A Beer and Food Evening with Sierra Nevada
So with London Beer City going on this week, we had to come down for the first weekend and check what was going on. After a quick drink and food stop for a bottle of Sierra Nevada in Yorks Cafe, Birmingham, (which is truly an amazing place), we made tracks to head down to the ‘big smoke’. First stop of the weekend was the Sierra Nevada Beer and Food Pairing Evening which was being held in The Wall SE1, situated in House of Vans. House of Vans - well what can I say, the place is built under the arches by Waterloo station and it is COOL! They have an underground cinema along with skate park (CRAZY I KNOW!) Anyone can walk in and check it out, so it’s definitely worth a look, even if you aren’t having a beer… actually make sure you get a cold one from the Wall SE1, they have some bustin brews on show!
So we were led through to a cozy hangout by General Manager Joe (an absolute legend), through to our table for the evening. Leading the way for the evening was Benedict Sedgwick, a certified Beer Sommelier who’s been in the industry for quite a few years now and really knows his stuff.I’ve got to admit I haven’t had the entire Sierra Nevada range in the UK so some of these were new to me, but we were definitely in for a real treat!
We kicked off the evening with a light tipple - Summerfest, Czech Pilsener-style brew. This one was quite floral, with hints of spice and as it had been a rather hot day was VERY easy to drink! Not too heavy or overpowering either, as that would have probably dampened my appetite.
So the menu for the evening was Spanish and chef Omar had been working hard with Ben to get the perfect combos and this is what they came up with…
1. First up was Hophunter IPA, a very fruity brew, tropical, with a light sweet flavour, paired with spanish ribs and omelette. This is a cracking brew and the ribs were EPIC! I felt that the light sweet flavour really complimented the sweetness of the ribs.
2. Pale Ale & Paella - We all know this classic and no matter how much I drink this, the fresh, pine hoppy flavours of this brew never get old! The sweetness of the paella really brought out the hops in the brew.
3. This was definitely the dish of the night! Pepper calamari and garlic prawns which were paired with their Nooner Pilsner. I’ve got to admit, the Pilsner didn’t do much for me. I think because we’d had such bold flavours prior, if it had been my first brew of the day, I may have enjoyed it more. I think that Ben hit this combination on the nose, it's always good to have something light, with a slight fizz and not too overpowering with fish. It was also a great way to cleanse the palate and bring out the flavour of the fish. It definitely set us up for dessert!
4. Next up was a fantastic combination of porter and churros with chocolate sauce. The porter, which I already knew and loved is a real classic with bold, rich flavours of coffee and chocolate. This complimented the rich, very bold dark chocolate sauce which was TO DIE FOR!
We were meant to watch the movie “Drinking Buddies’, but we were all in such high spirits that we chatted, laughed and drank well into the night instead.
The evening was a real winner, good value for money and everyone that I spoke to thoroughly enjoyed it. This was inevitable to be fair, as in the wise words of Ben, “with good beer and good food you can’t go wrong”. I’d definitely watch this space to see if there are any more events on the go!
Big cheers to Ben, Joe, Omar and the rest of the team!
