PW Pizza 4 Hands Beer Dinner 2021

The second PW Pizza beer dinner this month also featured another local brewery, and 4 Hands is one of Patience's favorites. There were no surprises as far as the beer was concerned, but one of our favorite pizzas is the Thanksgiving pizza that they serve every year in November.

4 Hands Lineup

We started off with the Ripple White Ale, which is probably my favorite beer by 4 Hands. Perfect patio pounder in the summer, and it was paired with a fall salad. With the apples, cranberries, and goat cheese, I was happy there were some leftovers the next day.

Fall Salad

The famous City Wide beer is too hoppy for me since it's an APA, but this is an everyday beer for Pai, This stood up with to the Popeye and Olive Oil Pizza. I'm guessing it was named that for the spinach? 

The Thanksgiving Pizza always has turkey, mashed potatoes, and cranberries ON THE PIZZA, smothered in a brown gravy. It's actually quite delicious and this is probably our second favorite pizza of the year next to the prime rib pizza last month. With all those flavors mixed together, this was paired with the Incarnation IPA, which comes in at a whopping 7.0% ABV.

Popeye and Olive Oil Pizza (left) and Thanksgiving Feast Pizza (right)

Dessert wasn't chocolate this time, but the Chocolate Milk Stout, Pai's favorite beer by them unless you count the Peanut Butter version, did pair well with the Raspberry Torte.

Raspberry Torte

4 Hands Beer Dinner Menu

Resources:

PW Pizza = https://pwpizza.com/

4 Hands Brewery = https://4handsbrewery.com/

Photos by Patience Scanlon

PW Pizza 4 Hands Beer Dinner 2017

We were really looking forward to the 4 Hands beer dinner since it's a favorite! Unfortunately, they did not serve Patience's all-time favorite beer, Chocolate Milk Stout. Instead, they did pour their (newer) beers that probably went the best with pizza.

The first course was actually my favorite... it's potato salad...deconstructed. Almost too pretty to eat! This was paired with the newest beer, City Wide Pils. This just screams summer time!

Potato Salad - Deconstructed

As someone who loves Toasted Ravs, this didn't quite stand up to how I thought it would taste. I think this needed some marinara dipping sauce! Paired with a City Wide Pale Ale, this one screamed St. Louis. hehehe

Toasted Ravioli Pizza

The Monte Cristo Pizza, on my favorite Honey Wheat Crust, was the winner as it was piled high with gruyere, ham, turkey, and a cinnamon Raspberry Jalapeno Sauce to give it a sweet finish. The Incarnation IPA stood up to the meats, but you know I prefer to let the pizza shine here. No screaming necessary.

Monte Cristo Pizza

The delicious Cast Iron Oatmeal Brown is great for dessert and it was well paired with donut holes with Goshen coffee for dipping.

Goshen Coffee & Donut Holes

Menu

Resources:

PW Pizza = http://pwpizza.com/

4 Hands Brewery = http://4handsbrewery.com/

Photos by Patience Scanlon

Cheese and Beer Pairings - 4 Hands

Thanks to 4 Hands' popularity (or perhaps it was the chance to hang out with me?), I was able to get quite a few friends out to this month's Cheese and Beer Pairing class.

Here are the cheeses for this month:

August Cheeses

Even better, I had my friend, Alisha, model the expert position for tasting cheese with beer at the same time!

Alisha eating cheese with a cheesy grin!

Now doesn't that make you want to sign up and join in on the fun?

Anyway, on to the tastings...

We were welcomed with 4 Hands' lightest beer, Single Speed, which also happens to be my favorite. Most of the beers from there got more and more hoppier as the night went on. Luckily, there were some very full flavored cheese to stand up to all the hops!

Send Help is an American blonde ale and any hops were quickly dismissed by the Ludwig Farmstead Creamery Kickapoo, which was more like a cheddar. One of the best cheeses of the night, and it was even better with the pear paste!

We quickly went to a heavier beer with the Cast Iron Oatmeal Brown. Now I know that this beer is low in alcohol and IBUs, but I really prefer this beer in winter. It was paired with a very heavy Marcoot Creamery Smoked Gouda, which totally coated my mouth with coffee and chocolate flavors. I think it even overwhelmed the beer! Putting it together with the caramelized pecans could not tame this cheese.

A more gentler pairing was the Centennial Red, the only local craft "red" that I've been able to find in St. Louis, with the Marcoot Creamery Cave Aged Gouda. A little bit of hops and a slightly aged cheese...a great combination.You certainly need an aged cheese to calm those hops down, but the cheese was even better with the fig spread. I dipped every bite of cheese in it!

Even though the IPA, Divided Sky, was not my most favorite beer, it definitely was perfectly paired with the Milton Creamery Prairie Breeze. This is one of my all time favorite "in the area" cheeses (actually from Milton, Iowa) since it is full of flavor like an aged cheddar. This cheese was able to stand up to the IPA and was paired with a plum paste. Oh my!

Unfortunately, the last cheese, Heartland Creamery Brimstone, was a bit too spicy for me, and I think it overpowered the hops in the Contact High. I feel like the citrus hops need to shine on their own more. But it worked out because we were all so full from the other cheeses already!

Accompaniments

Resources:

4 Hands = http://4handsbrewery.com/

Dierbergs School of Cooking = http://www.dierbergs.com/School

4 Hands Brewery

My beer-lovin’ friends used 4 Hands Brewery as a pre-Cardinal game meetup and although I thought it was a little far from the stadium, I respect their passion for local breweries. It turned out to be a good spot to go to because while it was busy, it wasn’t too crowded and we easily were able to get a table. Unfortunately, there was only one bartender so everyone did have to be a little patient getting a chance to order.

Since I wasn’t familiar with their beers at all, I selected the tasting sampler, which consisted of ten different sampler glasses, requiring two trays! Although this was a pricy option, I found that it was the best way to just try all their beers at once, especially for my first time. It helps if you’re with a group so that everyone can sample as well because there was plenty to go around.

Unfortunately, I prefer my beers sweet and light like my wines so I only had a couple favorites: The Single Speed Session, better known as American blonde ale, as well as the Reprise Centennial Red, which is an American red ale style. The IPAs and oatmeal stout were all too bitter for me but would please most microbrew beer lovers.

When I went to turn in my trays, the bartender was kind enough to ask me for my favorite and gave me a full pint free of charge! Maybe it helped that I tipped him well?

The highlight for me, though, was the 5th Wheel menu, created by Dave Bailey. There was no way I would be able to try all those beers in the heat without a little food in my stomach. I picked out a turkey sandwich, which had plenty of meat and came on a thick roll with a sweet sauce. My friend’s French dip was also a hearty size but they were just the right amount of food. The charcuterie plate looked like a good starter for two to share since it included a container of chicken liver (a little too rich), cheese, and summer sausage.

My pickle (a must with any sandwich) and sweet cole slaw on the side were perfect as well. My turkey was a little salty but the rich foods paired well with the strong flavors of the beers.

Oh, and we were able to get a golf cart shuttle ride to and from the game as well for tips!

Resources:

4 Hands Brewery: http://4handsbrewery.com/