TastyTålks
12:00pm – 7:00pm BrüFaire (culinary handmade market- FREE)
1:00pm – 4:00pm Afternoon BrüFrou Session
5:00pm – 8:00pm Evening BrüFrou Session

BruFou3

[Photo courtesy of B. Borowsky of Boulder Digital Arts]

Tips for Festival Attendees

Heins says to “take your time through the event” and to also “keep an open mind”. You may think you will not like some dishes but “new flavors evolve when paired with beer”.

The Belgian tulip sampling glass and plate provided for this event were created to be held in one hand which will allow for easier eating and drinking! 😀

For a good tasting experience, Heins recommends starting with “taking a swig of the beer. Roll it around the mouth and get a sense of the beer”. Then pop the one-bite dish in your mouth and follow it with another taste of beer. “More comes alive and different flavors evolve“, states Heins.

Gluten-free Options

Though there will be plenty of gluten-full options, there will be some gluten-free options as well. JB’s Hard Cider and Brewery Rickoli (gluten-reduced beer) are two of the gluten-free beverage options that will be present this year. There will be gluten-free and vegan food options as well. Check out the menu from last year to get a better feel for the variety.

http://www.brufrou.com/

Guten Appetit and Prost!


Music For Your Ears:

~Hazey by Glass Animals

More To Love:

Collaboration Festival 2015

Collaboration Festival 2015

Hamburg Winter Beer Festival

Hamburg Winter Beer Festival

Big Beers Festival

Big Beers Festival

Stout Street Social

Stout Street Social

Comments

  1. There is nothing better with beer than eats and sweets 🙂

Trackbacks

  1. […] that I am so regretful that I missed. I even talked about their pairing from last year on my preview post and yet I somehow did not make it my mission to find Glazed and Confuzed donuts! This year they […]

  2. […] that I am so regretful that I missed. I even talked about their pairing from last year on my preview post and yet I somehow did not make it my mission to find Glazed and Confuzed donuts! This year they […]