MNP Week 11: It's A Pulled Pork Party

The first Monday Night Potluck of 2015 kicked off with a bang, as various foods struggled against each other to stake their claim as the most delicious food of 2015. 

And if 2014 was the Year of Bacon, it didn't take long for bacon's cousin, Pulled Pork, to take the driver's seat early in 2015. In a week rife with parity, Brian Munger's Pulled Pork Sandwiches held off the other contenders, eventually running away with a victory with 40 points. Two pasta dishes, Matt and Arielle's Brat Pasta and Dave Johnston's Lasagna, put up 25 points to tie for second place, while the 2014 favorite, bacon, could not be denied a podium spot, as Even and Crew's Bacon-Wrapped Jalapeno Poppers recorded 23 points for the third place finish.

But, on a night when it was firing on all cylinders, nothing could outshine Pulled Pork Sandwiches (who were, in this author's humble opinion, aided mightily by the assistance of Hawaiian rolls. Nobody anywhere ever has disliked a Hawaiian roll. It's a fact). It was a hard-fought victory for Munger, a potluck semi-regular, and could propel him to his most successful potluck year yet. 

Broken Compass would once again like to thank all the chefs and potluckers  who brought food for yet another amazing potluck. Here are all the awesome people and the dish they brought:

Isaac and Genia - Mountain Pizza (what is Mountain Pizza? I still really don't know. Just know that it's delicious)
Cindy and Andy - Bella's Bacon And Beans (And Purple Potatoes)
Brian Munger - Pulled Pork (1st place)
Matt and Arielle - Brat Pasta (T-2nd)
Mike and Malia - Cornbread
Evan and Crew - Bacon Wrapped Jalapeno Poppers (3rd)
Dave - Lasagna (T-2nd) (Let's be clear, this lasagna included Italian sausage instead of plain, non-interesting ground beef. Which is how all lasagnas should always be made. I'm looking at you Mom)
Diane - Quiche - Hopefully It's Done (Diane's words, not mine)
Peter - Greenbean Casserole
Koz - Chips 
Nick Shaffer and Grant - Coconut Porter Ice Cream Floats
Jay Haggerty - Chili

Thanks again to everyone for coming out. Monday Night Potlucks will continue next week, Jan. 12, at 7 p.m., hope to see you all there!

(Editor's note: Broken Compass Brewing's Monday Night Potlucks are popping off every Monday night, with eating starting  around 7. We encourage everyone to contribute a dish every now and then, but everyone in the brewery is welcome to sample the food and vote for their favorite dishes. First place wins a 64 oz growler and fill, second place a 32 oz. growler and fill and third place a free pint. See you there!)

MNP Week 10: 2014 Is The Year Of Bacon

After repeatedly dominating Monday Night Potlucks, it was only fitting that at the final MNP of the 2014 season, bacon continued to reign supreme. 

(But not the last potluck of 2014! Come out to our New Year's Eve potluck/dance party combo! Dress code: Breckenridge "Black Tie" aka Sequins and Sorrels. First place potlucker receives $100, second place $50 and third place $25. Dance off winners receive the love and respect of the masses. More details here: http://ow.ly/GoEDy).

On a night where attendance was held down by a wicked storm dumping almost three feet of powder on Breckenridge, Grant Robinson and Nick Last Name Unknown's Tekilya Shrooms (mushrooms, wrapped in mouth-watering bacon, dipped in a spicy "Tekilya" mustard sauce from our friends our Mountain Madness. And oh yes, I should mention again, wrapped in BACON, which is quite conveniently sizzling on my stovetop as I write this) outpaced the competition, taking first place with 33 points. 

The ever-steady Rick Galgas made records and waves in potluck cirlces by reaching his third straight podium with a second place finish by Broken Compass Chili Beer Potato Cheese Soup, while Michael Cliff Cardone (he of the phenomenal, MNP-winning ribs http://ow.ly/GoICR) busted out a Broken Compass Beer Chili to take third. Both BC Beer Chili and BC Chili Beer Potato Cheese Soup put up hearty fights but could not withstand the bacon onslaught. 

The real winner on the night, however, was everyone who had the fortune to witness one of the great ballots of our time. The voter, who shall remain anonymous, chose to nominate, in order:

1. Cookie
2. Shroom Shit
3. Chilli (spelled with two L's)

While writing in a style some might compare to a serial killer's. Pure, unadulterated, enjoyment. Thank you Anonymous Voter (please see attached photo for details).

Broken Compass would once again like to thank all the chefs and potluckers who braved the elements Monday night. Here are all the awesome people and the food they brought:

The Redner Bunch - Assorted Christmas Cookies
Dan Rabin - Salami And Cheese
Rick Galgas - Broken Compass Chili Beer Potato Cheese Soup (2nd)
Michael Cardone - Broken Compass Beer Chili (3rd)
Grant Robinson/Nick - Tekilya Shrooms (1st)
Tom Valentin - Latkes
Amelia/Lindsey - Cookies (which, to Amelia and Lindsey's credit, were totally unburnt this time and actually relatively delicious)

Monday Night Potlucks will be OFF this coming Monday (Dec. 29th), as potluckers near and far (including yours truly) will be celebrating the holidays with family and friends. Come party with us for our New Year's Eve potluck dance party! For those who survive, we will return to our regular MNP schedule in 2015.

(Editor's note: Broken Compass Brewing's Monday Night Potlucks are popping off every Monday night, with eating starting between 6:30 and 7. We encourage everyone to contribute a dish every now and then, but everyone in the brewery is welcome to sample the food and vote for their favorite dishes. First place wins a 64 oz growler and fill, second place a 32 oz. growler and fill and third place a free pint. See you there!)

The winners, from right to left: Nick/Grant, Rick and Mike

The infamous ballot

MNP Week 9: Green Chile Victorious As Bacon's Reign Ends

This week's Monday Night Potluck blog was cancelled due to the author succumbing to a potluck-induced food coma. 

Ahhh, we jest. We will say, however, that if all you phenomenal home chefs out there continue to supply such a wonderful smorgasbord each Monday evening, these fingers may soon be too fat to type. 

This week's turnout was one of the best yet, with an incredible spread including 16 dishes, excellent fare all over the table. In what is becoming a highly difficult feat, Nathan Claus's (no relation) Green Chile took first place with 40 points, narrowly edging out Rick Galgas's 2 Bangers And 2 Mash Surprise (which I'm fairly certain is what the sign-in sheet said?) who finished with 35 points. Tom's delectable Coconut Porter Chocolate Fondue (still drooling about) and BK Munger's Mac N' Cheese rounded out the podium with 23 points apiece.

Faced with a multitude of excellent competitors, Green Chile blasted past them all with a combination of spice and pork (which really never can go wrong). With no bacon on the menu (please read MNP Week 7 recap for a rant about bacon), Green Chile was able to hold on to its lead despite a late push from 2 Bangers And 2 Mash Surprise (is that really what that dish was called? Come on).

"It's like Thanksgiving every week," one excited potlucker said. "Except without the turkey, I guess. Or any of the other Thanksgiving dishes. But still."

Broken Compass would once again like to thank all of those who brought food for yet another amazing potluck. Here are all the awesome people and the dish they brought:

Dog House - Doggie Style Mac N' Cheese
The Groundwaters - Christmas Salad With Walnuts 
Tortilla Soup - Torilla Soup with Cotijo Cheese and Avocado
Mema's Latkes - Mema's Latke's (I'm starting to think that you guys may have misinterpreted the "Name" column of this week's sign-in sheet)
Stacey T. - Salad (leave it to the sensible person who brings a salad to correctly understand how to sign in)
The Redner Bunch - Red and Green Christmas Fettucine
Jess M. - Buter Spritz Cookies
BK Munger - Mac N' Cheese 
D Munger - Choco Chip Cookies
Nathan Claus - Green Chile
Kelly Russo - Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread
Grant Robinson - Pasta Carbonara
Nick Shaffer - Pad Thai
Isaac Manobla - Homemade Hummus
Tom - Coconut Porter Chocolate Fondue
Rick Galgas - 2 Bangers and 2 Mash Surprise

Monday Night Potlucks will continue next week (Dec. 22) at 6:30, with eating commencing at 7. We will be off the following week (Dec. 29). We can't wait to see what you make next! 

(Editor's note: Broken Compass Brewing's Monday Night Potlucks are popping off every Monday night, with eating starting between 6:30 and 7. We encourage everyone to contribute a dish every now and then, but everyone in the brewery is welcome to sample the food and vote for their favorite dishes. First place wins a 64 oz growler and fill, second place a 32 oz. growler and fill and third place a free pint. See you there!)

MNP Week 8: Carnivorous Ribs

There is something both satisfyingly primal and inherently right about the act of eating ribs. 

It starts with the utensils needed. Which are exactly none outside of the tools you bring to the table. The tearing of tender meat from bone. The mess of sauce on both hands and face. The lack of caring about said sauce. The inevitable, "Ahh well, I suppose I'll go get another 17 napkins," upon realizing that no, those two napkins you thought would cut it are in fact only succeeding in kind of cleaning up your left hand before being rendered utterly useless by sauce. The pile of bones scattered on your plate, proof of your carnivorous conquest.   

No other food can compete with the total experience offered by eating ribs (except, perhaps, for the turkey leg, which is undone almost every time by its inexplicable inferiority). No other food makes the eater push back his or her chair, stand on wobbly, meat-fattened legs and raise both sauce-covered hands to the skies while releasing a primal roar (wait...I'm the only one that does this? Well this is awkward).

These eating displays were on full display Monday night at Broken Compass, as Michael Cliff Cardone's Ribs (which could be given a longer and more descriptive title usually seen in this blog like "Dry-Rubbed For 36 Hours Then Dipped In Chocolate Coffee Stout Based BBQ Sauce Ribs" or "Gloriously Delicious Meat Sticks Descended From Heaven". You're right. We'll stick with just "Ribs") turned in a dominant Monday Night Potluck performance. Ribs's 43 points are the most ever recorded in MNP's two-month history, and came despite facing a stacked field of competitors. 

Nothing could stand in the way of Ribs's destructive path to victory. Two-time MNP champion Seth Cohen's Bacon Wrapped Dates And Coconut Porter Glaze and Rick Galgas's Turkey Kielbasa And Potato Perogi With Onions, Sauerkraut And Bacon (TKAPPWOSAB) managed to keep pace with Ribs for a short time, but ultimately came up short. Bacon Wrapped Dates finished second with 32 points, while TKAPPWOSAB tallied 23 for third place (it's another testament to Ribs's dominance that it easily outpaced two dishes featuring bacon, which to this point in MNP history had served as a key ingredient in the last two victorious dishes. Bacon's track record of success even inspired a dish titled "Plain-Ass Bacon," which, in case you were wondering, was a plate stacked with bacon, served plain). 

Despite being a familiar face at Broken Compass, this was Cardone's first appearance at MNP, and a successful one at that. 

Broken Compass would once again like to thank all of those who brought food for another amazing potluck.  Here are all the awesome people who brought food and the dish they brought:

Jess McNary - Creamy Cornbread

Seth Cohen - Bacon Wrapped Dates And Coconut Porter Glaze

Aaron Redner - Taquitos With Salsa Bean Dip

Stacey Todd - Bruschetta (which totally undersells it. This was gourmet bruschetta if I've ever seen it)

Ant - Arancini

Rick - Turkey Kielbasa And Potato Perogi With Onions, Sauerkraut And Bacon (TKAPPWOSAB)

Maria - Black Tuffle Popcorn

Hali and Shahara - Jalepeno Dip

Rachel and Lauren - Shrimp-Coconut Green Curry

Michael Cliff Cardone Jr. - Ribs

Rory Dushman - Plain-Ass Bacon

Monday Night Potlucks will continue next week (Dec. 15) at 6:30, with eating commencing at 7. We can't wait to see what you make next! 

(Editor's note: Broken Compass Brewing's Monday Night Potlucks are popping off every Monday night, with eating starting between 6:30 and 7. We encourage everyone to contribute a dish every now and then, but everyone in the brewery is welcome to sample the food and vote for their favorite dishes. First place wins a 64 oz growler and fill, second place a 32 oz. growler and fill and third place a free pint. See you there!)

From left to right: Mike Cliff Cardone, Seth Cohen and Rick Galgas

MNP Week 7: Beer + Bacon + Stew = Victory

Post-Thanksgiving food comas could do nothing to slow the potluck craze.

Eaters from far and wide gathered at Broken Compass on Monday for yet another phenomenal edition of Monday Night Potlucks. 

But it was Seth Cohen's Chocolate Pumpkin Pie Stout Beef Stew that stole the show, thumbing its nose at critics who claimed the general public didn't need to eat so heartily following mass Thanksgiving feasting only a few days prior. Beer Beef Stew showed nothing particularly flashy as it cruised to victory with 32 points, utilizing a series of classic, old-man post moves to simply overwhelm the competition. The presence of three different kinds of bacon - not to mention two growlers of beer - aided Beef Stew on the way to victory.

While we're here, let's talk about bacon, because this bacon thing is becoming a little unfair. It's essentially the HGH of Monday Night Potluck. Throw bacon in your dish and you're guaranteed to be a contender. Which is a method I wholeheartedly support, because let's be honest, we all know bacon is the greatest food in the world. But still, it's essentially the HGH of MNP. It's like Mcgwire, Sosa and Bonds slugging it out for the home run title. It's also what I'm having for breakfast as I write this post, because again, it's the greatest food in the world. So by all means, please continue bringing this performance-enhancing drug to MNP. There, that's settled. 

A feisty battle ensued for the final two spots on the podium. Pigs In An Electric Blanket (jalepeno cheddar smokies wrapped in, wait for it....bacon) put forth its best effort, tallying 16 points, but in the end it wasn't enough. Swedish Meatballs, made by Robby and Christi, and Scotch-A-Roos (Peanut Butter Rice Crispies), from Linsey put up 20 points to tie for third. The somewhat ambiguously titled Rhonda's Dish - Veggies, Almonds and Cheese! - snuck by with 22 points to claim second place, proving that it doesn't take a medley of unhealthy foods (and bacon) to win votes (editor's note: we are now receiving reports that Cream Cheese made its way into Rhonda's dish. We knew it was too good to be true).

The victory was Cohen's second in the last three weeks, following up on his Coconut Porter Ice Cream's dominant performance two weeks ago. 

Broken Compass would once again like to thank all of those who brought food for another amazing potluck. Here's all the awesome people who brought food and the dish they brought:

LJ, Mary, Denny - Rhonda's Dish - Veggies, Almonds, Cheese! (wait, none of those people are named Rhonda...)

Bryan, Rachel, Emmett - Pecan Pie and Ice Cream

Chantal and Bill - Pig In An Electric Blanket

Nancy R. - Coconut Stout Chocolate Bundt Cake (How did this not receive more votes? How! I demand answers from you people)

Linsey - Scotch-A-Roos

Robby and Christi - Swedish Meatballs

Jake Lidard - Banana Bread Muffins

William Wallace - Quinoa Salad (wait a minute, William Wallace? Hmmmm)

Seth Cohen - Chocolate Pumpkin Pie Stout Beef Stew

Jason Lederer - Blue Cheese Stuffed Bacon Wrapped Dates (undone by a limited supply)

Maria Galgas - Carrot Cake 

Gillian - Carrot Muffins (what's with all the carrots around here all of the sudden)

Rory - Orange Mush

Lindsey and Amelia - Not labeled

Nick - Not legible

You guys and girls are awesome.

Monday Night Potlucks will continue next week (Nov. 24) at 6:30, with eating commencing at 7. We can't wait to see what you make next! 

(Editor's note: Broken Compass Brewing's Monday Night Potlucks are popping off every Monday night, with eating starting between 6:30 and 7. We encourage everyone to contribute a dish every now and then, but everyone in the brewery is welcome to sample the food and vote for their favorite dishes. First place wins a 64 oz growler and fill, second place a 32 oz. growler and fill and third place a free pint. See you there!)

The MNP Week 7 Winners

Monday Night Potluck: Week 3

It isn't a potluck if it isn't full of surprises. 

For the first time ever (a significant achievement considering our Monday Potluck's extensive, three-week history), a foreign power has prevailed on our shores, as Bruce Lederer's Gougeres (aka a French cheesy puffy bread, and don't ask me how to pronounce it because I've mangled it seven times already, in fact autocorrect is trying to tell me it's actually "gougers," which sounds awful, and whoops this parenthetical rant has gone on far too long and you are probably now "gouging" your eyes out. Get it? OK, I'll shut up now) took a convincing victory in the third Monday Night Potluck. 

Gougeres easily outpaced Erica Ohmes' runner-up Gluten Free Soft Pretzels With Beer Mustard Sauce and Becky Walter's third-place Asparagus Beef Roll-UP (which should, however, be commended for its admirable strategy of disguising itself as a vegetable when in fact it was small parts vegetable large parts roast beef and cream cheese), while Italian Sausage In Tasty Tomato Sauce, Deviled Eggs and Spicy Sweet Potato And Bacon Pancakes* rounded out the field. The Gougeres (can't believe I'm still spelling this correctly) employed a sophisticated game plan, using exotic foreign tactics to run away with the victory. 

"They were just so puffy. And cheesy. And glorious," an anonymous source (that may also be writing this post) said. "It was like eating a cloud. Made of bread. And cheese."

Bruce Lederer's win was the second straight for the Lederer family, as Bruce followed up on his son, Jason's victory from the previous week. The Lederers now have an opportunity to go where no one else has gone before - a three-peat. The father-son duo declined to give any indication of what dish to expect next week, but assured the adoring masses that it would be delectable. 

Broken Compass would like to thank everyone who participated in this edition of Monday Night Potlucks, whether they brought food or simply drank beer and voted. Congratulations to Bruce, Erica and Becky on their excellent food, and join us next Monday at 6:30 p.m. as the Lederers attempt to etch their names into the history books!

*Spicy Sweet Potato And Bacon Pancakes, it should be noted, were excessively delicious and garnered enough votes to podium, but were disqualified as a result of being prepared by Broken Compass's own The Muse.

(Editor's note: Broken Compass Brewing's Monday Night Potlucks are popping off every Monday night, with eating starting between 6:30 and 7. We encourage everyone to contribute a dish every now and then, but everyone in the brewery is welcome to sample the food and vote for their favorite dish. First place wins a 64 oz growler and fill, second place a 32 oz. growler and fill and third place a free pint. See you there!)

In The News: First Commercial Batch

Please check out the article in our very own Summit Daily newspaper discussing our very first commercial sized batch of beer.

Summit Daily Article 

The T-Shirts Are Coming, The T-Shirts Are Coming!

We have our first batch of T-Shirts in stock and are actively working on getting our online store activated.  Please check our Merchandise page often as we anticipate the store being live this weekend.  As always, check back often for updates as we are getting close to our grand opening!   -BCB