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You are here: Home / beer / WIAW: Beer Dinner

WIAW: Beer Dinner

September 24, 2014 by MCM Mama 6 Comments

This is always my favorite What I ate Wednesday to write.  I need to do it more than once a year LOL.

wiaw-fall-into-good-habits-button

So, the weekend before I started the 21 day reset, I went out with a bang.  We hosted our auction dinner that we had donated to S’ school auction.  Each year, we auction off a four course beer and food pairing dinner to the three highest bidding couples.  I like to use mostly local beers and was able to keep it to Maryland, Virginia, and DC this year.  It was a warm weekend, so I made some menu choices based on not wanting to heat up my kitchen (AKA I bought the cake and put the beef in a crockpot.)

fall-beer-dinner

Course 1:  Cheese and beer

beer-and-cheese

I almost always start with beer and cheese.  I’ve found that pale ales and IPAs go best with cheese.  This year we paired four cheeses with two beers:  Sartori Bellavitano Gold, Sartori Rosemary and Olive Oil Asiago, Boar’s Head Chipotle Gouda, and Castello blue cheese paired with Starr Hill Soul Shine and 3 Brothers Hoptimization IPA.  They were all really good, but the Bellavitano and the Starr Hill Soul Shine  were amazing together.

Course 2: Pear and Walnut Salad with Wheat Beer Vinaigrette paired with 2 beers

wheat-beer-salad

I LOVE this salad dressing.  LOVE it.  I enjoy the leftover dressing for days afterward.  I really need to make it just for me sometimes.  We paired this salad with the Williamburg Alewerks wheat bear and the DC Brau El Hefe hefeweizen.  I used the Williamsburg beer in the salad dressing, so it paired particularly well, but I also like the El Hefe with it.

 

Course 3: Beef Braised in Porter paired with 2 porters

beer-porter

I’ve made this with brisket before and it was fabulous.  This year I had a bunch of meat in the freezer from the eighth of grass fed steer that we buy each year, so I made do with what I had.  It wasn’t as fatty as brisket and ended up drying out a bit.  I spent an entire day cooking it while working in the dining room.  My house was sooo hot!  For the dinner, I put in the crockpot to heat up.  This helped me in two ways: my kitchen wasn’t sauna hot and it kept all of the liquid in and helped the meat not be quite so dry.  I make this with the Port City Porter, which I think is one of the most perfect examples of a porter.  It’s a great beer to drink and it goes really well with the recipe.  This year the second beer was Lucky 7 porter from EVO.  It was just as popular as the Port City at dinner.

Course 4: Cake with a wee heavy and a fruit beer

mad-fox-oaked-wee-heavy

I usually make a chocolate cake with stout as an ingredient, but it was just too hot and I didn’t have time to get it done a few days early.  So, I bought a cake at Safeway and it was actually really really good.  We paired it with Mad Fox’s Wee Heavy that had been barrel aged in bourbon barrels.  (Yes, I actually shared one of my favorite beers.  I love it so much I actually helped brew it once LOL).  The other beer was the New Glarus Raspberry Tart.  This beer is only available in Wisconsin, so I had to have my parents drive a bunch out one time.  Both beers were awesome with the dessert and brought out different flavors.

Extra:  After the dinner, people hung out for a while, so we brought out a few more beers.  The star of the party?

sweet-baby-jesus-duclaw1

Sweet Baby Jesus, the beer I first discovered at ZOOMA Annapolis last year. Everyone was kind of freaked out by what they were calling the “peanut butter cup” beer, but everyone agreed it was awesome.

Have you ever been to a beer pairing dinner?  Tell me some interesting combos you’ve had.  I’m always looking for new ideas!

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Filed Under: beer, food Tagged With: beef, beer dinner, salad

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Comments

  1. Wendy@Taking the Long Way Home says

    September 24, 2014 at 8:14 am

    I haven’t been to a beer tasting dinner, but your post makes me want to go to one ASAP! Or, as has been my mantra the past couple of weeks: “after the marathon”.

    I was so pleased to see New Glarus featured in your post! One of my faves…
    Wendy@Taking the Long Way Home recently posted…Marathon week #10–Heading into taper townMy Profile

    Reply
  2. Tiina says

    September 24, 2014 at 11:40 am

    I now have a bunch of beers to add to my list! Especially sweet baby jesus!
    Tiina recently posted…Turtles and Treats!My Profile

    Reply
  3. Kim says

    September 24, 2014 at 12:16 pm

    What a great idea for a donation to the auction – I would totally bid on that if we lived close!!!
    Kim recently posted…You Know What?My Profile

    Reply
  4. Mary Beth Jackson says

    September 24, 2014 at 3:35 pm

    I am not a beer drinker but dang that looks like a lot of fun! Very creative!
    Mary Beth Jackson recently posted…A Free Beauty box from…….. Walmart!My Profile

    Reply
  5. EB @ Running on E says

    September 25, 2014 at 9:00 am

    I love a good beer dinner. Right now we are working our way through a pumpkin beer month at our house. We are saving one of each for the final taste off. Always fun! 🙂
    EB @ Running on E recently posted…Chickamauga Marathon Training Week 2My Profile

    Reply
  6. Tiff @ Love, Sweat, & Beers says

    September 25, 2014 at 9:26 am

    Sounds like fun! I’ve hosted a beer dinner once, but I’d really like to do it again. We went for various winter beers, and the main dish was a beef tenderloin roast.
    Tiff @ Love, Sweat, & Beers recently posted…Thirsty Thursday: Allagash SaisonMy Profile

    Reply
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Who is MCM Mama?
A slightly obnoxious mom and wife who loves good beer and running, who struggles a bit with depression especially in the winter and when running isn’t allowed, who’d rather go on a fun vacation than upgrade the kitchen or add a master bath.

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A slightly obnoxious mom and wife who loves good beer and running, who struggles a bit with depression especially in the winter and when running isn’t allowed, who’d rather go on a fun vacation than upgrade the kitchen or add a master bath. Read More…

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