Feed Me…I’m Hungry writer Michelle Sandstrom is also the Denver City Editor over at The Daily Meal, where her job is to search out and report on the best food in Denver. Read on for food news and Denver dinning recommendations.
The Daily Meal was invited to attend BrüFrou, pronounced [broo-froo], a high end craft beer and culinary pairing event. On April 19th, 40 different Colorado microbreweries turned out to showcase their work. Over 32 restaurants provided specially designed food pairings to accompany the beer.
With the burgeoning number of microbreweries and an ever expanding food scene in Colorado, Denver is the perfect place for an event like BrüFrou. Though, Colorado is a stop for the American Beer Festival and home to a few smaller beer tasting events, there is nothing the size and scope of BrüFrou. Offering 40 different pairings to taste, all in one place, was extremely ambitious. Yet, the event was successful in meeting its goal: to show off a ton great local beer.
Though this was the first year for BrüFrou, everything was extremely well organized. The event was well attended, with an approximate two thousand guest present. Yet, waits in line were short. There was plenty of room to mill around at the Wings Over The Rockies Air & Space Museum. It wasn’t crowded. Thoughtful touches like glass beer steins for sampling and a handy menu/map explaining each pairing made the experience all the more enjoyable for guests.
The breweries brought their best for the event. There were wonderful examples of everything from floral amber ales to almost chewy extra dark stouts. A highlight was the American-Style India Pale Ale from Odell Brewing Co. This beer was so flavorful it would appeal even to non beer drinkers. An unexpected flavor was found in Yak & Yeti’s Chai Milk Stout. This beer is sweet, creamy, well spiced and is almost like drinking a chai latte.
Redstone Meadery City attended the event, though mead is technically not a beer. It is actually a honeyed wine brewed with hops to act as preservative. The Black Raspberry Nectar Mead from Redstone was one of the most unique tasting choices available. Guests were transported the King’s table in the novel a Game of Thrones, when sampling this honeyed beverage.
Unfortunately, some of the restaurants present didn’t quite live up to their brewery counterparts. While all the food did taste good, a large number of the restaurants went for the most obvious pairings imaginable: pulled pork or tacos. Though of all the pork at the event, Masterpiece Deli pulled it off best with a Prost Pilsner brined pork topped with sauerkraut and beer barbecue sauce.
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