Beer Pairing Dinner: Entertaining at its Finest!

06Mar12

I’m going to let you in on a little secret about me.  Not only do I love a good beer, but I adore entertaining!  That’s everything from cooking, to house guests, to all out themed parties.  Imagine my excitement when I realized that one of my entertaining aspirations was coming to fruition!  A true BEER PAIRING DINNER!  Seven of my dearest friends and I, donning pretty clothes, dimming the lights, and pouring the beer.  What could go wrong?

I hate to disappoint, but the answer amazingly is… Nothing!  Well, nothing significant.  We enjoyed 6 courses and 6 beers.  I met up before the event with my local beer expert at Total Wine & More to have him critique my menu and my pairings.  He was pleased with my efforts, and just added a few tweaks that he thought would be better examples of each beer type, but overall he loved my choices.

I will use this moment to express my exasperation.  There are books and websites a plenty  on what wines to pair with what cuisine, but finding a GOOD resource to do the same for beer is difficult.  I used several websites (I won’t tell you which ones, because they weren’t good enough to recommend)  to put together a very general map of which beers to pair with each type of food.  I then used beer rating and review websites to find the best examples of each style, being only slightly limited by what is available around me.

I struggled with the menu.  I enjoy cooking so many different styles of food, should I make it cohesive, or have each course stand on its own?  Well, after much consideration, I decided to go a bit eclectic, figuring it was the best way to try the widest variety of beers, and realizing this would probably provide something for every palate.

For your drooling pleasure… February 19 Beer Dinner

So, how did it go?  AMAZINGLY.  Things started at 6pm with the appetizers which were more informal so people could mingle.  The next 3 courses were seated and served, but then the cheese and dessert courses went back to fun and casual.  A great mix, I must say, and we were enjoying dessert by 8:30pm.  There was something for everyone- comfort food, beef, chicken, asian, chocolate!  I will say that I had a highly capable sous chef, without whom I would not have been nearly as successful.  Plating 8 dinners (3 times!) and pouring 8 beers can get a little tricky, but careful planning and prep work meant a night full of my favorite things: great friends, amazing beer, and entertaining like it’s going out of style!

If you can’t tell, I highly recommend you try this.  Some of our attendees weren’t craft beer lovers, but they enjoyed trying each course and each new beer.  The “dinner party” isn’t as common as it used to be, but it was far more affordable than taking a group of 8 out on a weekend for a six course dinner (or even a 3 course dinner, if we’re being honest).  And the attendees were genuinely grateful for a special home cooked meal and excellent conversation, for no occasion other than for the love of beer.

Want to try it too?  Message me for ideas or tips, I’d love to help!  Or… I’d love to come over and host one for you.  Let me know!

Filed under: Porters & Stouts, Trippel   |  3 Comments