I’ve been to a few beer dinners in my day.  I just love them.  The very best ones (such as the dinner that Sean cooked for NCHF) take the food and beer portions of the meal, and intertwine them together, using ingredients, pairings, and flavor profiles to create a symbiotic whole that is more than just the sum of the ingredients. 

So when I got the chance to start putting together my own beer dinner, I jumped at the chance. After a lot of planning, pouring and tasting, Beer & Nosh very excited to announce: 

The Beer and Nosh Beer Pairing Dinner

A proud part of SF Beer Week 

Wednesday, February 11th, 2009, 6:30- 10 pm

Hosted by Scala’s Bistro with a five-course meal prepared by Jen Biesty, formerly of Coco500 and Top Chef Season 4 and paired with beers from: Firestone Walker Brewing Company, Triple Rock Brewery, Drakes Brewing Company, Sacramento Brewing Company, Shmaltz Brewing, & Oskar Blues

 

 

All profits for the dinner are donated to the San Francisco Food Bank

 

 

I sat down with Chef Jen to pour her some beers and formulate the menu. We worked our way through a wide variety of beers from across the style spectrum. 

 

As we tasted each beer, she quickly picked up on the defining characteristics of the brew, and started jotting down ideas for food that would would be paired with each course.  This was the whole idea behind the tasting – to start with the beers, and tease out food that would complement and contrast against the beers breweries were generously donating for the dinner.  While drinking Firestone Walker’s Double Barrel Ale we talked about malt, oak flavors, and how a really good sear on seafood would draw out those toasty flavors.  When I poured Triple Rock’s Titanium Ale, we talked about the floral aroma of the hops that completely filled the glass.  And when I poured Oskar Blues’ black-and-thick-as-oil Ten Fidy, we examined espresso and vanilla flavors. 

 

 

 

As our menu began to take shape around the beers we would be serving, some of the basic tenets that were guiding our plan crystalized.  The beer and food would get equal billing in flavor and presentation, and be used as partners in each course.  Ideally these parts would be intertwined into a whole, with the beer a complete component of the plate and the flavor profile. The recipes would be original and modern, drawing on Jen’s expertise with contemporary Italian cooking, and the Alice Waters-inspired Slow Food that is so prevalent in San Francisco.  Freshness would be paramount, for both the beer and the food.  

 

 

 

Finally, we would approach the dinner with a sense of humor and curiosity – shouldn’t this sort of meal be an adventure?  Some of my favorite dining experiences now are the ones where I’m surprised – surprised by the flavors, surprised by the technique, surprised by my reaction to the food. Great food (and great beer) draws out an emotional resonance that is both comforting and exciting, salty and sweet, crisp and luscious.

Our goals set and beers selected, Jen set about crafting our menu.  Check back for it soon.

Want to come to dinner?  Additional details here, or email RSVP@beerandnosh.com

Tags: SF Beer Week

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