On the Street: The Hourglass Brewery and Louie’s Bistro on the Run

It’s no secret that craft beer has arrived in this country and that it’s now a big part of our pop cultural landscape. But the craft beer biz isn’t the only industry that’s exploding. There’s an equally successful phenomenon that is capturing America’s attention – the gourmet food truck craze. And like craft beer, food trucks are now sweeping the nation…so we thought it might be fun to get them together.

Welcome to “On the Street” – the first of what we hope will become a regular series dedicated to craft beer and food truck pairings. This time, we’re hitting the streets of Orlando, Florida for some serious beer and street food.

Central Florida is America’s tropics and its people live to be outdoors, so this is the perfect place for food and drink al fresco. We recently bellied up to the bar/table with two of our favorite Central Florida purveyors of potent potables and notable noshes, The Hourglass Brewery and Louie’s Bistro on the Run.

I started off with the Chicken and Chorizo Chimichanga with Baja rice and chipotle lime sour cream, which I paired with a favorite: Hourglass Brewery’s +5:30 1st IPA.

The spices in the chicken and chorizo really elevated the hop flavor of the IPA, while the sweetness of the chorizo played nicely to the bitterness. A nice added surprise was that the crunchy fried tortilla brought out the malt characteristics that are often lost in IPAs. Overall, this was a great, light start to my pairing adventure.

Next on my list was Louie’s Grilled Jerk Chicken Sandwich with fries, truffled yucca, and mango mayo paired with Hourglass Pale Streaker Vanilla Wheat Ale. Another good combination. The spicy jerk seasoning was a big match for the wheat ale, but the vanilla held up very well and didn’t get overpowered. And as with most wheat ales, they make fruity food notes really shine, as the mango in the mayo did.

They say “go big or go home” so I ended the meal with a Louie’s Bistro favorite, Pan Seared Filet Mignon Sandwich with fries, mushrooms, and nouveau béarnaise sauce paired with Hourglass Brewery’s Tipsy Farmer Irish Stout and happily, it worked! The surprisingly light and sweet stout held its own with the big flavors of the filet mignon sandwich. The chocolate and coffee notes in the stout were the stars and they brought out the char on the filet beautifully. The creaminess of the béarnaise and the sweetness of the stout almost gave the beer a milk stout quality – but without the lactose.

For those of you who want to get your own food truck and beer pairing on, Hourglass Brewery hosts a different gourmet food truck every Friday – be sure to check their Facebook page and come hungry!