Beer and Wine Paired Valentine's Dinner

In the wife and I’s quest to make the most use out of our dining room table and to experiment with my cooking on others, we decided to invite a few of our coupled friends for a Valentine’s dinner to avoid the ridiculousness that is Valentine’s day restaurant dining. After we developed the menu for the dinner, I started thinking that the dishes would pair well with certain beers in addition to the usual wine. The planned out pairings also made it a bit easier to assign appropriate beers or wines for each couple to bring (as well as for our friends to share in the cost of putting together a dinner). Below is the menu with pairings.

Brie en Croute with Apricot Marmalade
The Bruery Saison Rue and Chardonnay

Roasted Butternut Squash Soup with Parmesan Crisp
Mirror Pond Pale ale and Gewurztraminer

Mushroom Ravioli in an Allagash Dubbel Smoked Gouda Sauce
Franziskaner Hefe-Weisse Dunkel and Pinot Noir

Mixed Greens Salad with Pear, Goat Cheese, and Apple Cider Vinaigrette
Weihensthephaner Kristall Weissbier and Rose

Gluten Free Chocolate Cake
Stone Smoked Porter and Port





All in all the meal was great and we all had a great time (that is until the post dinner game of catchphrase got out of hand). The beer parings went extremely well with their respective dishes. The sweet yeasty Saison Rue blended well with the ooey gooey cheese and sweet marmalade. The pale ale gave a bold counter to the sweet and a little spicy soup. The dunkelweis’ earthiness matched well with the mushrooms and creamy sauce. The kristallweis’ light effervescence played well with the sweet pears, creamy goat cheese, bitter greens, and tart dressing. The smoked porter helped add more depth to the rich, dense cake. I think I need to make paired dinners a regular thing.