We all have heard about pairing wines with certain dishes for optimum flavor enjoyment. But what about beer pairings?
Joey Cooper, who manages the Tap Room at New Hope, the first satellite site for Weyerbacher Brewing Company of Easton, said customers often are surprised by the idea. But they quickly embrace it during happy hour specials Thursdays and Fridays at the Ferry Market in New Hope.
Cooper meets with each of the market’s restaurant vendors to choose pairings based on which beers are available, and the choices are added to a special menu. Grilled cheese with chorizo sausage from Politi’s Cheese and Meats has been popular when paired with Weyerbacher’s Mellow Monks, a Belgian-style ale, while the grilled cheese with fig goes best with Weyerbacher’s Quad, a dark ale, Cooper said.
He recommends that the Good Gyro’s classic hummus be paired with Mellow Monks; its hummus chicken goes best with Last Chance IPA, as does the salad with chicken sold at Lima Fusion.
Tater tots sounds like a natural pairing with beer and the Pork Shack has many options to choose from. Cooper said the cheesy tots go best with Last Chance IPA, hot tots go with Sexy Mother beer and the marinara tots go best with Mellow Monks.
Moku’s spicy chicken bowl pairs well with Last Chance, Cooper said, while he likes the Hei Hei Hawaiian bowl goes well with Mellow Monks.
Dessert pairings also are popular, with the Nutella cookie from The Big Cookie best served with Mellow Monks. The cinnamon bun from Novel Buns goes well with the seasonal Imperial Pumpkin Ale which just debuted last week.
The pairings are available anytime the market is open, but during the designated happy hours discounts are offered on the beers and food.
Pairings are in the works for the Little Radish, the market’s newest food vendor, but in the meantime owner Michele Diaz Ware has found a use for Weyerbacher’s products in her cooking: she has added beer to her seasonal pumpkin soup.
The Tap Room also has happy hours on Saturdays and Sundays with discounts on drafts and beer flights.
The Tap Room has four beers on tap at any given time and up to 20 varieties of canned and bottled beers. In Easton, the original Weyerbacher’s has as many as 20 beers on tap.
The beers change with the seasons, so the happy hour tastings change as well.
Unionville Vineyards also participates in the happy hour pairings with its own selection of wines to go with Ferry Market dishes.
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