On Sunday night, Brannon Florie and The Granary teamed up with Revelry Brewing company to host one helluva beer dinner. Guests were welcomed with a spread of Florie’s charcuterie and pickled vegetables — this time paired with Revelry’s tame and very approachable Poke the Bear American Pale Ale (5.5 % a.b.v).
Known for his farm-to-table approach of using local and season ingredients, Florie took a different path for this dinner by sourcing several ingredients from the West Coast. The second course was an adventurous take on pazole, introducing razor clams, lamb bacon, and radishes into the mix. A base of hominy, chili peppers, and avocado packed a citrus punch with subtle heat. Small cuts of clam were dressed in citrus in the shell while others were breaded and fried.
On hand to talk about each beer was Revelry head brewer and partner Ryan Coker, who’s Gullah Cream ale (4.8 % a.b.v.) was crisp and, as expected, creamy, neutralizing the heat from the chili peppers.
Throughout the dinner, Florie showed that he’s not afraid to take risks. For the next course, Coker introduced the Oh My Darlyn! Barrel-aged Scotch Ale, a big beer aged in wet bourbon barrels for three weeks that sits at 9% a.b.v. — the type of beer we typically see paired with dessert. Instead, Florie served breakfast — a duck egg coddled in duck consommé with toasted brioche on the side for dipping, duck sausage with hints of maple syrup, griddles duck hash, and crispy duck prosciutto bacon. A whole lot of duck, but a whole lot of love, with guests claiming it was the paring of the night. We agree.
Florie continued with the go big or go home mentality by serving venison sweetbreads with fava beans, fiddlehead ferns, and morel mushrooms topped with an uni emulsion. He admitted that this was the first time he had cooked venison sweetbreads, but they turned out to be a hit and weren’t extremely gamey. The bold flavors of the mushrooms and uni paired well with the Midnight Special Oatmeal Stout (6% a.b.v.)
The dessert course was just as surprising as any other. Rather than pairing sweet with sweet, the hoppy Funkmaster Brett IPA (7% a.b.v.) made its way to the table with a plate of compressed strawberries, goat cheese sherbet, strawberry cream, and little bits of white balsamic gelée — a creative concept that worked out very well.
This is the reason we love beer dinners — some risks are just worth taking.
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