From the brainchild of Denham D’Silva of Barossa Valley Brewing comes the Great Beer v Wine Dinner. Denham, a former merchant banker come maker of flavoursome craft beers is here to prove that beer also matches with food, like wine, and not only sport.
On the wine side, Russell Burns of Cooper and Burns wines, an avid beer drinker as well, is out to prove that a wine is most important on the palate when it comes to matching with food.
The concept of the event is the chef of the venue, the passionate foody Johnny Holmes of 1860 Treasury chooses the food according lyand then informs Russell and Denham of his choices to choose a fantastic matching with the meal with only one winner.
The entree was a wonderful cold Kingfish matched with a Riesling and an XPL, for myself the Riesling matched too well with the oily elements of the kingfish, a surprise from an avid beer drinker such as myself, which was also the clear winner across the floor.
The mains consisted of Lamb Cutlets matching with a GSM and an IPA, the latter has been created through an AI that sifted through over 500,000 IPA recipes choosing the most palatable recipe thus it being called the ‘AI PA’ Personally, I was a massive fan of the AI PA, however the GSM was a clear winner in this category.
The dessert was a Belgian chocolate and hazelnut tart surprising matched with a cabernet sauvignon (which Russell said was unusual however it worked for this dish) and the Peanut Butter and chocolate stout which was actually created to emulate the taste of the famous American sweet Reeces Peanut Butter. This category surprisingly ended in s dead heat, 13 a piece deeming the night a complete draw for the first time.
The banter between Denham and Russell over the night was the best part of the show, they are also both passionate about each others products and I believe the most important element of this was the dedication of chef Johnny Holmes who was more than happy to share his culinary stories with me. ( insta handle johnny_the_chef_holmes) This event is a perfect start to any night and especially during the glitz and glamour of the fringe.
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