Notoberfest Success

So, the BeerandNosh Notoberfest was a total success! Nearly 200 people flooded into Mars Bar and wandered around collecting various foodie treats such as Ryan Farr’s famous Chicharrones (passed around in a big bowl by someone chanting “converts all vegetarians” which really made me laugh) and some of Steve’s coveted Ollalieberry Sour by Valley Brewing.

But what I really want to tell you about is the Humphrey Slocombe ice cream treats served by yours truly and the Man Behind the Genius, affectionately known as Jake.

Photo courtesy of Jesse of BeerandNosh:

I want to point out that the ice cream pictured above was not my finest scooping moment. Can you tell how much ice cream scooping I've done in my life? Not enough, apparently. After this sad jagged little scoop, the experts reminded me that I have to rinse the scooper before EVERY scoop. Right, got it.

Jake and I feverishly served up the following goodies:

Brandy Barrel Aged “Collaborative Evil” Ice Cream

Sour Pomegranate Beer and Coconut Sherbet

Luna Blanca Ice Cream made with Orange and Coriander

Honey Ice Cream with Wort Syrup

Root Beer Ice Cream Floats with Valley Brew Skullsplitter Root Beer

Russian Imperial Stout Ice Cream Floats with Bourbon Barrel Russian Imperial Stout

Russian Imperial Stout Ice Cream Floats with Whipped Crème Fraiche and Iced Coffee

Double IPA Shortbread (the hoppiest cookie that ever hopped)

Prosciutto Ice Cream Sandwiches in Boccolone Lard Shortbread Cookies

Jake’s Chex Mix with Gruyere and Black Pepper

Jake used to be a pastry chef so he has had LOTS of experience making ice cream and the man can seriously turn anything into ice cream. Each time he brought out a new tub of his custom creations, I immediately seized a spoonful and thought "no, this is my favorite!" In the end, I think I narrowed my favorite down to either the sour pomegranate beer and coconut sherbet or the honey ice cream with swirls of sticky, sweet wort syrup (provided by Valley Brewing, of course). The sour pomegranate and coconut sherbet was amazing--it tasted like sour beer meets coconut milk, but Jake didn't even use any coconut milk to acheive such an intense flavor--he made his own by cooking down large amounts of dessicated coconut!

When I asked Jake about naming his shop, he said it was a play upon Mr. Humphrey and Mrs. Slocombe from a 1970's BBC Comedy called Are You Being Served. He is the sweetest guy you will ever meet, and man, does he mean business when it comes to ice cream. Bold, intense and complex flavors, or, as Jake likes to say, Ice Cream with Attitude. He tells me he likes to do combination flavors. I agree--who likes a one dimensional flavor of ice cream?!

I cannot quantify how much beer and ice cream I consumed while simultaneously scooping up ice cream cones and assembling floats. If you saw me behind the tiki bar, I almost always had either a spoonful of ice cream or some Ollaliberry Sour in my left hand while assembling floats with my right hand. This combo was h-e-a-v-e-n-l-y…until I discovered that there really is a limit to how much beer and ice cream one can consume before it starts creating a foamy monsoon in your tummy. Luckily, even with the plethora of meat items, I did manage to snag a delicious Mariquita Farms salad with organic greens with roasted squash, apples, and beets and a pomegranate vinaigrette.