Something is brewing in Pittsburgh, and it’s not another winter storm. In fact, it’s still pretty cold, but much more pleasant and rather tasty. Craft beer has been taking over the city, what seems to be by the can, bottle, and/or draft. Many new small business breweries have been opening here and all around us in Steel City. But there’s one restaurant who knows just how to use this uprise to their advantage. Just this past week, Social at Bakery Square held their second “beer dinner,” featuring a local Monroeville craft beer company, Rivertowne Brewing.
The Rivertowne Brewery is mostly known for their tasty craft varieties of IPAs, Lagers, and Ales as well as their brew mascot, “Wylie the Fish.” The original Rivertowne was repurchased in 2002 by a soon to be restaurateur and his family. It all started with an old watering hole, but grew to be the popular, well known, and well tasting brewery we see today. Because of its wonderful reputation and Social’s bar manager, Chris Kuhn, to keep seasonal crafts on tap or in a can, Social thought that they could still go a step farther.
Deciding to move away from the traditional “wine dinners,” Josh Altimus, head chef at Social, has been taking his skills to the next level. The dinners usually take place every 2 months and are getting more and more successful with every 4 course meal. When I asked Josh why he decided to start doing this instead of his more well-known wine dinners that he’s done for the past 12 years he said,
“This is more of a bar, beer atmosphere and I want to branch out and I know working with Chris, I can branch out because he’s very knowledgeable about beer.”
The art of making a beer dinner is harder than you may think. Whether it has hops, a smooth or thick texture, what flavor it has, all adds into what you need to do while cooking it with. There is so much to consider when making that dish pairs perfectly with a cold beer. Most people would think pizza, chips, bar food, the simple stuff that just happens to always be with beer. I used to think so myself, but the dishes Josh has been creating are something that’ll make your mouth water, and your eyes open to a whole new beer/food experience.
In the previous dinner with Rivertowne, Josh introduced four new courses. First, to be paired with the Rivertowne Scottish Ale was a potatoe chive cake topped with an egg poached in the Scottish Ale, a slice of black pepper pork belly with grilled tomato hollandaise sauce. For the second course, the guests were served Rivertowne’s Grateful White. With this beer a long dish revealed blood orange and roasted beet ravioli, beer blanched arugula, candied walnuts, and topped with a toasted coriander vinaigrette. Hmmm, mmm, tasty! For the third course Josh whipped up an amazing pomegranate braised short rib on top of a celery root and goat cheese puree, finished with gravy and micro greens. What a plate, and to be drank with Rivertowne’s Babbling Blonde. For the final course the drink of choice was Rivertowne’s pineapple beer, the Hala Kahiki. For this fruity drink, Josh sent out a yellow rum sponge cake, topped with pinnapple gelee, brandied cherries and brown sugar caramel and stewed baby pineapple. Delicious. If this doesn’t have you drooling, I don’t know what would. The dinner was indeed a huge enjoyment and Social plans on having many more! Make sure to grab a seat!
