Well thought I'd better let everyone know that these evenings are worth going to. Lots of fun and great beer to be had.
Night started wonderfully upon realisation I was to be seated TWO seats away from Chuck Hahn (also with him, one of his younger brewers, and the Newcastle Tooheys Sales rep) himself and next to Tony Troughear (Beer reviewer for The Newcastle Hearld and founder of the 'Exotic Beer Club').
A few 'interesting' conversations were had with Tony who seems to be a good bloke.
The night wasn't as educational as I would have hoped (he kept it fairly basic) but the company around me easily made up for that.
And as far as a 'dinner' out goes, you'd be hard pressed to go past it. Great value, great food, AND GREAT BEER!
After the 'pre-dinner drinks' we were served our 1st course, oysters alongside the JS Golden Ale. This seemed to be close to the best 'pairing' of the night (and thats coming from a non-oyster-eating person). Second was Hahn Premuim with a Salmon dish, followed by JS Pilsener with some Tandorri chicken, JS Amber with Beef Wellington (yummy!), JS IPA with a spicy vege wrap thing before the infamous JS Porter with a great chocolatey desert. The final treat for the evening was this winter's Vintage of the JS Strong Ale.
Then all that was to be left was to get drunk (or drunker....) and get involved in some conversation with some other beer lovers.
Overall, I'd have to rate the evening as great, even better than I thought it woould be. Excellent value (which I was dubious if it would be) in the end (especially when you win the lucky door prize
!!!!!).
As much beer as you wanted (not just a sample glass or two like I'd expected), good food (bit too gourmet for my liking but still tasty), and a free silver JS bottle opener to each person!
Just a bit annoying when you loose track of time and miss all the buses home
For anyone that is interested, James Squire hops;
Golden Ale - Aamilro (spelling?)
Pilsener - Sazz
IPA - Fuggles
Amber - Williamette
