Writing this column for 15-plus years, I’ve been to a lot of beer dinners — some great, some good, some not so good. But the media beer dinner I attended last week at Bacchanalia will be one of the most memorable.
The setting, at a long table in a private dining room at Atlanta’s most celebrated restaurant, was certainly a clue to the kind of serious fun the event aimed for.
And like a summit, the presenters — Julia Herz, the craft beer program director at the Brewers Association, and Adam Dulye, the executive chef for the Brewers Association and CraftBeer.com — convened four small and independent brewers from around the country, who told their stories and presented their perspectives on the craft beer with a compelling mix of wit and wisdom.
Leah Wong Ashburn of Highland Brewing in Asheville and Luis G. Brignoni of Wynwood Brewing in Miami spoke of running family businesses with strong community connections.
John Pinkerton spun tales of how he came to open Moon River, an iconic, and possibly haunted brewpub in Savannah.
Matt Lincecum of Fremont Brewing in Seattle presented an enthusiastic case for environmental, social and economic sustainability in the beer industry.
There were free-wheeling questions and lively answers about the growth of craft beer in the context of branding, philosophy and even politics. But for me, anyway, the crux of the occasion was the food and beer pairings.
The Brewers Association started doing these kinds of dinners in 2012, and it’s held impressive events at Colicchio and Sons, The NoMad, Eleven Madison Park and Daniel in New York. The Bacchanalia event followed “emerging market” dinners at The Tasting Kitchen in Los Angeles and Blackbird in Chicago.
In Atlanta, the four-course tasting menu was created by Dulye in collaboration with the chefs in the kitchen at Bacchanalia. As such, it represented the restaurant’s seasonal approach, which starts with the produce from its own Summerland Farm.
“This dinner is about beer, but it’s also a story about what Bacchanalia is doing,” Dulye said. “This is their food. What I do is start the conversation to talk about the ingredients and the beer.”
Sweet corn panna cotta with lobster and tomato marmalade paired with Moon River Wild Wacky Wit in an elegant elevation of what is often considered an easy-going style.
Grilled sweetbreads with Summerland Farm onions and garlic pain perdu grabbed hold of the beautifully malty, caramelized notes in Highland Galic Ale.
Grilled prime New York strip steak with Summerland Farm nightshades and farm yolk emulsion proved to be perfect with roasty, surprisingly dry Pop’s Porter from Wynwood.
And the richness of chocolate, espresso goat’s milk caveat was matched by the boozy complexity of bourbon barrel-age Fremont Abominable with coffee and cinnamon.
“We belong at this table. That’s the analogy for this entire evening,” Herz said, summing up the message of the dinner. “These brewers are in this room for a reason.”
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