When I saw the phrase, “Five Course Beer Dinner”, I blanched a bit. Being honest, I am not the stuff till you burst kind of eater. But then I saw that the beer was from MacLeod’s and the food was from Simmzy’s Burbank outpost. So my mood brightened and I RSVP’ed.
First good thing. The food courses were right-sized. By that I mean, you weren’t subject to Flinstone-ian portions of food. Tapas like to an extent.
Second good thing. My suspicion that MacLeod beers would pair wonderfully with food were confirmed. Nothing against big and bold beers but those pairings can be epic battles. The low ABV but high flavors of Andy Black’s British inspired ales add to food without becoming a battle royale.
My favorite of the night was the beef stew with Jackie Tar. That was an easy choice but it was well done. Meat and sunchokes and a delicious gravy were magic with the beer. The curry shrimp with the Little Spree was delightful too and that is coming from a non-curry fan. The toasted barley was excellent as an sidekick.
The beer revelation was the Middling Spree a Belgian-esque pilsner type of hybrid that was all over the place but just might be my new favorite MacLeod beer. And I have a lot of favorite MacLeod beers. The only down note was the dessert. Double Kings Taxes was a bit too syrupy and sweet for me, the cardamom in the whipped cream helped but the burnt note from the caramel sauce made everything taste tinny to me. Four out of five ain’t bad though.
More dinners may be on the horizon and at $48 a person, it is a steal. You get 5 beers (we got a bonus beer for six) plus the food and the education from the brewer. When more of these become scheduled, I will post it here.