Hopewell Brewing Monday Dinner with Wood

 

 I have been to Hopewell Brewing's Monday Night Dinner several times.  The brewery invites friends who are chefs at pretty good restaurants around town to prepare a private dinner at the brewery where the brewery will provide the beer.  It's like the beer dinners that are done at many restaurants except in this case, it is the brewery that is the host and the restaurant that is the guest.  In this case, the brewery invited Wood to do dinner there.  I have been to Wood for brunch and for a benefit dinner and I have had bites of their food at other benefits, but I have never been for dinner.  With the tastes I have had of their food, I do know that it's very good, and they are on my list for dinner sometime.  As was typical we started out with First Lager, their first beer (surprisingly).  I have mentioned in the past that the pub space is kind of plain, a friend actually used the word sterile, though I don't know if I would go that far.  There is a window into the brewing area in the back of the pub looking at three large vessels, one with googly eyes.

In past dinners, the beers were paired with the courses.  For this dinner, things were a little looser.  We were given four beer tickets to choose our own beers and to make our own pairings, and while many restaurants served four course meals (family style), the guys from Wood served more than 4 items.  Some, it could be argued, could be paired together to make a single course, but where exactly one course ended and the next would then begin is kind of unclear.We started out with Foie Gras Biscuits served with Honey Butter and Braised Collard Greens with Spanish Morcilla (Blood) Sausage.  The muffins were very good, though where the foie gras may have been used is unclear.  my only thought is that because it has a very high fat content, it at least partially substituted for the butter that would normally be used.  They were light and fluffy and tasted good with the honey butter.  As far as the collard greens are concerned, I am generally not a fan of greens of that type because, to me, the leaves are too stiff and they frequently have a strong flavor.  With the Morcilla Sausage, though, the fat tenderized the greens and provided some very nice flavor.  My first beer with dinner was the Side Salad Grisette (a low alcohol Belgian style, similar to a saison, with a mildly tart and funky flavor) which was very good and went well with the greens.

Our next set of courses, we were served Hoppin' John with Sausage, Marinated Fingerling Potatoes, and I had a Take Care Biere de Miel.  Hoppin' John is a Low Country Southern dish featuring Black Eyed Peas and Rice.  Wood is generally, a French inflected restaurant, though this dinner seemed largely Southern, I'm not sure how that decision was made, but it was good.  I'm not sure what the sausage was but it was tender and peppery and the Hoppin' John was tender and flavorful.  The potatoes were perfectly tender and seemed to be prepared with a lot of greens which enhanced the flavor.  I had had Take Care before and knew that I liked it.  A biere de miel is another Belgian style similar to a saison, but using honey.  It isn't exceptionally sweet, but has a nice head and a good malty character.

Our main course was pork, specifically, a Braised Pork Saddle taken from a whole pig that was carved just before service.  It was incredibly tender, sweet, and very flavorful.  There was also a Carolina Mustard Style Barbecue Sauce that was served on the side, but the pork was so good, that I never got around to trying it with the barbecue sauce or even the barbecue sauce on it's own, for that matter.

 After the pork, we arrived at dessert and as with many desserts, it was paired with a dark beer by the brewery.  We were served Hopewell Deluxe, an Imperial Coffee Stout made with Metric Coffee and served out of bombers as opposed to the other beers that were on tap.  It was very full bodied and had a great coffee flavor and it did go well with the Snickerdoodle Cookies and the Apple Crisp that we were served for dessert.  The cookies were soft and had the slightest tart flavor, and the Apple Crisp was fried apples topped with biscuit dough.  It was good, but I prefer my crisps with a granola topping.  After finishing dessert, I had only used two beer tickets of the four that I was given so I decided to finish with a fruity beer.  Ya Filthy Animal is a Tart Red Ale brewed with Spices, Black Currants, and Plums modeled after the mulled wines that are served in the winter time.  It was a very good finish to a very good dinner.  I enjoyed myself,the food, and the beer.  I will most certainly return at least for a beer to Hopewell, and Wood will move up on my places to go for dinner.