Fife Street’s 1st beer dinner on point

Oh my goodness. I love finding well-put-together beer and food-pairing dinners in West Virginia. The one at Fife Street Brewing earlier this week was an absolute gem.

Organized by John Query, Fife’s general manager, the dinner illustrated some of the best practices for how a brewery can advance craft beer appreciation in its market. The food and beer pairings Fife presented were carefully thought out and appeared to be a big hit with attendees.

The dinner also presented an opportunity for patrons to hear beer comments by Fife’s head brewer, Gil Peterson. That was a treat. I imagine a lot of folks attending the dinner had never met Gil, so hearing him talk about his beers gave them an overall stronger connection to Fife Street and its offerings.

Beer-pairing dinners change perception

In years past, the very limited flavors available in mass-produced pale lager beer (the kind of beer most everybody drank) limited how the American culture thought about beer and food pairing. In the past, fine dining was all about wine and food pairing. The mass culture had a very narrow view of what foods went well with beer (think pizza and burgers). Even though the beer world has drastically changed in the past decade, this narrow view of beer and food pairing still largely clings on in American mass culture.

Today, however, with local craft breweries producing such wide ranges of beer styles with broadly differing flavors, a quantum shift in thoughts about beer and food pairing is occurring. Today, with craft beer offering a wider range of flavors than wine, beer offers the best food pairing experience. But it’s a pairing experience that still tends to be a pretty well-kept secret in West Virginia.

If Fife Street’s pairing dinner is any indicator, though, the Charleston public’s lack of knowledge about the deliciousness of serving fancy beer and fancy foods together is certainly in danger of being obliterated.

Fife’s delicious menu pairings

Course 1: Tuna Carpaccio with Carriage Trail Pale Ale

The thinly sliced tuna was marinated in citrus and dressed with a side of soy-mayo and sriracha. The fresh taste of the Pale Ale elevated the pleasant tartness of citrus and the delicate sweetness of the tuna. The beer’s effervescence cleared the palate of the spicey, salty condiments, readying the mouth for the next tasty bite.

Brilliant Stream’s Pairing Score: 4 out of 5

Course 2: Langoustine Soup with Summers Street Wheat Ale

A hearty Icelandic soup featured fresh shrimp in a tangy broth with curry, yogurt, and white wine. The bright fruitiness from the banana-clove hints in the beer contrasted with the subtle curry spice in the bisque and presented a pleasant mixture of tastes. The lighter, wheaty base of the beer washed down the shrimp without overpowering their flavor.

Brilliant Stream’s Pairing Score: 5 out of 5

Course 3: Wedge Salad with Charlie West IPA

This classic steakhouse wedge featured iceberg lettuce, crispy bacon-like crumbles, roasted tomatoes, and pickled onions topped with a richly creamy gorgonzola dressing. The hoppy-malty flavors of IPA stood as a counterpoint to the rich collection of flavors from the salad ingredients and the beer’s effervescence cleaned the creamy, sharp cheesy richness from the tongue allowing for a delightful aftertaste.

Brilliant Stream’s Pairing Score: 5 out of 5

Course 4: Bone-In Pork Chop with Miracle on Thirty-Fife Street Spiced Ale

An extra-delicious bone-in pork chop seasoned with a rub of warming winter spices was served with sides of herbed & cheesy mashed potatoes and warm apple-onion chutney. The intense spiced flavor of the ale handled the richness of the combined dishes well but was a little too intense for the luscious, locally-sourced pork shop, which was the star of the dinner for me.

Brilliant Stream’s Pairing Score: 3 out of 5

Course 5: Cheesecake with Chuck’s Chocolate Raspberry Porter

A lighter, unbaked-style cheesecake was topped with fresh fruit and a swirl of bourboned caramel sauce. The fruity-flavored, dark-toasted malt beer complemented the overall power and sweetness of the dessert.

Brilliant Stream’s Pairing Score: 4 out of 5

A great night of food and beer

Great pairing dinners combine tastes, which together produce a whole greater than the sum of the parts. Overall, this Fife Street Brewing beer and food pairing dinner did just that. Our compliments go out to their kitchen and brewery staff. With this being the first gourmet dinner of this type that they have put on, we’re even more impressed with the quality they provided. They pulled it off so well and only charged $60 for the five-course event. It was a real steal in Charleston for that price.

Fife’s Derrek and Lisa Godwin said they hope to hold more beer and food pairing dinners in the future. Sure hope they do. We’ll be sending them our ideas on some pairings we’d like to see.

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Link to Fife Street Brewing website