A couple weeks ago I ran into Chef Mike Carrino, owner of Restaurant Passionné, at an Oktoberfest party in Montclair NJ where he was serving up some amazing brats with red cabbage.  As we were talking, he told me that if I like these brats I had to come to his private Beer dinner with Ramstein Beer.  Well, he had me sold at “beer”, surprised?  How could I pass up an invitation to a private dinner with Chef Mike, Greg Zaccardi, Owner of Ramstein, and Brian Baxter, Brewmaster of Ramstein.

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On June 23rd my wife and I had the pleasure of attending a Beer & Dinner pairing featuring some off centered Dogfish Head Beer and the cuisine of Chef Michael Carrino of Passionné and first season winner of the food network’s Chopped series.  The event was put together by Travis Glohs of Amanti Vino, Chef Carrino, and Wendy Domurat of Dogfish Head Brewery.  If you have listened to the Simply Beer podcasts or have read my reviews, I have a great respect for the Dogfish Head beers and especially their brewing process.  With the depth of their beer portfolio, I could only image which beers could be on this tasting.  Introducing the lineup for the dinner, Travis brought the whole Dogfish head line to Chef Carrino to sample and he came up with a complementary menu not only to the beer, but the image of Dogfish head, who’s motto is “Off centered ales for off centered people”.

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