Church Bar Boston Launches First Beer Dinner with Berkshire Brewing Company | Drink Craft Beer

Church Bar Boston Launches First Beer Dinner with Berkshire Brewing Company

The closing of the Linwood bar in Boston was mourned by many in the beer community. The Linwood offered a fantastic selection of craft beers in a true bar setting where you could just relax or shoot some pool, something that many other beer bars in the area couldn't offer. After the Linwood closed it was reopened as "Church." Let us be the first to tell you that while there have been many changes, there's something very new and very special going on here. We'll start with some honesty, Church is not the beer bar that the Linwood was, the tap list offers a decent selection but they're not trying to be a beer bar, and that's not where they shine.

On January 15th Church launched the first, of what we're told by their beer manager will be an ongoing series of beer dinners. This dinner was done in conjunction with Berkshire Brewing Company out of Deerfield, MA. We were pleasantly surprised to see the Gary Bogoff, CEO and brewer of BBC, in attendance. The dinner began with a nice speech from Gary about the history of brewing technique and a bit about BBC. Our first course began with a pairing of Iced Local Oysters with a Steel Rail mignonette served with a Steel Rail Extra Pale Ale. The pair was perfect providing a nice light hop contrast to the raw oysters. Things seemed to be off to a good start here. We moved on to our second course, a salsify soup with little-neck clams, spicy red pepper and candied lemon served with a Berkshire Ale. The Smooth roastiness and hop profile of the Berkshire Ale proved to be a perfect paring with this rich bisque. The spiciness of the soup combined with the rich crystal malt tones of the beer to create a delicious flavor profile. A succulent slow cooked duck leg with a chocolate infused cherry sauce and a con-fit of baby sweet potato was served to us next with a “Shabadoo” Black and Tan Ale. The duck was exquisite nearly falling of the bone. A perfectly sweet sauce with hints of chocolate roastiness and smooth cherry sweetness complemented the subtle chocolate malt notes in the black and tan exquisitely.

At this point we knew that Church had something special. Many restaurants try beer dinners, but it was already clear to us that this first offering was executed with actual pairings in mind. Our fourth course, a braised beef short rib with barley risotto and smoked winter mushrooms was melt in your mouth delicious. Tender beef was easily cut with only a fork and was served with the BBC Holidale Barely Wine. The short rib had been marinated in the Holidale, so the dish worked with the beer splendidly. The final course came to us as a coffee bean crusted pain perdu with sweet espresso syrup, vanilla ice cream and chicory powder paired with a Coffeehouse Porter. The Coffeehouse Porter has always been a favorite of ours so we knew this would be a winner. A friend at the table described the pain perdu as a grilled cheese with chocolate, he meant that in the best way possible as he proceeded to devour it in a matter of seconds as did many at our table. The porter and the espresso syrup, sweet vanilla ice cream chicory powder played off each other very well, as those flavors tend to.

This beer dinner went beyond most we've been to, as they actually made an effort to pair the beer and food, having them work together instead of just randomly. A lot of establishments will give you beer to drink and some food, and call it a beer dinner. Next step up, they'll give you some beer and food that don't blatantly conflict in your mouth. Church actively worked to pair the beer and food so that each made the other better. While they don't have the #1 beer list in Boston, they don't need it with dinners like this. The food was superb, and the beer went with it great! This is what we like to see in a beer dinner. Events like this prove that beer is more than just the swill you pound during a football game, but that it can be a fine a worthy accompaniment to great food. Well done, Church!

As we wrapped up our fabulous dinner Audrea, the beer manager from Church, came to our table. Audrea had set up the beer dinner so we were glad we got to speak with her. This is when we got some exciting news. We asked if they were looking to set up future dinners to which we got a reply of a quick and emphatic "yes!" That's great news for us and all of you in the greater Boston area. Word is right now the next dinner will be some time in March and will feature Smuttynose Brewing Company. This was Church's first foray into beer dinners and we believe they will only get better from here. We can't wait for their next dinner and we hope to see some of you at the next one!

Check them out at ChurchofBoston.com

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