At Home Beer Tasting Date

As I have mentioned previously Christopher and I have been making a real effort this year to have one date night at least once a week, and one super fancy date at least once a month. Last week we went to 11 Central which meant this week our date needed to be a little more casual.

Our local grocery store has this great deal where you can fill your own six pack with six different beers. Christopher and I love sampling new beers and testing whether we want to buy a certain beer in the future. This past weekend we decided to do a beer sampling with five (we had already drank one of the beers) different appetizers and a Benedict Cumberbatch marathon (we are both pretty much in love with him). Here are the appetizers and beers we chose. I will link the recipes to their original website unless they are my own:

1.  Sam Adams Gold Snap with a Spicy Spinach and Artichoke Dip: This was a fantastic combination. The citrus notes of the Gold Snap paired perfectly with the spiciness and earthiness of the dip. Christopher ate at least half the dip right then and there.

Photo courtesy of http://abeautifulmess.com/

2. Sierra Nevada Torpedo Extra IPA with PF Chang's Lettuce Wraps (but originally from culinarylife.com): This was another fantastic combination. This particular beer is a great IPA for the person who is not necessarily an IPA fan. It is incredibly drinkable and paired well with the lettuce wraps. On a side note, the recipe above requires water chestnuts which can be difficult to find. My local grocery store did not carry them, but I found the lettuce wraps to be perfectly fine without them.

Photo courtesy of http://pinterest-pins.com/

3. Geary's London Porter with BBQ Cranberry Meatballs: This recipe has been in my family for ages and is something I will definitely post in the future. While the meatballs were great, the beer was not. Christopher and I were not huge fans of this particular porter. It was rather bitter and did not have much flavor.

4. Shipyard Black IPA with Mini Man Burgers: Who doesn't love sliders? Once again, this is a great IPA for people who usually steer clear of them. We both really enjoyed this particular combo.

Photo courtesy of Food Network

5. Red Hook Mudslider Brown Ale with Brown Sugar Baked Fries: I love french fries and brown sugar. To me this was a natural and awesome combination. This beer was a hearty, classic brown ale. It actually tasted very similar to Newcastle which I happen to be a huge fan of.

Photo courtesy of http://abeautifulmess.com/