1st Annual Great Canadian Beer Festival Collaboration Dinner

The 18th Annual Great Canadian Beer Festival was launched Thursday Sept. 9, with a six-course beer pairing dinner at Spinnakers. The iconic brew pub was the perfect setting for the dinner, as it has been a cornerstone of the BC craft beer industry for more than a quarter century. Billed as the “first annual” event, the inaugural collaboration matched three Spinnakers beers and three Pike Brewing beers with six courses created by chef Ali Ryan and her staff.

The hosts were the first to bat with three lighter-bodied brews—their Emily Summer Ale, Roundhouse Red and Hefeweizen—well matched with a white chocolate-green tea ruffle, bacon and leek-stuffed Cornish pasty and mixed greens salad, respectively. The esteemed guests, Pike Brewing (whose owners, Roseanne and Charles Finkel, were in attendance), brought the big guns with their IPA, XXXXX Stout and Double Ale matched with braised pork belly, seared sablefish and roasted peaches with basil ice cream dessert. A surprise seventh beer, fresh off the bottling line, called Auld Acquaintance was served at the end and offered a refreshing, spicy palate cleanser that both closed out an amazing evening of food and beer and also kicked off what’s sure to be an exciting festival.

For more information on the Great Canadian Beer Festival, click here.