The West Chester Beer Ladies, a social club for women in Chester County, recently had a beer dinner at Liberty Union Bar and Grill with Carol Stoudt from Stoudt’s Brewing Company in Adamstown, PA. Carol is fondly referred to as the matriarch of craft beer as she was the very first woman to found her own microbrewery. Additionally, Jack Sweeney, Sales Manager for the brewery, was in attendance to offer additional insight into the beer and brewing process.
Liberty Union, located in Chester Springs, has a brand new head chef, Josh Wojtowicz. He expertly-paired each course with Stoudt’s beers and met with the Beer Ladies to describe every dish as it was presented. The meal started with brie glazed with honey and pineapple jam served on toasted crostini. This course was paired with Stoudt’s Gold Lager. This particular lager is golden in color; smooth bodied and is brewed in the style of a Munich Helles. The pineapple jam had a bit of heat to it, so the beer really cooled it down and brought out the creaminess of the brie. Interestingly, the strain of yeast used to produce this beer was originally brought over from Germany by Carol and her husband Ed in 1985.
Our second course was fried green tomatoes dressed with bacon, cucumber, and diced tomato with a balsamic vinaigrette relish topped with candied walnuts. This was paired with Scarlet Lady Ale ESB, an authentic English-style Extra Special Bitter which has a reddish/copper color. Carol explained that many drinkers are turned off by the name Extra Special Bitter because they think the beer will taste as described. In fact, this ESB is not bitter at all, coming in pretty low on the IBU (International Bittering Units) scale. It is called an ESB because of the style not necessarily because of the taste. In fact the beer was quite malt forward and not bitter at all. The acidity of the tomatoes and the balsamic vinaigrette helped to balance out the pairing. This particular course was the most surprising to me. I usually am not a fan of whole tomatoes (crazy, I know!), but the green tomato was firm and coated in a tasty breading and fried perfectly. I would love to see this as a permanent addition to the new Liberty Union menu that I hear is coming soon.
Our third course was blackened mako shark with a sweet potato mash and a mix of zucchini and yellow squash. It was paired with Stoudt’s American Pale Ale. This ale is light amber in color with both citrus and floral notes. This beer is Stoudt’s number one seller for the past 10 years and I could see why. It is very refreshing with a nice hoppy taste. The shark was pretty spicy, but the citrus notes of the beer helped to mellow it. Beer Lady Nina Malone commented, “ I don’t usually like hoppy beers, but this one tasted better to me when paired with the blackened mako.” It was the perfect example of how beer and food can complement each other to bring out the best in each.
As if we weren’t completely stuffed, Chef Josh then debuted his chocolate ganache tart. It was beyond decadent and I couldn’t stop myself from finishing every last bite. It was paired with Stoudt’s Fat Dog Stout, which is silky black in color with a prominent roasted malt character and a chocolaty, coffee-like finish. The Fat Dog really accentuated the rich chocolate of the dessert which made it a delicious ending to our dinner.
Carol and Jack shared many anecdotes about beer and the brewery during our dinner and responded to questions from the diners. Some fun stories were shared about how the brewery decides what to name each beer and that the name “Stoudt’s Stout” just didn’t play as well as they thought it would. Carol extended a warm invitation to The Beer Ladies to make the trip to Adamstown and even offered to taste some of the ladies’ homebrews! The brewery offers many fun events throughout the year and also boasts the Black Angus Restaurant and Pub, an antiques mall and the “Wonderful Good Market” that sells cheese and homemade breads.
More information on events and offerings can be found at stoudtsbeer.com. Find Liberty Union for future beer dinners and events at 325 Simpson Dr., in Chester Springs. Follow West Chester Beer Ladies on Facebook by clicking here.
