Ska Brewing and Mahogany Grille Beer Paring Dinner
A few weeks ago Ska Brewing Co. and the Mahogany Grille at the Strater Hotel teamed up to offer a six course set menu paired with Ska beer. Chef Dave of the Mahogany Grille who set the menu and paired the beer and food and Thomas Larsen, head brewer at Ska Brewing Co. were on hand to explain the way the the food and beer complimented and contrasted each other.
As craft beer gains more market share, people are starting to take it more seriously and willing to try pairing food, full dinners, cheese or chocolate with beer. Some restaurants and breweries are even holding wine vs beer pairings. Ska had a wine vs beer pairing with cheese last year and Snowdown, I wasn’t there so I don’t know who won, but I heard it was extremely close. Greg Koch of Stone Brewing Co. in San Diego has participated in a craft beer vs wine pairing dinner for the past three years, participants voted on each course what went better wine or beer. After three years beer won twice and wine won once. It was extremely close, and that isn’t to say beer pairs better with wine, but it is just as good as wine to most people.
Some of the diners weren’t big beer fans, some were wine conosiors, and others were big beer geeks, but all seemed to come into the pairing with an open mind. Everything paired wonderfully. Chef Dave even made vegetarian dishes for the vegetarians that had called in advance (my wife and I) which appeared to have all the same aspects to pair wonderfully with the beers as the standard menu. I grabbed a copy of the menu and have posted it below (I apologize in advance for the bad scan quality — and I didn’t make notes of what the vegetarian substitutions were).
Buzztown.com recently teamed up with Chef Dave at the Mahogany Grille to make a short beer pairing video. I picked out three beers and Chef Dave tasted each and talked about what foods and flavors would go well with them. Click here to check that out.
I highly recommend you check out a beer pairing dinner, cheese or chocolate event if you get the chance, especially if the chef, brewer or other knowledgeable folks will be there to explain what makes the food and beer pair so well. You can also experiment at home with different foods and beers to see what goes well and what doesn’t.
