Almost every week, I co-host the Focus on the Beer radio show with Ryan Hannigan and Josh Howard on KCMJ. This week we talked with my former boss, Carrie Simison of the Independent, about Pints & Plates. It’s a multi-day celebration of craft beer and downtown dining from May 16 to 20.
Sixteen restaurants and 13 breweries are combining their creative genius, with the latter creating beers exclusive to that pairing. Last year, Odyssey Gastropub and Smiling Toad Brewery took home the People’s Choice award for a pairing of pork-cheek phở and a watercress-pineapple wheat beer. This year’s event will also include a People’s Choice award; online voting begins Monday.
Here are this year’s participants:
| Restaurant | Brewer | Pairing Details |
| Bingo Burger | Fieldhouse Brewing | Beer: Double IPA. Food: Bingo Burger, Springside Pueblo Chili Jack, Breckenridge Bourbon-Glazed Bacon, Pueblo Chili/Horseradish Aioli. |
| Old Chicago | Bristol Brewing | Beer: Special Pineapple Bristol Wit. Food: Mac and cheese bites appetizer. |
| Red Gravy | Red Leg Brewing | Beer: Habanero and mango saison. Food: Seared Scallops with citrus shaved fennel and balsamic brown butter sauce. |
| NOSH | The Occasional Brew | Beer: Thai Saison. Food: Chinese five spice chicken with coconut cashew cream and sticky rice. $18 |
| Wild Goose | Pikes Peak Brewing | Beer: Liechtensteiner – Sour Smoked Wheat, $5. Food: Smoked Swiss cheese and turkey with whole green chilies and a touch of chipotle mayo grilled and melted into toasty perfection on fresh baked wheat levain sourdough, $12. Also, Smoked Swiss cheese and turkey with whole green chilies and caramelized onions on a flour or whole wheat tortilla grilled and melted to perfection, $12. |
| Jack Quinn’s | Fieldhouse Brewing | Beer: Lemon Kölsch. Food: Chicken Schnitzel with lemon sauce served with mashed potatoes and peas with bacon and butter. |
| Triple S | Triple S Brewing | Beer: Baltic Brown Ale. Food: Baltic Brown ale brined pork flatirons, Triple S Salad with Baltic Brown glazed baby carrots. Baltic brown Truffle for desert. |
| Odyssey Gastropub | Red Leg Brewing | Beer: Apricot ESB. Food: A pan roasted, Arline Chicken breast with an apricot Gastrique, served over artichoke puree, fava bean and fiddle head ragout topped with gaufrette potatoes. The pairing will be $18. A la Carte will be $5 for the beer and $15 for the entrée. |
| The Ritz | JAKs Brewing | Beer: English Brown Ale. Food: Crab Cake appetizer with Whole Grain mustard “Beer-Blanc” sauce and local mixed green salad. Also – the beer will be used to create the base of a Lamb Shepard’s Pie with Cheddar Mash and Brown Ale Reduction. |
| MacKenzie’s Chophouse | Nano 108 | Beer: Special Hefeweizen. Food, your choice of any or all: Yuzu Koshu cured Hamachi with apple and fried ginger salad appetizer, $14; Jumbo Shrimp, Scallop, and Lobster Newberg main entree, $24; Funnel cake battered and fried banana, ice cream, peanut butter caramel sauce, pineapple topping dessert, $12. PLUS, beer cocktails like the Nano 108 Barbados Punch! |
| Rasta Pasta | Iron Bird Brewing | Beer: Caribbean Lager. Food:Ricotta cheese ravioli, jerk chicken and a curry-pineapple alfredo sauce. |
| Rabbit Hole | Great Storm Brewing | Beer: Pink Peppercorn and Pineapple Pale Ale. Food: Savory pineapple upside down cake with chicken marinated in the beer. |
| The Famous | Local Relic | Beer: Lemon Rosemary Saison. Food: Grilled Day Boat Sea Scallops, lemon beurre blanc, candied lemon and rosemary foam. |
| La’au’s | The Occasional Brew | Beer: The Occasional Brew Hefeweizen. Food: Huli Huli Chicken Tacos, Chips & Salsa. $12 |
| Mediterranean Cafe | Smiling Toad Brewery | Beer: Orange Blossom & Coriander IPA. Food: Turkish Baharat Lamb Chop or Chicken (lamb/chicken may vary by day, TBD) with rice, beet salad, tahine, hummus, tabouleh and grilled pita. NOTE:Mediterranean Cafe is closed Mondays, but will continue Pints and Plates to Saturday, May 21. |
| The Warehouse | Storybook Brewing | Beer: Puck’s Midsummer Passion Ale. Food: Korean BBQ grass fed beef back rib with green apple and radish slaw. |
