Ciao Trattoria Pairing Dinner Recap
Last month, we partnered with Chef Dave Lucht at Ciao Pizza Trattoria to create a six course beer dinner where each course was thoughtfully paired with one of our beers, accentuating and complementing the flavors in both the beer and the food! As we continue with these regular dinners, we love seeing so many people show up to take part in the delicious and educational events and really hope to demonstrate beer’s potential to pair with food. Between the complex array of flavors, varying levels of acidity and carbonation, there’s so much to play with! So this holiday season, show up to your festive dinners with a bottle of beer in tow instead of wine and shock everyone with how well the flavors pair with the meal!
And if you haven't been able to attend one yet, watch our social media and newsletter for the announcement of the next pairing dinner!
The six courses featured:
1. Smoked Oysters w/ Alesong White — this unique and briny delicacy paired amazingly with the subtle spicy flavors of the Alesong white. The crisp finish of the beer was perfect to wash down the tang of the oysters.
2. Sorrel Salad tossed in spruce tip vinaigrette w/ Visions — the mild tartness and flavors of melon and citrus in the beer complemented the pickled kiwi berries of the sorrel salad while the spicy microgreens offered a balance to the tart fruit characteristics.
3. Beet and potato ravioli w/ Touch of Brett: Mandarina — paired with the dense earthiness of the beet and potato, the bright citrusy character of this beer was just right to add some contrast. We love how the tropical and spicy aromas from brett fermentation in this beer cut through the heavy and full flavors of the hopped-butter tossed raviolis.
4. Porchetta & celeriac puree w/ Pomme —the earthy apple flavors of Pomme combined with the smoky Italian roast pork in a classic pairing while the mild acidity of the beer cut through the richness of the pork..
5. Sgroppino 75 w/ French 75 — by combining lemon sorbet, gin and French 75 this Sgroppino was the perfect palate cleanser to prepare us for the dense flavors to come. The botanicals in the French 75 were highlighted by the addition of gin, while the lemon sorbet gave the drink a creamy feel that washed over our entire palate.
6. Stout Ciocolatto w/ Vanilla Rhino Suit — The layers of almond cake, hazelnut gianduja, chocolate mousse, and ganache in this Ciocolatto from Excelsior Bakery were the perfect pair to complement the deep cocoa and vanilla profiles of our vanilla rhino suit. Together, the sweet flavors in the cake and the beer came in smooth velvety harmony that left us savoring every bite like it was our last.
Click through the gallery to see some of our captures from the evening!
