Bier Stein Pairing Dinner Recap
Working with our community to showcase beer and food through pairing dinners is one of our favorite things to be a part of at Alesong. From the start of this tiny little brewery, one of our goals as a company has been to educate and inspire beer drinkers to do their beverage justice and hand it its suitable place at the dinner table, using the flavors and elements of the beer to complement and accentuate the flavors in the food (and vice versa). It may seem like a trivial idea as people have been doing that with their wine for ages — no one scoffs when told that their pinot noir would pair beautifully with wild mushroom and burrata bruschetta— and although beer often pairs better than wine, most people still reach first for a bottle of wine when heading to a nice dinner. We think it’s time to challenge that archetype and pay beer the respect it deserves by giving it a proper place at our table!
On August 15th, beer and food lovers alike came together at the Bier Stein for an evening of pure bliss. We worked closely with the Bier Stein’s coordinating team, kitchen and wait staff to create paired courses to go with seven beers we had hand-picked just for the occasion (two of which were a special treat to guests as a sneak peek into our summer release). What came after all the planning, coordinating and practicing was an awesome showcase of flavors and sensations, with our beers enhancing the flavors in the food and the food bringing out complex elements in our beers.
The seven-course meal was exciting for us to be a part of, and we were certainly proud to see our beers enjoyed with food purposely crafted to highlight their individual characteristics —we believe that proper pairings are pivotal to enhance an entire meal and were thrilled with how our dinner at the beer stein came out!
The seven courses featured:
1. Netarts Bay oysters w/ Terroir: Pinot Gris — this unique and briny delicacy played amazingly with the subtle acidity and fruit character in this wine/beer hybrid crafted with Pinot Gris juice from our next door neighbors at King Estate.
2. Burrata olive oil peaches and sourdough baguette w/ Touch of Brett: Mandarina — the brett fermentation and Mandarina Bavaria dry hop gives this beer an awesome fruitiness that pairs perfectly with Burrata!
3. Vichyssoise and pickled beet w/ Pêche — we love how the acidity in this beer helps cut through a rich and creamy soup leaving the pallet feeling refreshed.
4. Italian sausage and apple stuffed mushrooms w/ Terroir: Pinot Noir — Mushrooms and Pinot Noir is one of our favorite pairings. Mushrooms and Pinot Noir beer? Even better!
5. Summer salad with melon and gin botanicals w/ French 75 — A light, yet spicy vinaigrette made with spent gin botanicals was the perfect complement for this spicy brett saison.
6. Sweet Potato chicken and naan w/ Señor Rhino — Think stout only belongs on a desert course? Think again! The spices in the chicken danced on the tongue and intermingled with the cinnamon and ancho chile in this tiny club only release.
7. Raspberry shortcake with Greek yogurt w/ Raspberry Gose — this was a fun attempt at recreating one of our favorite summer beers in food form and serving them side by side – tart yogurt, fresh raspberries, and an ever so slightly salty shortcake... Yum!
Click through the gallery to see some of our captures from the evening!
