Day Three―Richmond: An Asian Flare
Our group of liver-weary beer travelers awoke to clear skies and dry roads. Colorful fall foliage and light traffic highlighted our drive from Durham to Richmond, and I suggested quick stops at Legend and Richbrau brewpubs before checking into our hotel.
Always the responsible roadie, my eye stayed on the clock as I coaxed Dustin, Chris and The Beer Wench toward our hotel and the setup for our next beer dinner at Richmond’s Mekong Restaurant. As we walked toward this unassuming Asian eatery located in a drab, suburban strip mall across from a neon-lit adult novelty store, I was thinking, “Whose bizarre idea was it to have a craft-beer dinner at a Vietnamese restaurant?”
Trust me, Mekong was the perfect choice for this collaborative event. Owner An Mekong, a maniac for craft beer (especially Belgian-style ales), jumped all over the opportunity to host this dinner. With draft beer stations set up all around the dining room, 10 spicy and flavorful Vietnamese dishes each served alongside a Terrapin or Left Hand beer, and a free Halloween costume party with live music after dinner, this proved to be the most eclectic and unique beer dinner in my recent experience.
Colorful food items with names I cannot begin to pronounce appeared at a rapid-fire pace while patrons spun their table’s lazy Susans, shared each dish family-style and discussed every bite and sip. An ran around the event with a huge grin as he discussed each special iplate. His spicy Pho Xao Bo with carrots, bok choy, garlic and ginger alongside Left Hand’’s 400 Pound Monkey IPA formed the resounding crowd favorite pairing of the evening.
Perhaps ethnic cuisine might provide a new frontier for beer dinners. “Many people don’t realize just how well craft beers go with Asian food,” explained An. “I’ve been carrying great beer since 1998, and now we have a huge following of beer lovers. We rotate beers quite often, and people come in all the time to see what new beers we have on and taste how each beer pairs with different dishes.”
When Dustin began buying Chris shots at the bar around midnight, I realized the time had come to pry everyone out of Mekong’s blur of flowing beer taps, saucy Halloween costumes and live classic rock to walk down the street to our hotel beds. We had to get an early start the next morning toward Philadelphia and our last beer dinner of the journey.
Day Four―Philadelphia: A Grand Slam
Our Terrapin/Left Hand crew hit the road for Philly around 8 a.m. Not surprisingly, we hit traffic while trying to maneuver through DC, and everyone’s bladders began to scream while we were sitting on the highway. In an act of pure desperation, I exited toward Reagan National Airport, and the gang jumped out at the passenger-loading zone to run inside for the restrooms. Upon his return, Chris proudly announced, “Wow, I’ve never peed at Reagan airport before.”
We cleared DC traffic about an hour later with the goal of lunch and beer samplers with our buddy Brian Finn, head brewer at Iron Hill Brewery & Restaurant in Wilmington, DE. Brian’s malty Oktoberfest, cask IPA and sour blueberry lambic did wonders in firming up our constitutions for the final push into Philly.
Upon parking our SUV and checking into our hotel in the City of Brotherly Love, I attempted to motivate the group toward a quick warm-up beer. They were not having it; a quick nap seemed their only motivation at this point. The Beer Wench and I left the sleepy pair and enjoyed our first beer in Philly at Brauhaus Schmitz―a new German tavern near our hotel.
After rousing Dustin and Chris and gathering our beer dinner materials and giveaways, we walked to the classic Monk’s Café around 5 p.m. for the 6 p.m. beer dinner. Monk’s owners Tom Peters and Fergie Carey quickly let us know that the entire restaurant was sold out for this event, but the impending World Series game that night forced about half the attendees to cancel. Tom and Fergie don’t usually allow cancellations for their popular beer dinners, but hey, we are taking about the Phillies in the World Series here. This night’s dinner consisted of about 20 die-hard beer aficionados seated in Monk’s back bar.
Dustin and Chris encountered no trouble in mingling and discussing their beers with the intimate crowd. An imaginative range of menu items from grilled baby octopus to smoked seafood and bleu cheese tarts was followed up by a creamy cappuccino caramel flan paired with the star of the beer dinner tour―the Depth Charge stout. The rich, sweet course of pork loin with apples and juniper made for a remarkable complement to Terrapin’s malty Big Hoppy Monster imperial red ale. As always, everyone seemed quite impressed and pleased with the warm atmosphere and experience at Monk’s.
The Beer Wench and I were driving for a visit to Victory Brewing in Downingtown, PA, the next day, while Dustin and Chris were flying back to Georgia and Colorado. We bid our fond farewells and reflected on the challenges and joys of our pilgrimage.
Bidding Adieu
“Going on this beer dinner tour really felt like we were in a band together,” says Dustin Watts. “It was really great to be a part of four magnificent dinners in a row―each night being special and different. It was a traveling celebration of beer, food and friends. Chris and I already have new ideas and twists and turns planned for next year, and we’ll just have to wait and see what happens.”
One thing seems certain; this spirit of collaboration between two personable craft breweries sets a standard for demonstrating how small, artisanal businesses can allow creativity and a love for their products to drive fun, unique marketing strategies that often prove far more productive and personable than run-of-the-mill billboards or magazine ads. Collaborative beers make up a popular new trend among modern-day craft breweries―where cooperation and camaraderie seem more valuable and productive than cutthroat competition and self-seeking rivalry.
