Beer Dinner at Home

This past Monday, my wife and I had a good friend over to celebrate his birthday. I credit this friend with helping me take 2 major steps in my craft beer evolution, so I wanted to make the evening beer-centric and special. What better way to do that than to serve a five course beer dinner?

This was the second in-home beer dinner that I've done, and it was a lot of fun. Here's the rundown of the five courses, in order:

1. Crusty, crunchy garlic bread topped with Italian-style diced tomatoes, served with Wells Bombardier.
2. Tangy pasta salad with pepperoni, black olives, and red bell peppers, served with Ommegang Hennepin.
3. Spicy boneless buffalo wings, served with Odell IPA.
4. Pan fried bacon and cheddar sliders on buns dipped in extra virgin olive oil, served with Rodenbach Grand Cru.
5. Pepperidge Farm chocolate fudge 3-layer cake, served with Brau Brothers Moo Joos.

Everything was tasty and I thought the pairings worked very well. The most talked about pairing of the evening was the 4th course. I was going for contrast, and that's exactly how the 2 paired. The Rodenbach washed away all the rich greasiness of the sliders, and the next bite of slider quickly tamed the tartness of the beer. My friend was amazed at how 2 flavors could erase each other so thoroughly.

When we finished, we were very full and slightly buzzed. It was a great evening that reinforces my desire to encourage anyone else who loves craft beer to try their own beer dinner at home. It can be a very rewarding experience.