That is not the best start to an article. But in the end craft beer wins out!
Check out this article from NPR.
(I know it’s from last month, but good reading is still good reading)
LA Beer Week – Beer dinner at McG's
One of my goals after looking over the imposing list of events for LA Beer Week was to attend a beer pairing evening. Mission accomplished. The evening at McG’s started off very nicely with a large glass of German lager from Weihenstephan.
Here are the highlights:
Best pairing:
Boxty Potatoes with Salmon Mousse was a surprise and the Blanche de Namur witbier with its citrus overtones really contrasted the starch in the potato pancake and the creaminess of the mousse.
Best Individual Beer:
Weihenstephan lager was bright and sparkly. Served in the brewery’s own logo’d glassware. Just a great lager that American’s should be drinking instead of BMC.
Best Individual Food course:
For me it was the Shepherd’s Pie. Good portion size. Gravy was good. And the meat had a nice spiciness.
All in all, I was surprised that the courses that, on paper, would not be my favorites were better than the ones that I thought would be great. I was anticipating that the lamb course would be my favorite followed closely by dessert. Both were dissapointing. The lamb was charcoal outside and close to raw inside and the sponge cake had a great Framboise reduction but was dry. Beer wise, the Xingu lager seemed off to me. Much more sweeter than normal, almost honey-ish. And the beers from St. Peter’s Brewery were solid but not spectacular. They didn’t really add anything to the dishes they were paired up with. But the Irish Green mussels were great with the kellerbier which I did not expect.
So, thanks to all at McG’s who made it a memorable night with all of their hard work.