Beer Pairing Dinner

R and I attended a beer pairing dinner last week at a local restaurant.  We enjoy small town living and we are lucky that there are enough events to keep us interested...this evening in particular was amazing!

The night started off with a small sample of the brewery's summer witbier.  It's my favorite out of all the choices.

 First course was a salad with watermelon and seared scallops over baby greens served with a watermelon beer.  They used the beer in the salad dressing - I could have had a jumbo portion of this as my meal.

 Second course was an open faced reuben with carraway havarti cheese served with their famous rye beer.  It was an easy crowd pleaser.

Delicious third course!  Braised short rib and carrots served over creamy polenta.  This dish was paired with a mildly hoppy Black IPA that was also used in the gravy.

 To polish off the meal a fudgy stout brownie with ice cream and ganache glaze served over raspberry jam.  I loved the beer - it's dessert in a glass, a chocolately stout that can't wait to use in my next cocoa based dessert,

There is a rumor that there will be more beer pairing dinners in the future and I will be the first one signed up for it.  The chef came out at the end to receive a round of applause which he deserved -this meal was beautifully thought out and I still dream about that brownie!