I love that so many restaurants in NYC have cultivated great craft beer lists and that so many great craft beer bars have developed innovative food menus. Once upon a time, beer loving gourmands had to enjoy great beer at a craft beer bar with a plate of nachos and had to make do with wine when out at a fancy restaurant. I know; those were dark times.

Now, I almost always order beer when I’m out to eat. I say, “almost,” because on the rare occasion that I venture into the land of fine dining and its multi-course tastings, sommeliers and cheese carts, I usually opt for the restaurant’s wine pairings. I am never disappointed in the wines or the pairings; in fact, most of them are incredible. However, I can’t help feeling a pang of guilt or a sense that I am selling out. If a beer geek like me isn’t ordering beer at these places, then who is?

Last weekend I finally had a chance at redemption. My fiancée was kind enough to take me out for a birthday dinner at Blue Hill at Stone Barns. Your choices there are simple, five courses or eight. You tell the waiter about your preferences and they design a menu to suit. The food is hyper seasonal and local with most of the produce and meat coming directly from the on premise farm. When the waiter asked if she should send the sommelier over to discuss wine pairings, I calmly stated, “I was actually admiring your extensive beer list, any chance we can pair beers with each course?”

To my delight, she said, “of course.”

The bar manager came over to discuss beer and I sensed that he was excited to show off his beer selection since it probably goes under-appreciated most of the time. And with that, we were off. Here’s the menu as best as I can recall:

Amuse 1: Assortment of raw vegetables from the farm, pancetta wrapped zucchini and mashed pea “burgers”

Amuse 2: Chicken liver mousse sandwiched by dark chocolate with house cured meats, prosciutto wrapped egg yolk and more vegetables

Course 1: Bone marrow and caviar

Course 2: Bluefish wrapped in prosciutto with veal tongue and egg white

Course 3: Sugar plum and beet salad with house made yogurt

Course 4: Fresh farm egg over English pea salad

Course 5: Twelve hour grilled onion with pickled summer vegetables, tapenade, crème fraiche and currants

Course 6: Lamb brains with okra

Course 7: Roast pork with zucchini

Cheese Course Intermission

Dessert amuse: Raspberries and sorbet with milk jam

Course 8: Grilled corn ice cream over cake with peaches and blueberries

And what beers did we pair with this extravagant feast? To start off, a refreshingly light and flavorful Kaptain’s Kolsch from Captain Lawrence was poured. It was a great way to ease into the meal and let the fresh vegetables shine.

Moving into the second amuse and course one we were privy to Kelso Brewery’s Honey Lavender Pilsner. Made exclusively for the Blue Hill with lavender and honey from their farm, this beer was a real treat. The lavender provided an intoxicating aroma and the honey a subtle spice. It was still clean and crisp though, making a great pairing with the caviar.

Beer three was a Belgian Blonde from Brouwerij Hof Ten Dormaal. In a testament to this beer’s versatility, it was chosen to complement the bluefish, plum salad and farm egg; with its range of flavors from citrus to clove like spice, it succeeded with all three courses.

On to my favorite pairing, they brought out the big guns with the Cantillon Rose de Gambrinus. A true raspberry lambic, this beer is all barnyard funk with a little raspberry tart sweetness thrown in for good measure. It played beautifully off of the smoky, sweet onion but was really at home with the ultra rich lamb brains and okra.

Ending the beer service was a saison from Stillwater Artisanal Ales, a relative newcomer to the craft beer scene. This is a traditional Belgian saison by way of a home brewer recently turned pro in Baltimore, MD. More importantly, the sturdy malt back bone was exactly what was needed to stand up to the succulent roast pork. Luckily we had enough beer left after the pork was done to bridge us through the cheese course and into dessert.

What restaurants do you enjoy that happen to also have great beer lists?

We’d love to know! Tell us by commenting below.

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Jesse York

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Tagged as: Blue Hill, Blue Hill at Stone Barns, Brouwerij Hof Ten Dormaal, Cantillon, Cantillon Rose de Gambrinus, Captain Lawrence, Kelso, Stillwater Artisanal Ales, Stone Barns