On Wednesday night, I attended an Italian beer dinner at Escape Montclair that was the first in a series of beer dinners to be held at the popular farm-to-table restaurant.

Chef Bryan Gregg partnered with Amanti Vino for this exclusive dining experience featuring the award-winning beers of Italy’s Birrificio Maeilla, Birrificio Rurale and Retorto Birrificio Artigianale.

While I consider myself somewhat well-versed when it comes to beers, I’d never sampled these fab brews prior to the dinner. The small-batch beers are crafted in Italy using unconventional methods and ingredients….the results – incredible flavors and food-friendliness.

These were the food and beer pairing:

First Course

Marinated fluke, citrus, garlic scapes

Paired with Rurale Scarliga

Second Course

Shellfish, giardiniera, chilies

Paired with Birrificio Maiella

Third Course

Duck “coppa style” puffed barley, broccoli blossoms

Paired with Retorto Morning Glory

Fourth Course

Lamb roast, orange peel, gnocchi

Paired with Maiella Matthias

Dessert Course

Raw cow’s milk “pot cheese” honeycomb, chestnuts cookies

Paired with Rurale Oasi

The tanginess of the marinated garlic scapes was a perfect match to the ultra-fresh fluke and kicked the evening on a very positive note. The shellfish and house-made picked vegetable “salad” was likely my favorite dish of the evening – rich yet balanced beautifully by the zip of the veggies and the bit of heat from the chilies. The duck was cooked properly with the fat rendered, skin crispy and the flesh juicy and tender. The lamb was fork-tender and served with pillowy orange-scented gnocchi. The dessert was the perfect ending to that great meal with ingredients not too sweet – chestnut “cookies/crackers” paired with light-as-a-feather cheese and not cloyingly-sweet honey – a super pairing with the slightly malty beer laced with honey notes. I’ll be reviewing the beers in a future post.

The beers we enjoyed by Birrificio Maeilla, Birrificio Rurale and Retorto Birrificio Artigianale are available for sale at Amanti Vino.

Something new that Escape is also doing is offering discounts to New Jersey Craft Beer Club members – 25% off on Mondays and 10% off any other day (excluding prix fixe dinners).

I’m already looking forward to the next beer dinner at Escape and hope the pairings are as wonderful as the ones we were presented with.

Cheers,

Veronique