Firestone Walker and Alto Bajo Beer Dinner

August 23, 2018 by 1 Comment

You probably know that I enjoy all beverages – cocktails, wine, and beer. I’ve been a fan of Alto Bajo, a bright, airy restaurant specializing in regional Mexican cuisine and located in the newish Hi Lo Hotel – and I’ve written about it previously as a great hidden brunch gem that takes reservations. I also really like its bar which specializes in tequila and mezcal, also as a hidden gem for classy drinks in a chic atmosphere that is suitable for a nice party of friends or coworkers where you can actually hear each other talk and fit comfortably in the lounge. So when I heard they were hosting beer dinner pairing their modern Mexican food with the beers of an award winning brewery, I was in for the Firestone Walker and Alto Bajo Beer Dinner! If you are vegetarian or vegan, you should also know that Alto Bajo offered a vegan alternative for all the courses – I didn’t utilize it, but appreciated that they thoughtfully wanted to include non-meat eaters.

Firestone Walker and Alto Bajo Beer Dinner menu

Since I last wrote about it, there was a change of chefs, and now Chef Bryant Kryck leads the kitchen. Some favorites of mine still remain, like the Mayan Sikil Pak at lunch and dinner. Chef Bryant has also increased the protein options. So although my favorite brunch omelette of theirs no longer stars huitlacoche with corn, local mushrooms and poblano cream sauce, now you can choose from fillings for your omelette (or burrito, or rice bowl, or chilaquiles, or other taqueria options) with smoked chicken thigh tinga, brisket barbacoa, pork shoulder carnitas, smoked truffled mushrooms, or red chili shrimp. I’ve been curious about the new menu, and got to sample some of it at this beer pairing dinner, while also seeing some of favorites still remain on the menu.

The Firestone Walker and Alto Bajo Beer Dinner started off with a casual reception with Firestone Walker Pivo Pils, a German Pilsener, with Alto Bajo’s housemade chips and salsa roja and salsa verde at a central table where each person could help themselves. I am not ashamed to admit I went back twice. The chips and salsas are just as addictive as they were previously.
Firestone Walker and Alto Bajo Beer Dinner, reception with Firestone Walker Pivo Pils, a German Pilsener, with Alto Bajo's housemade chips and salsa roja and salsa verde Firestone Walker and Alto Bajo Beer Dinner, reception with Firestone Walker Pivo Pils, a German Pilsener, with Alto Bajo's housemade chips and salsa roja and salsa verde

The first Course was a pairing of Firestone Walker Luponic Distortion #10 American IPA with Pivo Pils braised beef short rib sope. This is not normally on the menu – Alto Bajo did this special dish utilizing beef short rib braised in Firestone Walker’s beer just for this event – and I appreciated that they thoughtfully did something one-off to both highlight the Luponic Distortion while also utilizing another Firestone Walker beer too as a thoughtful partnership.
Firestone Walker and Alto Bajo Beer Dinner, a pairing of Firestone Walker Luponic Distortion #10 American IPA with Pivo Pils braised beef short rib sope Firestone Walker and Alto Bajo Beer Dinner, a pairing of Firestone Walker Luponic Distortion #10 American IPA with Pivo Pils braised beef short rib sope Firestone Walker and Alto Bajo Beer Dinner, a pairing of Firestone Walker Luponic Distortion #10 American IPA with Pivo Pils braised beef short rib sope

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Imperial Session Beer Dinner Recap

January 27, 2017 by 4 Comments

Last year, I highlighted a new beer dinner pop up series called Imperial Session. Now here’s a look at my Imperial Session Beer Dinner Recap from that September 18 event. They offered both an omnivore and vegetarian version (vegetarian must have given prior notice so they can prepare accordingly) and each of the five courses was paired with a full pour of a beer.
Imperial Session Beer Dinner from September 2016, 5 courses with each course paired with a beer. 2 of the 5 beers are unavailable in Oregon, 2 are vintages which are no longer available, and 1 is a small batch brewery only release

What is unique about this beer pairing pop up are that Ryan and Spencer can choose whatever food style or beer they want for each course, since they are not representing any particular restaurant or brewery. For this dinner for instance, 2 of the 5 beers were unavailable in Oregon, 2 beers were vintages which are no longer available, and 1 was a small batch brewery only release.
Imperial Session Beer Dinner from September 2016, 5 courses with each course paired with a beer. Pop up proprietors Ryan and Spencer can choose whatever food style or beer they want for each course, since they are not representing any particular restaurant or brewery. Imperial Session Beer Dinner from September 2016, 5 courses with each course paired with a beer. Pop up proprietors Ryan and Spencer can choose whatever food style or beer they want for each course, since they are not representing any particular restaurant or brewery.

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Imperial Session Beer Dinner Pop Up Series

September 6, 2016 by 3 Comments

A new pop up is starting up in Portland this time focused on food with another PDX famous love, beer! Advanced Cicerone Ryan Spencer (you may have seen him at Bailey’s Taproom) and Chef Spencer Watari (Clyde Common, Pok Pok) are collaborating together under the name Imperial Session to launch a quarterly dinner series focused on beer and food pairing. The first Imperial Session Beer Dinner will be a five course dinner with pairings for each course on Sunday September 18th at Shift Drinks’ Makeshift Room (former home of Nomad PDX). The dinner seating starts at 7 PM with reservations via tickets available now on EventBrite, with a suggested cash donation of $55 paid at the end of the meal.
Imperial Session Beer Dinner Series, this pop up offers guests the ability to experience a wide range of beer and food interactions without boundaries of a single brewery or single restaurant

Ryan and Spencer are working together to break down the biases and commitments of a typical beer dinner, with the goal of offering guests the ability to experience a wide range of beer and food interactions without boundaries. For instance, usually beer dinner events feature a single restaurant working with a single brewery.

“The problems we found with these dinners were that they all felt more promotional than genuine. Brewer’s wanted to showcase their flagship beers and restaurants wanted to promote their establishments. Both parties seemed to be looking out for their own best interests with little collaboration taking place. We wanted to create a dining experience where we could pour whatever we wanted and serve food that created the ultimate pairing.” Ryan and Spencer explained.

Imperial Session Beer Dinner Series, this pop up offers guests the ability to experience a wide range of beer and food interactions without boundaries of a single brewery or single restaurant

Meanwhile, Imperial Session has intentionally selected beers that are a little outside of the norm. For instance, for this initial dinner, 2 of the 5 beers are unavailable in Oregon, 2 are vintages which are no longer available, and 1 is a small batch brewery only release.

The dinners are intentionally small in order to have guests easily interact with Ryan and Spencer as well as with other guests and allow for smaller batch sourcing of quality ingredients, including rare beers.

Down the road Imperial Session hopes to feature different local chefs to create unique tasting menus for the dinner series, where Spencer operates as the permanent chef and assists the guest chef in formatting their menu into their constraints while also working with Ryan to create pairings.

They have also discussed the opposite situation where they bring in someone from the beer industry to curate a selection of beers to pair with one of Spencer’s menus. Imperial Session could be a venue and opportunity to work out some creative ideas with people whose formal positions in the food and drink industry don’t currently allow that chance.
Imperial Session Beer Dinner Series, this pop up offers guests the ability to experience a wide range of beer and food interactions without boundaries of a single brewery or single restaurant

Background on Imperial Session

Ryan and Spencer have known each other for the majority of their lives, both having grown up in the Portland Metro area and first meeting in third grade and then attending University of Oregon where they home brewed together. Growing up in The Pacific Northwest, surrounded by a wide range of food and beverage,  they said it seemed pretty natural to both of them to pursue careers in those two fields.

Ryan got his start as a dishwasher position at Hopworks before expanding to jobs at Deschutes, Gigantic, and his current position at Bailey’s Taproom where he also has been getting cicerone certifications (the equivalent of a wine sommelier, it requires various levels of examinations). Meanwhile, after college, Spencer moved around for a bit until he settled at Pok Pok for two years before he transitioned to Clyde Common to continue to develop his skills with a more diverse range of cuisines.

For years they have both talked about going into some type of venture together. The specific idea for joining forces to do beer and food pairing dinners came from attending several “Brewer’s Dinners” throughout Portland when Ryan was studying to take the Master Cicerone exam and trying to gain experience with beer and food pairing. Imperial Session is finally those talks, their history, experience, and their expertise coming together for them.

Menu for Upcoming Beer and Food Pairing Dinner

Here’s a look at the menu for this first Imperial Session beer and food pairing dinner. For this particular menu, a few of the dishes were dishes Spencer was really excited about, they tasted through them, and Ryan tried to find beers that might work. On the other hand, a few of the pairings started with a beer that Ryan felt would be really interesting and food friendly, then they designed a dish around the beer. They hope to impart some of the knowledge they acquired from the beer and food pairing process to guests as part of the dinner.

This is the omnivore menu, a vegetarian version is available by advanced notice at their discretion.

Course One:

Grilled corn, kewpie mayo, togarashi cracklin, and avocado puree
Paired with Trillium Pier (a hopped American Pale Wheat Ale from Massachusetts)

Course Two:

Radish and turnip salad, caramel egg dressing, carbonated citruses
Paired with Breakside Carte Blanche (American Wild Ale with Brett, gin and hops)

Course Three:

Lamb pierogies, mint chimichurri sour cream, peas, spring allium
Paired with De Garde/Heater Allen Doppelbock (Eichenbock, an oak barrel-aged Doppelbock)

Course Four:

Sai oua sausage, fingerling potatoes, charred green onions, mushroom demi-glace
Paired with Holy Mountain The Goat (Saison / Farmhouse style ale from Washington)

Dessert:

TBA
Paired with Block 15 2015 Kriek (Kriek is a cherry sour /wild ale style)

 

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Craft Brewers Conference Beer and Food Events

April 8, 2015 by 4 Comments

Next week from April 14-17 is the Craft Brewers Conference in Portland at the Oregon Convention Center. This means next week 10,000+ craft brewers and industry people related to craft breweries and brewpubs will all be descending to PDX from all over the US and multiple parts of the world. How does this affect you?

Well, you can expect that many of the breweries that are unique to Portland and/or nearby the convention center are going to get even busier then usual – Cascade Brewing, I am especially looking at you who is also doing a Cascade Brewing Sour & Wild Invitational special beer tappings all week from April 14-18.

You can expect the extra crowds to happen even before April 14 as many will probably fly in slightly before the conference, and/or may stay slightly after the conference as well.

But also, there’s a huge amount of special beer events, including beers that these brewers are bringing from wherever they are coming from, all over the city next week! There are many meet the brewers events, places that special beers are tapping, and my favorite, beer pairing events bringing together craft beers and foods. Beer and Food is totally my thing.
Fort George 3 Way IPA, paired with this delicious course from Whole Foods Pearl of Scallops with pea puree and greens  Whole Foods Pearl Brewery dinners, this one is with Hopworks Urban Brewery (HUB). Dessert started with a honey herb butter custard with lavendar sage rosemary and thyme (and winner of a Whole Foods department ice cream competition) with house shortbread with many of those same herbs, then paired with Hopworks' Notorious FIG, a Belgian Dark Strong Ale that uses 30 lbs of organic fig

You can see a list of the activities on the Craft Brewers Conference/CBC Website, but a few highlights I thought I would share of the Craft Brewers Conference Beer and Food Events list:

Week long Craft Brewers Conference Beer and Food Events

  • Monday April 13- Friday April 17 Tap Takeover at Lardo. Enjoy delicious sandwiches (and those Dirty Fries) AND a portfolio of beer from a specific brewery all in one place. At the Hawthorne location, it will be Fort George Brewery, from Astoria OR that includes a wide range of Fort George one-offs and specialty beers on those 13 taps that will be rotated the entire week. Meanwhile, at the Downtown location, San Diego brewery Ballast Point Brewing & Spirits will control the 10 taps there, and at Lardo North the taps get commanded by Oakshire Brewing from Eugene, OR.
    Fort George Wit beer (conveniently in a can in case you want to take it camping or on a river float or on a hike) Ballast Point Brewing, taster sizes of various beers
  • Monday, April 13th – Sunday, April 19th Le Pigeon will offer beer pairings to accompany their five and seven course chef’s tasting menus. Usually they only offer wine pairings so this is a special pairing they are offering if you are into food and beer. Which, why wouldn’t you be. Beer flights: $30 (5 pairings) $45 (7 pairings) and the Chef’s tasting menu: $75 (5-course menu) $95 (7-course menu), gratuity not included
  • Monday April 13 – Saturday April 18 Bailey’s Taproom is doing “The Drinking Lot” a popup beer bar with 12 rotating beers and a rotating food cart at the East Burnside Street and NE Martin Luther King Jr Blvd in yes, a parking lot (it will be covered). See more details at this article on Brewpublic.
    Beer in a Bailey's Taproom glass in Portland

Monday, April 13

  • EastBurn is hosting a 7-course dinner featuring rare beers from Avery, Burnside, DC Brau, Firestone Walker, Flying Dog, Maui and Surly called the Charlie Bravo Charlie Beer Dinner for $100 a seat that includes 7 courses and the 7 beers. If you aren’t going to the dinner, EastBurn will be closed that night just for that private event.

Tuesday, April 14

  • Accanto will be pairing their Northwest/Italian cuisine with five farmhouse ales from Green Bench Brewing (from St Petersburg, FL)  for a private dinner in the elegant former Genoa dining room on Tuesday April 14th, at 6:30 PM. They are also saying they are hunting down funky Italian beers to have by the bottle all week long; specials to go with those will be on the chalkboard. Call Accanto at 503-235-4900 to reserve a spot at the Green Bench Brewery dinner.

Wednesday, April 15 – the big beer dinner night apparently

  • There is a lunchtime event (lucky you who can actually make something like this) of Stone Beer & Blue Star Doughnut Pairing at Bailey’s Taproom/Upper Lip. It is beer paired with doughnuts from Blue Star Doughnuts! Dammit, such a good idea, Bailey’s Taproom! Bill Sysak known as “Dr.” Bill in the craft beer community is the Craft Beer Ambassador and Certified Cicerone for Stone Brewing Co. and will also be there to discuss his “Masterpairings” philosophy on pairing beer with food at The Upper Lip. A special private session will kick off the event at 11:30 AM which has limited tickets are available in advance for $28. Then, there will be Public tasting begins at 12:30 PM through 2:30 PM.
  • Wednesday is a big day for Dr. Bill (Bill Sysak, Craft Beer Ambassador and Certified Cicerone at the Stone Brewing World Bistro & Gardens) because after Upper Lip at lunch, he’s off to Zupans. From 4-6 PM he will be at a Beer & Tapas Social Hour (cost $45) and then 7-10 PM he marathons on with a 5 Course Dinner and Beer Pairing that includes Stone brews paired with a five course menu for $85. Both events listed here take place at Cellar Z (at the Zupan’s downtown cellar, at the Zupans located on Burnside). Purchase tickets in stores or on-line at zupans.com/
  • Imperial Bottle Shop and Taproom is having a 40 Oz to Fort George and Free Pok Pok Wings Night. Fort George Brewery is taking over the Imperial 14 taps for one night and the first 80 lucky beer lovers that buy a 40 oz drink ticket package (10 tickets) for $15 will also get a FREE 1/2 order of famous Ike’s Vietnamese Fish Sauce Wings from the Imperial Bottle Shop neighbors Pok Pok! Wings will start to be delivered in waves at 6 PM, and be served until gone.
    Pok Pok Wing at the PDX airport offers Ike's Vietnamese Fish Sauce Chicken Wings which you can get normal or spicy. You can get a half dozen in a full order, or just 3 wings in a half order of these fresh whole natural chicken wings marinated in fish sauce and sugar, deep fried, and tossed in caramlized Phu Quoo fish sauce and garlic
  • At the McMenamins Crystal Hotel at the Zeus Café, you can make reservations for the Spring Brewers Dinner that includes a tour at 6:45 PM of the brewery and then followed by 4 courses and 5 beers as well as lots of tall tales from McMenamins Crystal Brewers Drew Phillips and Dan Black. $75 per ticket Tickets onsale now at mcmenamins.com
  • At Hotel Deluxe, a Sierra Nevada Beer Dinner option will be available. As part of their menu offerings a one-night-only four-course prix fixe beer-pairing menu during their dinner service (5-9 PM) that pairs food from Chef Mark Hosak in the sophisticated and elegant atmosphere but reasonable prices of Gracie’s Restaurant with the beers of Sierra Nevada is being offered for $50 per person, plus tax and gratuity. Make reservations to dine anytime between 5 and 9 p.m. by calling the restaurant directly at 503-222-2171 or using OpenTable.
  • Stammtisch Chef Graham Chaney is collaborating with Eric Toft, the head brewmaster of Schönramer Brauerei from Germany for a five course beer dinner at 6 PM. The beers from Eric will include the first US appearance of the new IPA & Imperial Stout. Tickets are $75, call (503) 206-7983 to make reservations
    Stammtisch and Schönramer Brauerei Beer Dinner
  • Ned Ludd and Breakside Brewery are doing a Collaboration Dinner with Elder Hall that includes 5 course, 10 beer pairing dinner with 2 beers for each course, one of them beers that Breakside created in collaboration with Jester King Brewery (Austin, TX), Melvin Brewing (Jackson, WY), Crooked Stave Artisan Beer (Denver, CO), and Moody Tongue Brewing (Chicago, IL) and one beer from the visiting brewery. Tickets are $90 (not including gratuity), with two seatings available at 6PM or 8:30PM. For reservations, email events@elderhall.com or call (503) 477-4725 or call Ned Ludd at (503) 288-6900

Thursday, April 16

  • Brewer’s Dinner with Oakshire Brewing (Eugene, OR) and 3 Floyds (from Indiana) at modern steakhouse Urban Farmer promises to be classy and delicious with a four course tasting dinner with three beers from each brewery! Tickets are $125 per person and include beer and gratuity. Call 503.222.4900 to make your reservation
  • Ninkasi Space Beer Dinner at the Oregon Museum of Science & Industry, $60 inclusive, 21+ older only, ID required. Advance tickets required, purchase from the OMSI website. This is the Portland premiere of Ninkasi’s space beer, Ground Control, made from yeast that’s traveled in space. The evening starts with a space science demonstration on “What Would It Be Like to Drink Beer in Space?”, followed by a three-course dinner courtesy Bon Appetit’s Executive Chef, Ryan Morgan. The courses are paired with Ninkasi beers.
  • Definitely one of the most affordable events is the Heads and Tails CBC Dinner at Culmination Brewing from 5-9 PM (5-6 PM is the CBC VIP hour for those with CBC Badges. Free shuttle service from 4:30 – 10 PM from Oregon Convention Center to Culmination Brewing for CBC attendees.). For only $20 with a CBC badge or $25 without a CBC badge, guests receive a four course tasting dinner starring Tails & Trotters and a commemorative Culmination / Tails & Trotter Belgian tulip beer glass, 2 beer tickets, and a tour of the Culmination Brewery.
  • Interurban from 6 – 10 PM will offer a special 9 item menu specifically designed to pair with 3 beers each from breweries of other states, namely Alesmith Brewing from San Diego California, Trinity Brewing from Colorado Springs in Colorado (they have already shared that they are bringing Koelorado Spontaneous, Magic Brett Tour #1 Drie, and their Wild Apple Saison), and Against The Grain from Louisville, Kentucky.  All items will be available a la carte so this is also a great deal in terms of tasting beer (9 beers!) and food pairings (9 special food items!).
  • Deschutes Brewing is going all out at the event space Pure Space by throwing a party they call BEER MACHINES A Steampunk Ode To The Craft Revolution. Besides beer, they promise lots of entertainment including circus theater and steampunk art pieces. Tickets are $20 in advance, $25 at the door and includes beer tokens and all entertainment and starts from 8 PM – 1 AM

Friday, April 17

  • Lardo ups the game with its beer and sandwiches with a special one day special highlight with Breakside Brewing thanks to a Breakside and Lardo Beer & Sandwich Pairing Collaboration Event at their Hawthorne location from 5:00 pm – 8:00 PM that includes Breakside Brewery and Lardo offering amazing collaboration beer (each beer is a different collaboration of Breakside with another brewery, including Stone, Pinthouse, GBonfire, Iron Goat, NoDa, and Elliot Bay) paired with collaboration sandwiches event. 7 breweries, 13 beers and 6 sandwiches. No cover.
  • Imperial Bottle Shop and Taproom is hosting The Bruery Pop-Up Beer Pairing Dinner with Coquine Supper Club. Limited to only 40 people, this 6-course, pop-up beer pairing dinner is $75 per person (18% gratuity added for a total of $88.50). For reservations, please email info@imperialbottleshop.com or call Imperial at 971.302.6899 between noon – 5PM. Check out the awesome menu and beers here

Saturday, April 18

  • You have another chance with doughnuts and beer thanks to Baker’s Dozen Coffee Beers & Doughnuts Festival at Culmination Brewing from 10:00 AM – 1:00 PM that offers a total of 13 3-oz coffee beer samples, and 13 gluttonous doughnut morsels along with Olé Latte Coffee. Tickets are limited to 300 and are available through Eventbrite for $20 (or $10 for those with a CBC badge, checked at the door.)
  • Or, about sour and coffee beers for Saturday brunch instead? Hop & Vine is hosting a Sour Sunrise w/ Sante Adairius, Rare Barrel & Almanac brunch that starts this funky brunch with sour beers with a flight of “mimosa-esque” apricot sours, followed by a “coffee-ish” trio of dark sours, all to accompany a special Hop & Vine brunch lineup to compliment the flights from these three California breweries. Each flight offers three 5 ounce pours. Hop & Vine will be offering 3 seatings for this brunch at 10:30 AM, 12 noon, and 1:30 PM. The reservation is only necessary for the member(s) of your party who will be partaking in the flights/brunch pairing, they have a limited amount of the beer and brunch servings available. An additional brunch menu and full drink menu will also be available. Reserve your spot(s) in person at the Hop & Vine on Sunday, April 12th or make reservations earlier (my recommendation, you pay upfront but gratuity is already included in the presale price) at this link here. Brunch and the two flights are $30 for the beer only and then $20 for the food for $50 total for both. There is also a vegetarian option available for this brunch food (though as noted, you can also decide to offer item from their other brunch menu instead of the pairing one)

So yeah, there’s a lot going on. I didn’t even list the special beer events because then this would be 10 pages long. If you’ve ever wanted to try a beer pairing of beer and food, I can help you out with this list, but you’re on your own looking the rest up for beer only events!

If you are interested, make reservations ASAP because as of this blog post one dinner (Wild Side at Imperial) already sold out and I expect other Beer Food Events to do the same.

I’ll be going to the Bruery Brewery and Coquine Supper Club dinner at Imperial Bottle Shop and Taproom on Friday – that was the one that really stood out to me. I also might try to make Interurban on Thursday because I am highly interested in Trinity beers, and at Culmination on Saturday The Baker’s Dozen as those coffee beers sound really fun paired with doughnuts, though I am equally torn by the Hop & Vine Sour Sunrise Brunch – do I dare do both? Add to this that I also have multiple other events on my calendar (3 a night!) so let’s see how my palate (and my liver) feel.
Starter of Shigoku oysters, tomato, fish sauce, lime, cilantro, paired with Newport Summer Ale, Smallwares PDX, Breakside Brewery, Smallwares and Breakside Beer Dinner A course at the Saraveza Block 15 Winter Dinner Block 15 Saraveza Dinner Pairing Seared Foie Gras on Brioche Coffee Dusted Roasted Figs, Chocolate Almond Sauce

Did you know about the Craft Brewer’s Conference coming to Portland? Are you thinking of attending any of the beer events happening around Portland next week?

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Smallwares and Breakside Beer Dinner

July 20, 2013 by 4 Comments

Chef Johanna Ware of Smallwares, specializing in “inauthentic Asian cuisine” and Head Brewer Ben Edmunds of Breakside Brewery created a beer paired dinner of 5 courses on Thursday July 18 for 20 lucky guests, of which I was one! When I saw the price was $45 for 5 courses (plus add gratuity), and thinking of how great the experience was at the Breakside Brewery’s dinner at Wildwood restaurant I attended, I was happy to sign up. I love beer pairing dinners, and with all the great breweries here I don’t know why I don’t see them more often.

Smallwares Breakside Brewery dinner,Chef Johanna Ware of Smallware and Head Brewer Ben Edmunds of Breakside created a beer paired dinner of 5 courses Smallwares Breakside Brewery dinner, Brewer Ben Edmunds chatting about the beer

The dinner was supposed to start at 6pm, but started a little late because of the logistics of everyone actually getting there by that time after work. After a day of doing presentations at work, I left around 4:30pm from Beaverton and was able to make it in time, which left me some time to sample a couple cocktails before dinner. I tried The Gin, with plymouth gin, mango, yogurt, rose water, cardamom, shaked and served on the rocks, as a way to cool off from my crowded commute, and also The Whisky, with templeton rye, raspberry shrub, vermouth, lemon, shaken and served on a big rock. This gave me an opportunity to admire the bold red and white modern atmosphere of the restaurant that combined the sleek lines and textures of contemporary design elements with thoughtfully and whimsically selected eclectic touches.

Smallwares PDX, restaurant Smallwares PDX, restaurant The Gin, with plymouth gin, mango, yogurt, rose water, cardamom, shaked and served on the rocks, Smallwares PDX The Whisky, with templeton rye, raspberry shrub, vermouth, lemon, shakend and served on a big rock, Smallwares PDX

Opener:

  • Beer: Newport Summer Ale
  • Food: Canapes and hors d’oeuvres
    Starter of shigoku oysters, tomato, fish sauce, lime, cilantro, Smallwares PDX, Smallwares and Breakside Beer Dinner Starter of Cantaloupe, benton's ham, kimchi puree, shiso, at Smallwares PDX, Smallwares and Breakside Beer Dinner

This Summer Ale is an easy-drinking English golden ale that is lightly hopped and uses floor-malted barley. It was paired with starters of Shigoku oysters, tomato, fish sauce, lime, cilantro, and Cantaloupe, benton’s ham, kimchi puree, shiso. Ben explained that he always like to start with a big pour of the first beer because who knows when dinner will start, and it helps everyone with a bit of liquid courage to socialize at the table. The oysters were clean acid that seemed to echo the clean flavors of the ale, while the heat from the kimchi puree and salt from the ham and sweetness of the cantaloupe were then refreshed and calmed down by the beer.

Starter of Shigoku oysters, tomato, fish sauce, lime, cilantro, paired with Newport Summer Ale, Smallwares PDX, Breakside Brewery, Smallwares and Breakside Beer Dinner Starter of Shigoku oysters, tomato, fish sauce, lime, cilantro, paired with Newport Summer Ale, Smallwares PDX, Breakside Brewery, Smallwares and Breakside Beer Dinner Starter of Shigoku oysters, tomato, fish sauce, lime, cilantro, and Cantaloupe, benton's ham, kimchi puree, shiso paired with Newport Summer Ale, Smallwares PDX, Breakside Brewery, Smallwares and Breakside Beer Dinner Starter of Cantaloupe, benton's ham, kimchi puree, shiso, paired with Newport Summer Ale, Smallwares PDX, Breakside Brewery, Smallwares and Breakside Beer Dinner

1st course:

  • Beer: Smallwares Saison
  • Food: Grilled shrimp, aji amarillo, lychee, pink peppercorn, chive

The Smallwares Saison is a Belgian farmhouse ale made with lychee, pink peppercorn and aji amarillo, and was inspired by another dish at Smallwares that Ben confessed to falling in love with the combination of flavors and just “ripping off” by putting those flavors into the beer. This was my favorite pairing of the evening with beer and food building on each other so that even when I had finished chewing or swallowing the food or beverage, the flavors lingered long after, tickling my tongue and taste buds pleasantly.

Grilled shrimp, aji amarillo, lychee, pink peppercorn, chive + Smallwares Saison made with lychee, pink peppercorn and aji amarillo, was inspired by another dish at Smallwares, Smallwares PDX, Breakside Brewery, Smallwares and Breakside Beer Dinner

2nd course:

  • Beer: Biere de Juillet (collaboration Biere de garde with Persian lime and coriander)
  • Food: Mushroom salad, walnut puree, Persian lemon dressing, pickled shallots, hijiki

Breakside partnered with Smallwares to brew this Bière de Juillet, a summer version of a French bière de garde with Persian lime and coriander that debuted at this dinner. I was using the salad to try to wipe up that walnut puree as much as I could.

Mushroom salad, walnut puree, Persian lemon dressing, pickled shallots, hijiki + Biere de Juillet (collaboration Biere de garde with Persian lime and coriander), Smallwares PDX, Breakside Brewery, Smallwares and Breakside Beer Dinner Mushroom salad, walnut puree, Persian lemon dressing, pickled shallots, hijiki + Biere de Juillet (collaboration Biere de garde with Persian lime and coriander), Smallwares PDX, Breakside Brewery, Smallwares and Breakside Beer Dinner

3rd course:

  • Beer: Sour ApriHot (sour golden ale aged on Apricots and Chinese mustard powder)
  • Food: Flank steak and apricots, mustard seed, red onion, parsley

Sour ApriHot is the latest of  experimental, culinary-inspired creations Breakside is trying, this particular one being an imperial sour apricot ale conditioned with heat… well, heat to come. At the dinner, they had added the apricot but not the hot portion yet, whether it be through Chinese mustard powder or horseradish or wasabi or what have you, they were still thinking about how they wanted to proceed. That was fine when combined with this dish though, which was already packing lots of spicy heat so the apricot ale was some relief.

Flank steak and apricots, mustard seed, red onion, parsley + Sour ApriHot (sour golden ale aged on Apricots), Smallwares PDX, Breakside Brewery, Smallwares and Breakside Beer Dinner Flank steak and apricots, mustard seed, red onion, parsley + Sour ApriHot (sour golden ale aged on Apricots), Smallwares PDX, Breakside Brewery, Smallwares and Breakside Beer Dinner

4th course :

  • Beer: Alan from the Wood (strong smoked ale aged in rye whiskey barrels)
  • Food: Black cardamom panna cotta, mixed berries

This strong beer was my favorite of the evening in terms of flavor, and it paired well with the cardamom in the panna cotta. However, the raspberry puree was a little overwhelming in sweetness that didn’t seem to go with the beer, so I fixed that by just eating the puree on its own after scraping it off, and leaving the panna cotta so pair with my sips of Alan.

Black cardamom panna cotta, mixed berries + Alan from the Wood (strong smoked ale aged in rye whiskey barrels), Smallwares PDX, Breakside Brewery, Smallwares and Breakside Beer Dinner

F joined me, and Smallwares was able to accommodate him with a vegetarian menu. For his opener there was kimchee but no ham around his cantaloupe, although there was no second option to replace the oyster. Tofu was the protein instead of shrimp for the first course with the aji amarillo, lychee, pink peppercorn, chive + Smallwares Saison made with lychee, pink peppercorn and aji amarillo, although his dish seemed sweeter with more lychee than the omnivore version I enjoyed.

Both of us enjoyed the same mushroom salad, and then for third course instead of flank steak, zucchini, cashews and additional salt were used instead for his dish with and apricots, mustard seed, red onion, and parsley. Unfortunately he couldn’t enjoy the panna cotta because it uses gelatin, so a friend volunteered to help him out.

Tofu, aji amarillo, lychee, pink peppercorn, chive, Smallwares PDX, Smallwares Breakside Brewery Beer Dinner Zucchini, cashews and additional salt instead of flank steak for the vegetarian with apricots, mustard seed, red onion, parsley, Smallwares PDX, Smallwares Breakside Brewery Beer Dinner

The service was great, and the flow of the meal was well paced to allow everyone to have time to converse and enjoy their beer without feeling a need to rush because the next course was coming up. Later as the sun set, the staff lowered the curtains so we would not be blinded, and then later still they pulled open some of the garage door walls to open up the restaurant to the outside. The bartender returned to the table several times, offering to pour a little more of a beer taster for us from the growler, and Ben and his brewers gave a little talk at the beginning to introduce the beer, and also stopped by so that both ends of the table got to talk to them.

I love what Breakside is doing with experimenting with savory and sweet additions in their beer, and was even more excited to hear that the Milwaukie location has their Salted Caramel Sweet Stout (a collaboration with Salt & Straw Ice Cream and Jacobsen Salt Co) on tap!  It’s one of my favorite beers from them, though I also love their Aztec Bourbon Barrel, their Old Bourbon Woody, the Whiskey Dick…  it’s hard to believe they’ve only been around for 3 years because of all the great and balance of classic and experimental unique beers they have crafted in that time. Yay for the brewers of Breakside!

This weekend is the International Beer Festival, and next week on Wednesday kicks off Oregon Brewers Festival… the beer continues!

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