Knowing that craft beer is a big hit in America, celebrity chef Simon Majumdar knew he needed a chapter on an American microbrewery for his new book project, a look at American food culture from an outsider.
What better brewery to collaborate with than one named American Brewing Company, Majumdar figured?
He was right. Majumdar hooked up with American Brewing CEO Neil Fallon and the result was not only an award-winning beer but a chapter in his newest book, “Fed, White and Blue: Finding America with My Fork.”
“Simon is incredibly gracious and kind, fun and has stories for days,” Fallon said. “He made us all very comfortable and we quickly forgot that he is a celebrity.”
Majumdar, host of Food Channel’s “Cutthroat Kitchen,” visited Edmonds’ American Brewing a few years ago to research the craft brewery industry for “Fed, White and Blue,” a book describing his explorations of American food and drink as he became a U.S. citizen.
He writes in his book about meeting American Brewing’s then-head brewer Skip Madsen — who, he writes, looks like “a Muppet version of ex-Doobie Brother Michael McDonald” — learning about the process of making beer, and, of course, drinking a number of pints. Majumdar even got his hands dirty.
“He rolled up his sleeves and did the dirty jobs,” Fallon said, “mashing in, scraping the tun. He even added the hops. He was so relatable that he just seemed like one of the guys.”
Fallon and Madsen told Majumdar that they were going to brew a beer specifically for Majumdar’s project, an ESB and call it Fed, White and Brew. They also said they were going to enter it into the Great American Beer Festival in Denver and that they were expecting Majumdar to tag along and pour pints.
In the book, Majumdar writes about his experience at the GABF and the build up to the award presentation. His ESB was the final hope for an award for American Brewing. When it came to the ESB category, the presenter called out Fed, White and Brew for bronze and Majumdar writes about the jubilant celebration between himself and the American Brewing contingent.
“It is so hard to win any medal at GABF because there are thousands of beers submitted and to have won one when we needed to was an absolute thrill,” Fallon said. “We could not have designed it any better. Simon was ecstatic.”
Majumdar was back at American Brewing last week to sign copies of his book. He’s also on the brewery’s board of directors. Fallon said that there may be more plans in the future between Majumdar and the brewery.
“We have had many conversations and a collaboration on a restaurant is definitely among them,” Fallon said. “There have also been talks of shows, tours, visiting chefs, almost everything that you can imagine. Simon is a very sharp and creative man. I am proud to call him my friend.”
Aaron Swaney: 425-339-3430; aswaney@heraldnet.com. Twitter: @swaney_aaron79. Follow the Hops and Sips blog at www.heraldnet.com/hopsandsips.
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