Located in Des Moines, WA, The Scotch and Vine is a place I, personally, have been to many times for happy hour with friends. It was during one of these after-work soirees that my sister-in-law, Rachel, and I came up with the idea of having one of our foodie group dinners there. We brought it up to Chef Adam Spears, who suggested we might like to do something a little different from our regular dinners and have a wine pairing. Most of us in the group like wine, but a lot of places do that. I said "What about a beer pairing?" and off we ran with that idea. The Scotch and Vine has a close relationship with Big Al Brewing of White Center, WA (which happens to be one of my favorite local breweries), so they were the natural choice to bring in on the project. Adam contacted Micah Sims (co-owner of Big Al) and they worked their magic. What we ended up with was so much more than any of us expected.
We even had our very own menus!
Chris working the bar.
Micah, the beer god (center)
The Scotch and Vine is not a large place by any means, but they do have a private room upstairs, complete with it's own bar and bathroom (yes, BATHroom... there's a tub in it!). It is warm and intimate and seated the 15 of us perfectly. After a bit of pre-dinner drinks and getting settled in, the fun began.
Micah started by giving us a little history of Big Al Brewery and beer making in general, then the salads and first round of beers were served.
Fresh blood orange wedge salad with Beecher's cheese and blood orange vinaigrette.
Big Al Blonde
At this point, I would like to be able to describe all the nuances of how the citrus-y notes of the beer were brought out by the wedges of fresh blood orange and heavenly salad dressing, but I was too occupied with the flavor explosions going on in my face.
The next course was shrimp scampi, but this was unlike any scampi that I have ever had before. Served in a super garlicy creamy sauce with crostini, our only complaint was there should have been one or two more pieces of crostini to get every last drop of that sauce with. It... was... amazing. The beer with this course was my favorite beer they make, Big Hoppa IPA. For some inexplicable reason, I didn't get a photos of that one (read - I was too busy drinking it).
Shrimp Scampi with Crostini
The main course was a brined, grilled, double-cut Duroc pork chop with Andouille sausage barbecue sauce, served with roasted cauliflower and the best mashed potatoes I've ever had in my life. The pork was tender, juicy, and perfectly cooked. We all had a moment of silence while we stuffed our faces.
Pork chop of the heavens.
Big Al Irish Red.
I'm not usually a huge fan of reds, but this one certainly changed my feelings about them. I would drink this beer any day (well, any day Big Hoppa wasn't available... )
Micah gets enthusiastic about his product!
Last but far from least was dessert. House made chocolate truffles with three different treatments, served with Big Al's smoked porter. Most people don't think about having a beer with dessert, but these all went together like magic.
Little bites of chocolate insanity.
Big Al Smoked Porter
Again, I'm not a big porter fan, but this beer was the perfect match for the rich, decadent chocolates.
By this point we were getting a little goofy...
Chef Adam came upstairs with each course to announce what we were about to eat and answer any questions we may have had.
Chef Adam. Master of everything food.
Adam is one of the most skilled chefs I have ever had the pleasure of meeting. His execution of everything I have ever eaten at The Scotch and Vine is impeccable. I simply cannot say enough good things about his talent.
When it was all said and done, we all left with the knowledge that we had just experienced something truly special and utterly spectacular. Hopefully, someday we will be able to have another outing to The Scotch and Vine that comes close to this one.
~Vicki~
