Bricks & Freefolk pull off extraordinary pairing

Last night, when I went to Charleston’s Bricks & Barrels restaurant for the Freefolk Brewery beer pairing dinner, I originally planned only to make a nice social media post about it and leave it at that. But then I experienced the pairings. WOW! That’s all I could say. My palate was truly and totally amazed.

Beginning with the first course, which was a Butternut Squash and Walnut Soup, Executive Chef Madison Risk absolutely killed it. She paired the soup with a nicely malty, very drinkable Rooster Tail Red IPA, which had just the right toffee malt, hoppy flavor and bitterness to complement the richly flavorful soup. The two other K.R.A.Z.E. beer club friends at my table were equally blown away. It caught us all by surprise. None of us expected the powerfully beautiful tastes that showed so well together. I wondered how the rest of the dinner could have any chance to hold up to the flavor explosion of that initial pairing.

Well, we were in for a treat. Not a flat note among any of the next four courses. They included:

Goat cheese-stuffed, bacon-wrapped dates on a bed of baby salad greens with a rosemary honey vinaigrette. Paired with Hickory Horned Devil Maple Cream Ale. The maple cream ale picked up the notes of the honey vinaigrette and contrasted beautifully with the flavorful fats of the goat cheese and bacon. Overall, this salad was an outstanding experience.

Roasted duck leg atop a bed of cabbage-carrot-cilantro slaw. Paired with Orange Oswald Citra IPA. This very drinkable, low-bitterness, citrusy IPA worked wonders on the duck leg and spicy sweet slaw. The duck was tender and full flavored. The slaw gave the dish just the right amount of zip. Great pairing.

Seared pork belly on a sweet potato puree. Paired with Trucker Speed Imperial IPA. The generous portion of pork belly was cooked to perfection and gave you everything you’d want in this porcine fave. You needed a bold nicely, carbonated beer to work with the rich, seared pork, and the Trucker Speed IPA delivered. I enjoyed drinking this beer with the seared pork more than I had ever enjoyed the beer on its own. That’s the sign of a pairing that works.

Lastly came dessert. With so much incredible food preceding it, you didn’t really need a big, sweet, rich dessert that restaurants seem so often prone to produce. Chef understood that well, and she put together a beautifully light and appropriate dish that deserves an encore. Creme Anglaise was her lightly sweetened, thick cream with fresh berries and lemon zest. Paired with Berry the Hatchet Raspberry Wheat Ale. The 4.5% ABV, easy-drinking ale went well with the fresh berries in the Creme Anglaise. We all needed this lightness in both the food and beverage to ease us down a notch from the savory beer and food euphoria produced by the first four courses.

Bricks & Barrels makes good decision with Chef Madison

Chef Madison seems to be coming into her own and rising to new heights since pretty recently joining the Bricks & Barrels team. I just can’t say enough about how well she did with preparing the food and in making such excellent beer pairing decisions. Freefolk Brewery selected five beers for the evening, and Chef then designed five dishes that would complement them. So often, beer pairings are done the other way around. I mean you’re given the dish first, and then you go find a beer that will pair with it. Seems this reverse pairing dynamic worked great at Bricks & Barrels. I can only hope they continue to schedule more of these delightful dinners in the future.

Bricks & Barrels is a popular Charleston, WV restaurant that has led the way in our area featuring beers from West Virginia brewers on its ten taps. If you have a question about the beer, lead bartender Drew Smith can always provide a good recommendation. Drew is also known to mix a pretty mean liquor drink. Proprietor Nikki Holbert leads the way on their wine selections, which are also first class.

The Freefolk Brewery moving up the ladder

Now, I must take a break from gushing on Bricks & Barrels to add that kudos should also go out to The Freefolk Brewery. This Fayetteville operation is definitely on the rise. Their beer is getting better and better. They’re making investments in quality management, marketing, and production staff. They are becoming more assertive in their marketing, doing things like this pairing dinner and recent tap takeovers, which will surely help them continue to grow.

Now, we hear they are embarking on a major brewery expansion at a whole new location (while keeping their current location as a taproom). Along with this large expansion will also come a lot more canning and more distribution around the state. They are proof that there is still tremendous opportunity for growth with a small brewery done well. I’m so happy for their success.

Expect Brilliant Stream to soon have a feature on Freefolk’s brewery expansion project.