The evening represented a continuation of North Coast’s support of the arts with 100% of the proceeds going to the Mendocino Music Festival, for which the brewery is a sponsor. Among North Coast Brewing’s other music sponsorships are the Monterey, San Francisco, and Healdsburg Jazz festivals, the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz, the Redwood Coast Jazz Alliance, the American Jazz Museum, and Ensemble VIII, a Texas-based early music group.

Ash is a well-established culinary figure and educator who first came into national prominence in 1985 when he was named as one of the “hot new chefs” by Food and Wine. Since then, among other accomplishments, he has opened John Ash & Co. restaurant; taught regularly at the Culinary Institute of America’s (CIA) Greystone facility; been the Culinary Director at Fetzer Vineyards; served as dean of the Brown-Forman Center for Global Wine Education; written three books; received both the James Beard and Julia Child awards; contributed to the New York Times and the Los Angeles Times, as well as numerous other publications; and taught, lectured, and consulted on culinary matters for decades. He is truly one of the community’s living treasures.

Ruedrich is well known throughout the Craft brewing community as a brewer who consistently produces exceptional beers garnering critical recognition. His beers have received Gold Medal awards at the Great American Beer Fest, the World Beer Championships, the World Beer Cup, the Stockholm Beer Fest, and the Hong Kong Beer Fest, among many others. This marks the third occasion that Ash and Ruedrich have collaborated on food/beer pairings, and each one has been grander than the last. There already have been requests for a repeat performance by the duo. Stay tuned.

“We’re familiar with the high quality deliciousness of North Coast Brewing Company’s Old Rasputin Imperial Stout, but we didn’t know they decided to put Rasputin in a bourbon barrel until we stumbled across it last weekend.  When you lock Rasputin away like that, it only comes out stronger and better.”

Read the whole review here.

Celebrity chef John Ash is returning to North Coast Brewing for another memorable dinner benefiting the Mendocino Music Festival. Ash, a well-known restaurateur and educator, will once again work with Brewmaster Mark Ruedrich to prepare a menu demonstrating the delicious synergy between North Coast Brewing beers and Ash’s exquisite offerings. In a continuation of its long-term support of the arts, North Coast Brewing will again be the presenting sponsor of the Mendocino Music Festival, now in its 26th year.

All proceeds benefit the Mendocino Music Festival, www.mendocinomusic.com

Click here for a printable PDF of the press release.
Click here for a PDF of the menu.

“If you have ever had the opportunity to talk to a brewmaster, you have seen it. You’ve seen that look that lets you know that there is an art and a respect for what they do that goes far past what most Americans experience at their day jobs. The look that tells you that the paycheck isn’t the reason he does the job. The flavors, the journey, the solving of the problems that yield to an end result of a drinkable, shareable masterpiece. You’ve seen that look.

“It’s because of that look that I try to create recipes that respect the years of love and hard work that go into the process of making Craft Beer. I had the idea of making a lemon cake with pilsner, but the issue is always the hops. Hops are a hard ingredient to cook and bake with, given that they often reduce to a very bitter product. Scrimshaw Pilsner, while still a pilsner, has a low, and well balanced hop taste. It is also from one of my favorite breweries, North Coast, that produces an incredible variety of craft beer. And you can bet that if you are ever lucky enough to take a tour of the brewery, you will see that look I’m talking about, all over the place.”

See the recipe and full post at her blog, The Beeroness.

Upcoming Concert:
“The House of Tudor—English Polyphony of Tallis, Sheppard, and Byrd”
Friday, May 11 in Austin, TX and Saturday, May 12 in Dallas

Ensemble VIII is under the direction of Dr. James Morrow, Director of Choral Activities at the University of Texas in Austin, and is comprised of eight nationally known singers who gather from throughout the country to perform. Founded in 2011, Ensemble VIII has plans for national tours and the release of recorded concerts. Most recently, the group presented Handel’s Messiah in its entirety, accompanied by period instruments—a unique program for such a small choral group. Reviews have been remarkable. Watch for the release of recordings soon. Tickets for concerts available at www.ensembleVIII.org.

The Artist: Eduardo Smissen in his studio working on the Brother Thelonious painting; Photo by Joelle Signorelli

The Result: Brother Thelonious Belgian Style Abbey Ale

North Coast Brewing Company has always supported regional creative talent in the distinctive beer imagery that goes with each of their brews. When it came to the creation of the Brother Thelonious beer, we sought out the talent of local Mendocino artist Eduardo Smissen. The resulting packaging design by Colored Horse Studios featuring his spirited painting of Thelonious Monk as a Belgian Abbey Monk highlighted one of the most successful beer launches for North Coast Brewing, and won a Gold Medal in the Creativity Category from the Beverage Testing Institute’s World Beer Championships Packaging Competition. More of Smissen’s work can be seen on his website at http://eduardosmissen.com/

Why is a skull on the Brother Thelonious label?
From Eduardo: It’s a “memento mori,” a Latin phrase that may be freely translated as “Remember that you are mortal,” “Remember you will die,” or “Remember your death.” It names a genre of artistic creations that vary widely from one another, but which all share the same purpose, which is to remind people of their own mortality. The chief thrust of “memento mori” was the theme of “carpe diem,” “seize the day,” which  entailed the advice to “eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow we die.” And as the motto for North Coast Brewing is “Carpe Diem Vita Brevis”—”Life is short, seize the day”—I thought it an appropriate Style for the Brother Thelonious label.

Open 24/7 with a great menu, they’re devoting the entire restaurant for the evening to the North Coast Brewing event.  North Coast Brewing co-founder Tom Allen will present the beers and give some historic background on the brewery; Chef Andrew Curran’s menu includes five courses, each paired with a North Coast beer. If you’ve ever been curious to try Chocolate-Rubbed South Texas Antelope with Creamed Leeks and Cherry Lime Jam, paired with Old Rasputin, this is your chance! Read the full menu here.

24 Diner | 600 North Lamar Blvd. | Austin, Texas
Monday, April 2, 2012 | 7 pm

CBS recently devoted a 60 Minutes episode to the Otsuchi disaster and interviewed Ken Sasaki, catalyst for the sister city program. Sasaki made it clear how important the Fort Bragg sister city relationship has been in helping to give Otsuchi the encouragement to rebuild and to maintain their “Never give up” attitude.

The people of Fort Bragg have sent over $250,000 to help, but more importantly, they sent their love. As a continuation of this support, North Coast Brewing makes a donation to the Otsuchi Recovery fund for every bottle of Otsuchi Old Stock Ale sold. North Coast Brewing invites you to enjoy this bottle with friends & celebrate the recovery of Otsuchi.

To read more on the sister sister relationship between Fort Bragg, California and Otsuchi Japan, visit www.otsuchi.org

Click here for a printable PDF of this release.

Read the whole review in the Fayetteville Flyer