Nearly a week ago, HBC was participating win what was the company’s first beer and food pairing dinner. HBC has participated in other beer and food pairing dinners before but this was the first time where HBC was in the spotlight. While HBC fulfilled the beer requirement to this milestone event, it was Scott’s Seafood (Mountain View) that provided the food.
The beer dinner was held in a banquet/event room separated from the main dining area of the restaurant. We enjoyed the separation as it made the event feel a little more special to have a dedicated space to it.
This 4-course prix fixe dinner started off with an appetizer of oven roasted brie, toast, jams, and fruit. While not paired with any of our beers, it did set the stage for what would be a fantastic event.
The first course, with Maltopia as its paired beer, seemed to be everyone’s favorite. The red onions brought a mild sweetness to the dish that was balanced out by the arugula, while the acidity of the capers brightened up the dish. The cherry/honey vinaigrette to echo the lightly fruity character of our Maltopia Scotch Ale while the smoked flavors of the salmon complimented the malty flavors of the beer. Definitely a great pairing.
The second course seemed to surprise a lot of folks. Few people in the room would’ve thought to pair a salad with beer but Scott’s Seafood made a strong argument for doing so. The key to success for this pairing all lay in the orange Champagne vinaigrette. The citrus notes tied in really well with the citrus character of our single hope IPA Galaxy. The sweetness from the Asian pear also helped to balance out the bitterness of the IPA.
The third course was the most interesting, and challenging, for many people. Our Ale of the Imp Imperial IPA is an aggressive craft beer that requires an equally aggressive course. The soy glaze helped to provide that intense sweetness necessary to balance out the hop bitterness of Ale of the Imp, while the tuna (which was excellently prepared), rice, and asparagus helped to compliment the other flavors in the beer.
This final course seemed to be the one that turned the most heads as to what could be done with beer and food. No one ever really thinks to pair beer with dessert but a taste Ale of the 2Tun, paired with the molten chocolate cake, should be enough to change most minds. This dish worked well because the chocolate flavors, and sweetness of the dish, complimented the deep roasted malt and chocolate flavors of our Imperial Stout.
HBC would like to thank the staff at Scott’s Seafood, Rosie, Trinidad, General Manager Marc, and Executive Chef Ramon, for all their hard work in making this event a success. As I understand it, this was their first beer and food pairing dinner as well. HBC looks forward to working with them again in the future.
