Wauk Wednesday: Bernie's Tap Room Beer Dinner #4

Last month, I attended another beer dinner at Bernie's that features 3 Floyd's Brewery. I had tried a few of these prior to dinner, but never paired with food. I usually sipped them at The Nice Ash while enjoying a Hookah and a band with friends.

But Brooke worked her magic again and produced a fabulous five-course dinner for everyone. I contacted Brooke and picked her brain about these wonderful meals because if you haven't been able to tell by this , this and this and the post you are about to read, she is a culinary wizard and I'm so happy she made her home in the Waukesha area and found Bernie's. More on her tomorrow on the blog :)


Course 1 - French Onion Crostini paired with Robert the Bruce Scottish Ale (7.0% ABV). The gruyere cheese was perfectly creamy and melty and the onions were carmelized to bring out their sweetness. The beer is a malt-lovers delight!

Course 2 - Soba Noodle Salad paired with Gumballhead American Wheat Ale (5.6% ABV). I don't know why, but I was expecting this to be warm and having it be chilled was a new taste to me. It tasted like a cold peanut satay dish - not bad, just different. I love asian peanut dishes and cold noodles was new to me :)  Not to mention the Gumballhead is one of my friends' and my favorite beers and it paired nicely with this salad. 

Course 3 - Pepper Crusted Flank Steak paired with Pride & Joy (5.0% ABV). My friends and I have an inside joke about flank steak and how heavenly my former boss' wife cooked it for a get-together so I knew I would love this entree. The steak was perfectly cooked and melted in my mouth. The vinaigrette was like a ceasar dressing with truffle oil, thus inducing a mouth-wateringly amazing flavor for my buds :) The Pride and Joy was one of 3 Floyd's I had never had before and it was refreshing with the steak. 

Course 4 - Thai Chili Fire Braised Ribs paired with Alpha King American Pale Ale (6.66% ABV). I was a little worried with the words Thai Chili as my buds aren't fans of spicy things, but these were perfectly seasoned and came almost right off the bone. Ribs over rice was new to me, but brought the meal into the Asian cuisine to me. 

Course 5 - Strawberry marscapone tart paired with Behemoth Sweet Barley Wine (10.5% ABV!). The tart was crunchy with a light layer of creamy marscapone and beautiful strawberries. Nice and refreshing at the end of the meal. The dessert pulled out the sweet notes of  caramel in the barley wine and again a great pairing.

These beer dinners have really taken off for Bernie's Tap Room and if you want to stay in the loop on all things happening at Bernie's - like specialty beer tastings, dinners and new menu items, send an email to berniestaproom @ att (dot) net to get on the list. 

I'll have my brain-pick with Brooke from Bernie's on the blog tomorrow and Waukesha has a huge weekend coming up for downtown - Cancer Walk, Farmer's Market, Art Crawl and more. Come to downtown, take a stroll, enjoy a bite or a drink and check out all that downtown has to offer.