Once each year in Chicago the National Restaurant Association brings together hundreds of businesses and thousands of people to put on its annual feast of ideas and inspirations. The 2011 show did not disappoint. From the many things we did, tasted, touched and saw, we have selected a handful of highlights and crowned them our Best of Show.

Duvel Moortgat USA – Belgian Styles at their Best

Duvel Moortgat USA has an incredibly solid Belgian beer line up with Duvel, La Chouffe, De Koninck and others. Add that to Ommegang, its American craft beer line, and you have a top contender.

At the show, their CEO Simon Thorpe said that the Duvel Moortgat line would soon be distributed in all 50 states. That means restaurants across America can enjoy selling these flavorful beers to their most discerning customers.

Besides product quality, another outstanding characteristic of Moortgat Duvel is their pricing strategy for Ommegang beers. While Ommegang beers have quality equaling the best American craft beers, they are typically priced a bit below much of their high-end competition. Accordingly, we find the Ommegang brand to be one of the best values in the craft beer market today.

Micro Matic Metropolis Draft Towers with Medallions

Micro Matic has a beautiful product in its new Metropolis “T” with Medallions draft tower. It has applications in even smaller restaurants that desire an upscale look.

This all stainless steel unit features stunning Art Deco design with is illuminated beer logo medallions.

The six tap-handle unit could serve most any small restaurant’s needs. Other versions of the Metropolis handle up to 24 taps.

Maybe the hottest piece of craft beer restaurant equipment this year is Micro Matic’s integrated glass rinser, shown at right. Glass rinsers prepare craft beer glassware to receive their pour by conditioning the glass with a film of clean water. It’s a fact that a wetted glass pours better.

HubWorks Interactive DrinkHub and FoodHub

Wisconsin Cheese Cupid — online beverage and cheese pairing tool

Cheese pairings are a cinch with Wisconsin Cheese Cupid that unites wine, beer and spirits with Wisconsin cheese. They have an excellent website that takes you right into the curds of cheese and beer pairing and produces spectacular results. A great resource.

At Cheese Cupid, each beer style comes with its own commentary spoken by a sophisticated yet soothing female voice. For example, “Brown Ale. The meaning of life is often found in a glass of Brown Ale,” or “Champagne. His eyes sparkled like freshly poured Champagne.” It’s so cool, you have to click though all the beverage options just to see what the lady says.

The website lets you start by selecting either a specific beverage type and style or by selecting a specific cheese. Either way it suggests the perfect pairings.

So pass the cheese tray, but don’t forget to pair it with small servings of craft beer. It’s a match made in heaven.

Sonoma Syrup Company of Sonoma, California

Sonoma Syrup Company has a dynamite line of American artisan infused simple syrups for better bar and restaurant use. Like no other.

Artisan methods and small batch production allow them to craft intensely aromatic elixirs that are right out of the the Sonoma Valley. These are ultra-premium products in an area where quality really does matter. Sure there are less expensive syrups out there, but unfortunately they taste inexpensive. For premium casual and fine-dining restaurants that demand high quality syrups to go with premium call-brand cocktails, Sonoma Syrup Company is the obvious choice. Promising applications in beer cocktails too. Go experiment.

Stephen Beaumont is a crusader for craft beer who know his stuff. He is a beer writer, educator, and published author of at least half a dozen books on beer. At the 2011 National Restaurant Association Show, Beaumont led a most informative panel on Beer Glassware.

Beaumont and the other panelists agree with us, that a restaurant serving craft beer should utilize appropriate glassware. Special, elegant glassware helps elevate the craft beer experience and helps justify the extra price a customer pays for a glass of craft beer in a restaurant—just the way it does with wine.

Some ideas the panelists presented included:

1. •Use a 10 oz tulip glass for serving high-alcohol beers (10% and above) and pour a 6 oz portion.
   

2. •Pouring beer into a glass is important because it releases some of the dissolved carbon dioxide, otherwise the gas releases in the stomach and can give an uncomfortable bloated feeling.
   

3. •A beer glass rinser is invaluable to the proper pouring of a beer. Sanitizer residue definitely contracts the head.
   

4. •Never fill a glass to the brim with beer; always serve it with a one- or two-finger head.
   

5. •Pick out 5 or 6 glass styles and use them to feature beers and to create a greater interest in the beer experience. Avoid using the shaker-style pint glass for serving better beers.
   

Artisanal Imports of Austin, Texas

Bob Leggett is a pioneering Belgian beer importer who continues to impress with great new products through his firm Artisanal Imports. One of his latest finds is Omer, a Belgian strong golden ale with great spirit and balance.

Omer won gold in the Belgian-style Pale Strong Ale category at the 2010 World Beer Cup. It’s from the family-owned Bokor brewery in the Flemish part of Belgium.

Artisanal Imports was founded in 2001 to import craft-quality European beers. Today it sells beers from Belgium, England, Holland and Germany.

Among their more interesting products is the world-class Urthel label from Holland—beers which are designed and brewed by Hildegard Van Ostaden and the artwork and packaging are the creative masterpieces of her husband, Bas.

Bobby Ham the sweet potato man from North Carolina

Sweet potatoes as a beer ingredient? Just ask North Carolina sweet potato farmer Bobby Ham.

Bobby operates Ham Produce Company in Snow Hill, NC, and he just happens to be the man who supplies sweet potatoes to the really cool FullSteam Brewery in Durham, NC for one of its distinctly Southern beer styles.

Who would have thought you’d run into him in Chicago promoting North Carolina sweet potatoes at his state’s agriculture products exhibit in the NRA Show.

Just goes to show you it’s a small world.

So enjoy some sweet potatoes, however you like them—especially if they’re in a batch of FullSteam’s Carver Beer.

Galena Brewing Company, Galena, IL

Met a couple of folks from Galena Brewing Company. which is a brewpub that has recently begun distributing its beers in the Galena, Illinois area. This type of small, local brewery is truly the bedrock upon which the craft beer industry rests. Galena Brewing did not have a trade show booth; they were at the show to gather inspiration and ideas just like we were.

Galena Brewing produces five year-round beers and 12 seasonal brews, one released each month. They recently began bottling a few of their beers, and they hold beer paring dinners at the brewpub once each month.

With the growing interest in locally-sourced food, a restaurant can benefit by pairing local foods with local brews. Most US restaurants today are within a short distance of a small distributing brewery. There are about 600 of them now around the country. Support your local brewery.

Teatulia — to health, to life, to tea

Was very positively impressed with the products of Teatulia, a premium organic tea company that sources its tea from a garden in Bangladesh. This socially-responsible business packs an abundance of delicate to bold flavors into their products.

Teatulia’s mission is to sustain the land and the people while producing top-quality tea. Their teas come directly from their gardens to you. No middle men and no long-term storage means Teatulia teas get to you fresher.

Teatulia is the only tea garden in Bangladesh to be USDA certified organic. Their commitment to sustainability touches everything they do, including their packaging.

Flavors of Teatulia teas are all natural of course. For example you’ll find real organic lemongrass and ginger.

Next Year

Dates for the 2012 National Restaurant Association Show are set for May 5–8.