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When New York City does something, it doesn’t half-ass it. Our buildings are taller, our parties are bigger, and our rents are astronomical. The upside to this is our passionate approach to craft beer and great food, both of which are the focus of SAVOR. The festival, which runs June 14th and 15th in Manhattan, will showcase some of the best beers America has to offer, paired directly with their culinary soul mates. We were invited to attend a small preview event at Brooklyn Brewery in Williamsburg last Thursday to whet our appetites for the big show.
Did we mention Steve Hindy and Sam Calagione, the respective presidents of Brooklyn Brewery and Dogfish Head, were hosting the gig? Yeah, we were star struck too.
After a few minutes of mingling, eating, and sipping, introductions began. “Yoooo!” Sam yelled into a microphone. “That’s Brooklyn for ‘excuse me,’ right?”
Both hosts were noticeably excited about the upcoming festival. “I cut my beer and food pairing teeth at a young age working at a restaurant on the Upper East Side,” Sam told the crowd. “Bringing the right beer alongside the perfect food can make the entire meal stand up to even the highest white tablecloth wine pairing in the city.”
Hindy (who was wearing a Dogfish Head hat while Calagione sported a Brooklyn cap all afternoon) talked up the food purveyors of the day’s event, which included Brooklyn Brine pickles, Murray’s Cheeses, oysters from legendary Queens seafood restaurant London Lennie’s, and dark organic chocolate.
Seamus Jones from Brooklyn Brine was showcasing a true beer-meets-culinary-world creation: Hop-Pickle. Jones developed the recipe using cascade hops and Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA after being approached by Calagione last year. All of this deliciousness was paired with DFH’s Positive Contact.
Les Barnes of London Lennie’s paired one of my favorite New York beers, Brooklyn’s Sorachi Ace, with the incredible Choptank Sweet oysters from Maryland. “I like to take my employees on what I call ‘road trips,'” Les told me. “We go out west, we go up and down the East Coast, we do our due diligence and we bring them back. That’s how I found these guys! Pairing them with Sorachi Ace just brings them to the next level.”
The crew from Murray’s Cheese knocked it out of the park with their beer pairings: Westfield Capri chevre with Sorachi Ace, Vermont Shepard Invierno with Brooklyn Brown Ale, and (the show stealer) Jasper Hill Bayley Hazen Blue alongside the ever-elusive Brooklyn Black Ops. The experience was incredible, even for someone who pairs beers and cheeses as their livelihood (full disclosure: I own Alphabet City Beer Co., a craft beer store and bar in the East Village).
As one would expect with great beer and food being served, the vibe of the event was incredibly fun. Hindy and Calagione can consider their goal of drumming up excitement for SAVOR a huge success.
