Belga Café Beer Dinner: Het Anker Brewery
Last week, we were excited to finally try Belga Café’s monthly beer dinner. While I used to be somewhat of a regular, I haven’t been to Belga since they stopped doing the 1/2 priced mussel pot & no corkage fee combo that was clearly too good to be true. However I’ve been wanting to try one of their beer dinners for sometime. When I saw that July’s dinner would be featuring authentic Belgian brews from Het Anker, a brewery dating back to the 15th century, I decided it was time we pull the trigger. We fruited a pair of fellow neighborhood foodies and made a double date of it.
We were seated at a long table in the back where we raised a glass with our fellow beer tasters and chatted with a couple of regulars about how much the neighborhood has changed since we were born. The tasting started with a Gouden Carolus Hopsinjoor, a Belgian IPA that was delicious, refreshing, and not nearly as hoppy as you’d expect out of an IPA from the good ol’ US of A. From there on out, each course was paired with a selection of Belgian beers mostly of the boozy, malty variety. Clearly, this tasting was right up my alley! At $70 for five courses and seven beers, this was a steal by D.C. standards. We’ll definitely be back!
These little guys were almost too cute to eat! Also almost too small to eat, as each one produced about a pinky tip worth of meat. Amazing beer!
While this course looked to be the simplest, the veggies were deliciously seasoned and all very fresh. Another great beer pairing!
This dish was a favorite all around, although I didn’t care for the beer. We never could agree as to what the black powder was!
More evidence for my “the cuter, the tastier” theory! Julie made the mistake of googling “squab” first, so she could only picture this little guy scurrying around. I just ripped off a leg and dug in. Maybe the first mashed potatoes I’ve ever seen Courtney eat, and the beer pairings were awesome!
I initially found the pepper flavor and lemon flavors to be a bit intense, but clearly it grew on me as I finished every bite! The lemon custard was a top a delicious granola and we deemed this “proper breakfast food.” A refreshing way to finish a lovely meal!
