Last night I was fortunate enough to get into the sold out private dinner at Bocktown. Wrapping up the Lew Bryson tour of Pittsburgh was a dinner featuring 6 courses paired with barrel aged beers. If you ever get the chance to listen to Lew speak I can’t urge you enough to jump on that. His knowledge of not only craft beers but also whiskey, bourbon and the barreling process. Yes, he mentioned the bunghole too.

Here were the courses for the evening:

1. Cherry & Beet Arugula Salad tossed in Lemon Oil Mint Dressing – Beer Pairing: New Holland Oaked Aged Mad Hatter (Brewed for the GABF, this oaked version of New Holand’s IPA is aged in Woodford Reserve barrels. ABV – 6%)
2. Grilled Brown Turkey Figs, Stilton Cheese & Smoked Almonds finished w/Balsamic Fig Reduction – Beer Pairing: Great Lakes Oaked Blackout Stout (Russian imperial Stout aged in oak bourbon barrels. ABV – 9%)
3. Untouchable Pulled Pork Sandwich – Beer Pairing: Brewer’s Infusion Stoudt’s Scarlet Lady ESB (Stoudt’s English style ale run through Elijah Craig bourbon soaked French oak chips and U.K. Kent Hops. ABV – 5%)
4. Salmon Cake with Smoked Pepper Aioli – Beer pairing: Erie Oaked Railbender Firkin (Erie’s oaked version of their Scottish style ale, Railbender aged in American white oak barrels. ABV – 6.8%)
5. Strawberry Pierogi with fresh whipped cream – Beer Pairing: Arcadia Big Dick’s Oaked Ale (Aged in Pappy Van Winkle bourbon barrels. ABV – 8.2%)
6. Apple Barrel Bread Pudding with Bouron Sauce – Beer Pairing: Arcadia Cereal Killer (Actual batch of Arcadia’s GABF Gold Medal winning barleywine! ABV – 9.1%)

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Favorite part of the meal for me was the Stilton Cheese & Smoked Almonds. I’ve never had either before and those… sweet Jesus almighty! Now the beer paired with it is one of my favorites from Great Lakes but overall favorite beer was the Arcadia Cereal Killer. I think a full bottle would take you to Shangri-La. I’m not a big barleywine fan but this was soothing and packed full of deliciousness.

Thank you Lew for an incredible education over the last 3 days. it was a pleasure to get to know you over that time and listen to you talk. What a great experience and I can’t wait till your new book comes out.

For a collection of Lew’s writings check out this list on amazon.com