Beer and Brewer's 5th Birthday BeerGustation Dinner

Tuesday night saw us heading to the East Village Hotel in East Balmain, for Beer and Brewer's 5th birthday party. The night also included a 5 course beer degustation (fancy wording for a 5 course meal with lots of different beers with each course) never having been to a degustation before we were not sure what to expect except that there were going to be some good beers.

Pre dinner drinks saw about 120 people chatting and mingling with the 16 professional brewers who came along to spruik their beers and have a good time.

Alex, Richard (Young Henry), Shawn (Murrays), Matt (St Peters)

Moving through for dinner and it was good to see that the brewers had been spread around the tables and we were lucky enough to be seated with Matt from St Peters Brewing. Matt's a bit of a character and much fun was made of him not owning a mobile but being on twitter.

The first course arrived -

Spiced king prawn & chorizo pizza with romesco aoili - paired with
knappstein reserve lager  - Lion/ Kiren
Witbier - Redoak - this one helped put out the fire (that pizza was FULL of CHILLI) 
PLZ - Pinchgut - this one went well with the flavours

So with some time between the courses to help our taste buds recover we got to hear each of the brewers talk about their beers and how they match and other brewing related info.

We were also told "THE WATER IS FOR RINSING OUT YOUR GLASSES - NOT FOR DRINKING" - I guess you should expect nothing else at a beer dinner!

The second course arrived -

Smoked ocean trout croquettes with apple & fennel salad - paired with
AB Steam Ale (kolsch) - Australian Breweries - light and clean let the trout lead
Smoking French Tart - Hunter Beer Co - the smoky, bacony flavour overwhelmed the trout

Between the courses the lucky door prizes were drawn and we were lucky enough to win a 1 year subscription to the mag.

All the brewers

The third course arrived -

Ale braised osso bucco, mushroom and truffle pie - paired with
Real Ale - Young Henry's - totally cleansed the palate - very interesting
Belgian Dark Strong Ale 8.8% - Schwartz - was much better at room temperature, more coffee taste
Celebration Ale - Coopers

Caught up with Richard from Young Henry's and  Fresh Six is still not yet available in growlers, but coming soon.

The forth course arrived -

Spiced sticky toffee pudding, chocolate brownie and churros with ice cream - paired with
Killagh Stout - St Peters - served at about 10 -12*c the roast and coffee/ chocolate hit the spot
The Ravens Thong - Thirsty Crow Bootleg

Caught up with Neal from Australian Breweries, their canning line is undergoing testing at the moment and should be running in October.

The fifth course arrived -
Pyengana Cheddar, Jacksons Track Washed Rind, Colston Shropshire Blue - paired with
Grand Cru - Murrays - held it's own and didn't take over
Barley Wine No1 - Hunter Beer Co

Cheers to the Chef - Ryan Smith did a great job and we heartily enjoyed the food although we "paid" for the chilli later.  The waitstaff were all excellent as well.

Cheers and congratulations to David Lipman, publisher of Beer and Brewer - an excellent magazine and a great night out.  We look forward to more of both to come.