The Slaughter
Local Artwork – totally sets the mood, eh?
Intro from the missus:
“Today I found myself sitting at a long table enjoying a fantastic meal with 100 or so of compatriots. We came together under the banner of great food and great beer. The funny thing about great beer is that it draws together a motley crew: the hipsters, the die hard beer snobs, those with allegiance to a particular brewery, and in this case metal heads. Those that are easy on the eyes rub elbows with those of us who are less photogenic. Beer draws together nerd and Jock, homecoming queen and debate club. It is a rallying banner.”
And that rallying banner was pork!
Mother’s day was just around the corner, and I needed to find a way to let the missus know just how much she was appreciated. Then I thought to myself, “what better way to tell someone you love them than to take them to a pig roast?” I know, pretty smart, right?
That’s where Chef Blake Edmunds and TRVE Brewing came in. For a mere 30 dollars, you could consume a large amount of pork and two TRVE beers in a feast affectionately titled. “The Slaughter: A Feast For the Masses.”
I can’t help it ^- it’s been stuck in my head ever since I found out about The Slaughter.
Deciding our meal options with a double IPA is always a good idea.
So I tied up my bow tie and we headed on down to 2nd and Broadway. Nestled next to a CrossFit gym, TRVE can be easy to miss, but if you listen closely for the metal (no, not hair metal. think angry Viking metal, and you’ll be a lot closer) you’ll be sure to find it.
With so many meal options to choose from, we weren’t really sure where to start. We did, however, start with a 10% ABV Double IPA named Nazareth. Deliciously hopped with Columbus and Summit, it was the perfect choice for standing in a quickly moving food line.
Not as dank as you would imagine, but perfectly balanced with a great funk to malt ratio.
Our menu options consisted of:
- Lapsang Tea-Brined Pig (Served Bo Ssam Style)
- Ribbolita Stew (cabbage and mushroom)
- Sprouted Grain Salad
- Roasted Beets
- Kale and Apple Salad
- Carnitas (so tender and spicy!)
- a snack mix featuring spicy nuts, shrimp chips, and Chicharrones
As well as a Charcuterie Featuring:
- tête de cochon (thinly sliced and delicious)
- pig trotter
- country paté
- rillettes
- pickles, jams, and mustards
Hot Damn, that’s some fancy feast!
I decided to have a “Deathripper” with my meal, which was their session ale hopped with Falconer’s Flight. A bit dry, but well paired with the pork. The missus decided to go with Tunnel of Trees, quite possibly one of our favorite IPAs on the scene.
Honestly, with so many options to choose from, we pretty much said “yes” to everything:
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- So much food on my plate! Why is everything black and white?!
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- After. Don’t worry, I went back for seconds. And Thirds.
He is Risen!
OK, so most of you know that I like beer. I do drink a lot of beer, but I like to think of it as “research”. As a homebrewer, you have to try out different stuff. It’s good for the palate, and the imagination. And, as you undoubtedly know, I am a fan of metal. 3Floyds in Munster, IN is at the convergence of beer and metal. What happens when they put together a festival combining beer and metal? Well, I have to go.
One Bad Dude.
Dark Lord Beer is released once a year, on Dark Lord Day. Dark Lord Day is like Easter. Like a malty, oil-dark, cherry-noted, viscous, 15% ABV kind of Easter. It’s a resurrection of sorts, seeing how it’s the only time of year that 3Floyds releases the beer. This is my third year going to DLD, but it was clearly one of the more adventurous, uh, adventures.
What I brought for my friends.
Before any good adventure begins, one must do a lot of packing.
Living in Denver affords one the opportunity to heavily consume sample quite a few good beers. I decided to make a care package to take to Chicago, but since many of the more popular breweries now export to Chicago, I packed a sampling of cans and tastes that were not readily available.
Plenty from my local favorites, including Renegade Brewing and River North Brewery. (Had the festival been a little later in the month, I likely would have brought over some Mexican Chocolate Stout from the CKBC, but, oh well…)
After packing, I headed to the airport. I love going to the airport. I don’t know what it is about the airport: security lines that last forever, free frisking (seriously, all you have to do is ask!), people watching…whatever, you can do it all at the airport, and have a good meal while you’re at it!
Well, when I landed, I realized that I forgot to pack one important thing…
Yep. The tickets.
Jesus Christ! (See, this is about Easter!) What kind of idiot forgets his tickets?! Oh, yeah, this one. Here are some sample texts, for your amusement. Here’s how the situation unfolded, for your amusement…
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- Sometimes, words aren’t necessary…
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- Note the exclamation marks. For emphasis.
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- And that’s how long it takes to overnight things from Denver to Chicago.
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- The system works! One hour early, too!
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- Phew! Thought I’d be sitting in the car all day. Looks like we’re open for business!
So anyway, back to the day itself. Welcome to the town of Munster, IN! We started with a Bean Gene from Revolution Brewing, and it pretty much went downhill from there…thankfully I took notes. (Don’t worry – I shared with all of my friends!) I think the best part of this event was the fact that you could also get some Dark Lord on tap – why waste bottles? Good move, 3Floyds…was that an option last year? I can’t remember.
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- The line to pick up some Dark Lord. The guy behind me wore a Jigglypuff shirt. Rad.
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- One (of several) beer tents. You could trade bottles, buy food, and other assorted stuff.
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- Man down! A little vanilla bean Dark Lord was sacrificed.
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- This is how people in the Midwest wind down…
Anyway, here’s a list of what we “sampled”, courtesy of Untappd:
- Bean Gene, Revolution Brewing
- Hoppenberg Uncertainty Principle, River North (popular with the Midwesterners)
- Double Trouble, Founders Brewing
- 3rd Year Bear, Rum-Barrel Aged Barleywine, Revolution Brewing
- Dark Lord 2013 (Available on tap! What?), 3Floyds Brewing
- Barrel-Aged Hell’s Black Intelligencer, 3Floyds Brewing
- Elevated Wood, Renegade Brewing (Oak aged Elevation)
- Behemoth, 3Floyds Brewing
- Tiberian Inquisitor, 3Floyds Brewing
- Calumet Queen, 3Floyds (you know, to class it up a little)
- 120 Minute IPA 2012, Dogfish Head Brewing
- Sexual Chocolate, Foothills Brewing
- Dark Lord Cognac de Muerte (So glad I have a bottle of this waiting at home…), 3Floyds Brewing
- Parabola (2012), Firestone Walker Brewing
- Barking Squirrel Lager, Hop City Brewing Company
- Dark Lord With Vanilla Beans, 3Floyds Brewing
- Zombie Dust, 3Floyds Brewing
- Gumballhead, 3 Floyds Brewing
Pig Destroyer, um, “destroying.”
Oh my.
Did I mention that there was music? Here’s a picture of Pig Destroyer tearing it up. I must say, I saw a Pig Destroyer video for the first time last week, and found it to be mildly disturbing (more the latent subtext than the video itself). Find “The Diplomat”, if you’re interested.
Anyway, between Bloodiest, Sweet Cobra, Municipal Waste, and Pig Destroyer, you could say it was a pretty full day. With an after party of burgers, brats, White Castle and Old Style awaiting, we had to head on home.
Well, there you go! If you want professional reviews of how things went, you can probably google it.
Oh, and I brought some stuff home, as well:
Some Zombie Dust, Alpha King, Dark Lord (duh!) Permanent Funeral, Toxic Revolution, and other goodies.
Hops Spring Eternal 