The Great and Most Excellent Sumner Beer Tasting!

I apologize in advance for the length, but there was a lot.  Here goes...

The final results:

What got us there - the beers and pairings:

India Pale Ale – Samuel Smith, India Ale

asiago, crab dip, carrot cake muffins, ginger cookies (these cookies totally made the beer!)

American Pale Ale – Oskar Blues, Dale’s Pale Ale

camembert (delicious with the crisp finish), asiago & feta, chicken, chili, maple syrup & shortbread (again, a sweet surprise)

American IPA – Boulevard, Double Wide

pepper jack & sharp cheddar, chicken, pumpkin muffins

Double IPA –Odell, Myrcenary

pepper jack & sharp cheddar, chicken, caramels, Boston cream pie muffins

Black IPA – Odell, Mountain Standard Double Black IPA

steak & smoked beef sausage

Dubbel – Ommegang, Abbey Ale

steak & smoked beef sausage, BBQ sauce, brie & gouda, milk chocolate

Tripel – Unibroue, La Fin du Monde

beef sausage, turkey, blue cheese (stood up to the tripel beautifully, sharp cheddar

Quad – Allagash, Four (my favorite beer on the planet)

beef sausage, turkey, brie & blue, gouda & sharp cheddar; pecan pie (a fabulous pairing)

American Porter – Deschutes, Black Butte Porter

BBQ sauce, steak & beef sausage, brie, gouda, milk chocolate & peanut butter (BAM - my favorite pairing of the night!), pecan pie

English Porter – Fuller’s London Porter

steak, beef sausage, camembert, milk chocolate

Milk/Sweet Stout – Left Hand, Milk Stout

chocolate (of course!), cinnamon cheesecake muffins

Oatmeal Stout – Breckenridge, Oatmeal Stout

steak, buttery cheddar, chocolate, chocolate-covered coffee beans

Russian Imperial Stout – Great Divide, Oak-Aged Yeti Imperial Stout

parmesan, dark chocolate, raspberry jam (especially if you dragged the dark chocolate through the jam!)

Barleywine – Avery, Hog Heaven

blue cheese, sharp cheddar, toffee, caramels

Chili – Twisted Pine, Ghost Face Killah

pepper jack, beef sausage, chips & peach salsa (a lovely combo)

Scotch Ale/Wee Heavy – Moylan’s, Kilt Lifter

Brie, gouda, turkey, toffee & milk chocolate 

Flanders Red Ale/American Wild Ale (Sours) – Brouwerij Verhaeghe, Duchesse De Bourgogne (I actually liked this beer much more than I thought I would)

pepper jack, chips & peach salsa

Fruit – Dry Dock, Apricot Blonde (while not technically a "fruit" beer, it's just so fruit-forward...)

dark chocolate

And that was our evening!  We dropped some knowledge on our beer novice guests, and a home brewer in attendance gave us some schooling on the processes involved.  A most satisfying and exceptionally fun evening!  We'll have to do it again sometime.