I live in Denver and in a couple of weeks I'm holding my 2nd annual beer tasting and BBQ. I'm focusing on IPAs for the tasting. I'm still lining a couple of things up but so far the lineup is: Odell IPA Pliny the Elder Avery Maharaja 3 Floyds Dreadnaught Stone Collab More brown then black chouffe Houblon Bobbelen IPA These are people that I'm introducing to craft beer and wanted a wide range of IPAs that they could get locally and some they probably weren't going to be able to get but were worth trying. After the tasting is done I'm serving a southern BBQ. All the smoked meats and sides. I'm looking for suggestions on kegs that I should pick up to drink. For reference, last year I had Titan IPA, Deschutes Black Butte Porter and Lefthand Polestar Pilsner. I'm looking at Titan IPA, DBC graham cracker Porter and I have at least one homebrew keg (oaked ESB). With the amount of people I'm looking to pick five 1/6 kegs. Any suggestions? Thanks
Marble IPA, Santa Fe Happy Camper, Odell St. Lupulin, Crazy Mountain Pale Ale, Upslope IPA. These are all very accessible to newbs, and are readily available (well Lupulin at least right NOW) all over town and none are more then 10$ a 6er. That IMHO, is a key with introducing new people to craft, sure its awesome to bust out the bottle you spent 200$ on ebay to get ahold of....for true geeks, but for newbs that just screams out of my league. Your line up is a good one, though. And 5 kegs is a TON of beer lol how many people are coming to this shindig?!
Southern BBQ: Texas or deep south (NC/GA)? Oink or moo? Are you pairing beer with the food? I love me some BBQ, but I stay away from IPAs before I eat in order to save my palate for the scrumptious goodness of slow cooked flesh. But, Dry Dock's Seven Seas is tasty, and I think their Wee Heavy would go well with the flesh (not sure if that one is still in kegs).
There will be around 50. Not expecting to go through all the kegs but it's better to have them on hand then to run out especially since it's a charity event. Anything left will go nicely in the kegerator for the summer. I will also say, I didn't fork out a lot for the lineup. I happen to have family that live near Both RR and 3 Floyds and are sending me the beer.
Got a lineup of all the meats. Cooking brisket, Pork Shoulder and BB ribs. Took the day before off and will be cooking over night.
Funny, I read the title and was simply going to respond YES. BBQ does go with beer... Then upon further reading, I realized there was a bit more needed.... How about some Dales Pale Ale or any of the Deshutes line of IPAs... Quite tasty...which reminds me, I may need to stock up a little bit now that summer is near
Show the home team some love, Dry Dock! Their IIPA is my favorite but you can't go wrong with their single either. You can get it from the tap room so you know it'll be fresh.
While sometimes considered a little "pedestrian" I think the best beers for pairing with BBQ are Odell 90 Shilling and Tommyknocker Maple Nut Brown.
My problem with Odell beers is they are 8 gallon kegs. I can fit three 5 gallon kegs in my kegerator but only one 8 gallon.
anything aged on oak would pair well w/ the bbq, i dont know if great divide's 18th is available in kegs but it would def compliment the bbq. and while not usually ipa's, the same goes for anything w/ some smoke to it - lefthand's smokejumper, for example, would def pair well.
Not an IPA but if they are new to craft beer Fat Tire seems like a good choice.. I like these IPAs Hop Notch Union Jack Marble IPA Racer 5 WCIPA Stone IPA Pale ales Pale 31 St.lupulin 5 barrel Sierra Dales Shift is a pale lager they should enjoy
HOW IN THE HELL HAS MYRCENARY NOT APPEARED YET IN THIS THREAD?!?!? Just playing with the anger, but that beer ABSOLUTELY needs to be at this event. I am also a MAJOR fan of Dry Dock IIPA. And both of these beers (for the quality) are very affordable and always accessable.
The local beers are still in play for the tasting and I still might add some. I'm certainly not limited to what I'm offering for the tasting. I'm hoping to get some suggestions on beers that are in kegs that I can serve with the meal (and rest of the night) after the tasting. There have been some thrown out that I intend to look at. I know Dry Dock kegs but I was also told their kegs were really expensive but I'm going to call them later today to see what's available. Myrcenary is one of my favorites. That is ALWAYS in my fridge.
Odell St. Lupulin is a must. FW Pale 31 is a must. I know neither are IPAs, but mighty fine examples of good QUALITY craft beers and easy drinkers. Dry Dock's DIPA & Mycenary are also excellent DIPA choices. Another one that's not a true IPA, but an easy drinker for craft beer newbs would be New Belgiums Belgo IPA, as well as the aforementioned Shift Pale Lager.
Hmmm...looks like Imma have to work on widening my knowledge of IPAs so I can pair em up. So which one's are palate destroyers and which would still allow me to savor my ribs or pulled pork?
