The AmeriCAN Beer Dinner at the Addison Flying Saucer

Last night we went to a truly unique beer dinner.  No particular brewery was featured.  No particular style of beer was on tap.  It was all about the cans. 

More and more breweries are reverting to shipping their beer in cans.  And I am sooo for that!  It keeps light out, it helps the beer keep longer, it costs less for the brewery to ship - so you don't get as much pass through costs added to your purchase price - and, with the upgrades and refinements in aluminum, no funky metallic taste is added to the beer.  Add to that cans are much, much cheaper to recycle!  It's a win win all the way around. 

So what did we have? 

We started off with a PBR.  Pabst Blue Ribbon was a pioneer in the craft brewing industry...really.  Starting off in small batches, its popularity grew, and by 1977 Pabst was brewing 18 million barrels a year.  If you haven't tasted it in a while, try a cold one.  (editor's note - don't let it get too warm...or maybe that's just me.)

Our first pairing was Avery White Rascal and a tomato, watermelon, and tarragon salad.  White Rascal is a Belgian Wit, and a mighty tasty one, at that.  The sweetness of the watermelon and the savory of the tarragon really brought out the tang of the Rascal. 

Next came Santa Fe Happy Camper, paired with loaded potato fritters, fried okra and jalapeno cream gravy.  Now, y'all know that I am NOT a hop head.  I take one sniff of a hoppy beer and out comes my ACK face!  Let me tell you something.  The smokiness of the bacon, the creamy potatoes and the spice of the jalapeno mellowed that hop right out and totally made it a drinkable beer for me.  A really nice surprise!  I'll have to try this again.

Next came a duo of beers: Stevens Point 2012 Black Ale and New Belgium Shift.  We were served a grilled honey glazed pork chop that was fabulous with the black ale - the sweetness of the honey glaze melded perfectly with the malty, nutty backbone of the ale.  YUM!  Alongside the chop was a serving of collard greens (frankly, I passed) and a heaping mound of mac n' cheese, made with costwold cheese - a perfect compliment to the cranky/tangy/hoppy Shift.  Actually, I liked the mac n' cheese with the black ale, too.  To be totally honest, I'd eat the mac n' cheese with a PBR.  Or day-old milk.  Or mud.  Yeah.  it was just that good!

Finally, it was time for dessert.  A masterpiece in my book.  Southern Star Buried Hatchet (one of my favorites, anyway) paired with a bourbon banana pudding served in a mason jar.  I believe the words we're looking for here are, "God Damn!!"

And, yes, that's a PBR photobombing the picture.

It was a great dinner.  The food was downhome and yummy.  The beers surprising.  And the Saucer staff, as always...the best!!