Tuesday, April 24, 2018

PW Pizza Firestone Walker Beer Dinner

I have to admit, I didn't know anything about Firestone Walker Brewing Company when we showed up for the March PW Pizza beer dinner. I actually thought they made whiskey. Whoops! Turns out they make some really easy-to-drink beers!

What's funny is that they are located in wine country of all places - Paso Robles!

At first I was a little nervous when I saw all the IPAs and IBUs on the menu for the night, but I felt better after drinking the first beer. The Pivo Hoppy Pils is light with only a little bit of hop on the end, and it paired well with the creamy Shrimp & Corn Chowder soup. I was thinking it might be the best pairing and I hadn't even gotten to the pizza courses yet!

Shrimp & Corn Chowder
I don't normally show the beer since it's usually served in big pitchers, but this time they brought cans! Their artwork is pretty cool and Patience took pictures of them all. Each of the owners (and brothers-in-law) is represented by the animals on the Pivo Hoppy Pils - Lion for the Englishman, and the "Cal" Bear for the American!

Lion
Bear
There were some interesting pizzas this month as well. A gyro pizza was the best with chunks of lamb and tzatziki sauce, which was paired with the Luponic Distortion. (That sounds like a band name!) This beer was only a little hoppy, but a very complex finish to help cut through all the pizza flavors.

Gryo Pizza

Luponic Distortion
The second pizza was actually vegetarian, a Mediterranean Garden Pizza, but the hummus, which acted as the sauce of the pizza, was a little too spicy for me. The Union Jack IPA just added to the spice too.

Mediterranean Garden Pizza
Union Jack IPA
Luckily, there was a "milk" stout to finish off the night to help fend off all the heat in the last pairing. The Nitro Merlin milk stout doesn't have a widget inside, so instead you turn it upside down, right side up, break the seal, and pour real fast. (You don't have to give up space in the can for the widget!)

Nitro Merlin
This paired perfectly with the chocolate and ice "Merlin's Magic Hat" dessert. I even ate the cone since it was covered in chocolate! hehe

Merlin's Magic Hat
Merlin is the nickname given to the head brewer, and I think it's cool he got his own can as well.

If you got to design your own beer, what would YOU call it?

Resources:

Firestone Walker Brewing Company = https://www.firestonebeer.com/

PW Pizza = https://pwpizza.com/

Photos by Patience Scanlon