Hop & Vine Pub, Tasting Series - North Burnaby

I was fortunate enough to be invited by the Kooner Hospitality Group to

try out their Tasting Series at the Hop and Vine pub.

I have been living pretty close by to this pub for the last 6 months and have

only been once, so this was a great excuse to head over a second time.

I was very excited to try out some new beers and have some great food.

I was initially worried that I would not like some of the dishes, but after

looking over the menu I knew this would be a good meal. We got 5 10 ounce pours of

 beers with each course, making me a little nervous about finishing them all :P

Course 1

Alameda Klickitat Pale Ale

Deconstructed Greek Salad: Tomatoes,Cucumbers, 

Olives, Green Peppers & Feta Dressing

I don't understand the point of deconstructing a salad, I mean you're going to eat it all together anyway but hey, this was good and I can't complain. The Beer was quite bitter so it paired great with the salad because when you took a bite of salad it really cut the bitterness very well.

Course 2

Alameda El Torero IPA

Red Thai Curry Prawns & Crab Wellington

I absolutely loved the prawn in this dish, mixed with the puff pastry the texture and taste was great. I did not get much of a crab taste in this dish but I was more than happy with the prawns The beer was an IPA and I expected it to be stronger than the first one, but I found it to have a smoother taste.

In terms of how it paired with the beer I wasn't sure what to look for, regardless of that I enjoyed it.

Course 3

Alameda Yellow Wolf IPA

Seared Vension & Sweet Potato Cake

with Venison Pan Sauce

I was really excited for the dish because I have never had venison before, I also love sweet potato so I could not wait for this one to come out. I would have gladly had two more of these because I thought it was great. I like the think that the pairing had something to do with the beer having Wolf in the name and the food included deer..I don't actually know if wolf's eat deer but for the purpose of this meal I thought so.

Course 4

Alameda Bad Bunny Imperial Cream Ale

Chorizo & Sockeye Salmon Rice Bowl

with Baby Corn, Water Chestnuts &

Pea Shoots

My girlfriend got a little jealous because my bowl was loaded up pretty well with

Chorizo. I do enjoy salmon and chorizo but together I wasn't a huge fan of the two flavors. This

was just a personal preference. The beer pairing had a very unique flavour and I really enjoyed it, I really don't know how to describe the beer, hoppy I think? Very unique though.

Course 5

Alameda Black Bear Stout XXMini Chocolate Cake: Chocolate Double Cream 

Icing & White Chocolate Shavings

To finish things off was some dessert. Now If you know me, you know I am a savoury guy and dessert to me would involve some nice cheeses or something. Most normal people would love this dessert but me not being a sweet kind of guy wasn't crazy about it..yes I know I am a little abnormal. The Stout was great, I actually finished mine and the last half of my girlfriends, it was a nice change from some of the more bitter ones prior.

So that was my experience at the Hop and Vine Pub. I love the idea of pairing different foods and drinks

and noticed they also do a Wine Makers dinner which seems like something I would
like to check out. I enjoyed the atmosphere and didn't feel rushed to finish my beer. It is nice to have a chance to try out some food and beer that you normally wouldn't think to order.