Goose Island Brewed for Food

Goose Island and Time Out Chicago have paired up this summer to offer a series of dinners featuring intricate food paired with their collection of vintage ales. Every other week they're hosting a dinner at a different restaurant, and this Tuesday we had a chance to go to Three Aces for a fantastic dining experience.

Our friends Angela and Pedro found the website to buy tickets, even though it's supposed to be by invite only. But we're all total foodies and beer fanatics, so we fit in perfectly with the small group that had gathered. There were about 30 people at the dinner, which was small enough to allow the chefs and a Goose Island brewer to talk to us between each course. We loved hearing their insights into each pairing, and I was so pleased with the quality of food that was presented over the course of the evening.

I could write a few wordy paragraphs about the delicious food, but I'll try to spare you. In short, we started with a fresh tasting spring pea soup, and then had light and flavorful ricotta gnocchi. Next was a simple arugula salad with a nice slice of aged soft goat cheese. The fourth course was farrow with house cured bacon, and the meal was topped off with a hazelnut mousse. Each beer paired well with the food, although my favorite was probably the Fleur or Sophie. Goose Island's vintage brews are complex and flavorful, and represent strong examples of some of my favorite European style beers.

Hearing the chefs and brewer talk about the meal was really interesting, and I loved seeing how well planned the collaboration was.

It was a great night out, and we're looking forward to catching another one of these dinners before the end of summer! We all agreed it would be interesting to see how another chef created a different menu for the same collection of brews. Thanks Goose Island and Time Out! And if you live in Chicago, check out Three Aces. They made special food for our dinner, but their regular menu looks really tasty and very affordable.

** I wish I could take pictures that looked this nice, but that is not the case. These pictures were all taken by a photographer who was helping to run the event, and I took them off the Goose Island Facebook page. You should be a fan, too, so you see what other fun events are coming up!**