Sierra Beer Dinner @ Little Pub

Sierra Beer Dinner @ Little Pub, originally uploaded by mitchancona.

Here's a quick re-cap of the wonderful Sierra Nevada beer dinner that the Little Pub hosted the other night.
The food was great and the beer pairings were perfect (more on that in a moment).
Beer dinners are mostly about the food and beer but they're also about the brewery itself. I thought I had a good idea what Sierra Nevada was all about. High quality micro brews that reflect proper styles and impeccable quality. What I didn't realize, and you should know, is how environmentally responsible the brewery is. They call it their "Hops Harmony" philosophy. Here are a few examples of Sierra Nevada's commitment to our environment.
They have the second largest privately owned array of solar panels. Hydrogen fuel cells that in tandem with the solar to produce 90% of the energy needed to run the entire brewery. Water treatment that creates a biogas that they use to run their boiler system. CO2 recovery system that captures the CO2 produced in the brewing process for reuse in other aspects of that same process. Heat exchangers that recover and recycle energy. I could go on and on mentioning their material recycling (99.5% of their solid waster is diverted from landfills), organic recycling, hybrid diesel, etc.etc. When you drink one of Sierra's many great brews, not only can you enjoy a top notch micro brew, you can also feel good that that production of that beer had little or no negative impact on the environment.
Now more about the food and beer....
The night started with a chicken tortilla soup paired with Summerfest. The light lager mellowed the slight spice from the soup. Next came the iceberg wedge coupled with Ovila Dubble (pictured above). The wedge had a drizzle of balsamic that played harmoniously with the malt in the dubble. Veggie spring rolls with a spicy dipping sauce arrived with the Torpedo IPA. The higher hops in the IPA played nicely with the dipping sauce. Sierra's flagship Pale Ale was severed with the main course of fish and chips. The crisp. flavorful fish was the star of the show here with the pale ale playing a supporting role. Finally came the high octane Brewer's Reserve Grand Cru which was severed with an ultra decadent bread pudding with a whiskey sauce. Both were stellar.
It was a great night all around, great food, great beer, great people. Thanks Little Pub!