Beer & Food, Perfect Together.

To some this is a "duh!" topic. Many of the regular visitors around here might tune this out and move on to the next topic of the day. But, scores of you stop by this Lounge by way of an Internet search looking for sites containing material about food and beer pairings. As I run into great pairings and the menus from establishments hosting beer pairing dinners, I try to share them with you (virtually). So, in case you're new to this world of better beer and are still stuck with the old mentality of wine and [fill in the blank] pairings, listen up: Beer goes better with almost every course of any meal at any time of the day. Period. If you haven't experienced this, give it a try and see if you're not eventually singing from the same hymn book. Why do I bring this up? As I've been trying to figure out what the month of April 2009 will mean for me personally in this great wide world of beer, it looks like it will have something to do with beer and food pairings. Well, most months do, but this one seems a bit more special. Start with tonight. Our favorite fine dining establishment (I almost hate to put the term 'fine' in front of dining when describing Birchrunville because I realize it conjures up certain expectations, but...) of the Philadelphia region, Birchrunville Store Cafe, is back in 2009 with their monthly tasting nights. Of the countless times we've been to Birchrunville, we've never experienced their tasting menus, typically reserved for a off-night. Last month, they again began the monthly schedule where the chef makes whatever strikes his fancy and the patrons, as usual, bring their own liquid fancy. I've had some great pairings with beer that I've brought to dinner at Birchrunville in the past, and tonight I expect it will be no different. Later this month, if I can be more excited about a dinner than this evening's, it will be the return of the (almost) monthly Monk's Cafe beer dinner. This time, it's Cantillon. Need I say more? Well, I certainly will when the dinner has concluded. Okay, I will say one more thing...according to Mr. Peters, it will be our Cantillon guest's first visit to the States....and Brasserie De la Senne will also be joining Cantillon on the guest of honor list. Methinks this shall turn into a quite special and splendid evening! Then, to give us something to look forward to at the end of August, there's a little place in Maine called Ebenezer's...you may have heard of it?! ;-) Well, we've decided to do it... Sean Paxton (aka The Home Brew Chef), of whom I've spoke volumes (or at least chapter...or very long verses), in the past will be in the great state of Maine to cook up this year's version of the Beer Dinner that kicks off Ebenezer's Belgian Beer Festival. I've eaten and drank of Sean's creations before and they are the type of thing that must be experienced. Plus he's just a darn nice guy. Throw in some camping behind Ebenezer's and some trippin' through New England and we've got the making of a great late August getaway from the mid-Atlantic dog days. Perhaps this was just the topic that I needed to break my dearth of post-Philly Beer Week writings. Now I'm hungry (and thirsty)...how about you?