I’ve been married to my wonderful wife for 5 years. This year it was her turn to plan our anniversary dinner evening and she did a great job. Not only did she manage to keep me in the dark the entire time up until our arrival, she chose a place and event that she knew I would love. We attended the Brewmaster Dinner at Emmett’s Brewing Co. in Palatine. What a treat. I apologize for not getting pictures of anything, but in light of the atmosphere I felt it would be a bit tacky to be taking pictures of my beers, food and the surroundings. I’m probably wrong, but in any case I’ll do my best to describe the experience with words.

We arrived not too long after 6:30 when the event began. It was in a basement dining room where glass wall on one whole side of the room looked into the actual brewing area. There were about 8 tables set up kind of like a wedding, with no reserved seats. We stood in line to get any beer of our choice from their selection then mingled around until they announced the optional brewery tour was about to begin. Of course we opted in. Beers in hand, we walked through the glass door into the beer area where Mike, the Assistant Brewer gave us a 30 minute tutorial of beer making, and Emmett’s brewing facilities. Nothing really new to me, but it was very informative for some other attendees who I could tell were interested in beer, but did not know very much about it. Amazingly, this was my first brewery tour ever, and it was very interesting to see, smell, and just be in a beer making area. After Mike had done his thing and all questions were answered, it was on to the first course.

1. The Appetizer. Steamed Little Neck Clams in a Helles Broth with Tomato, Chive, and Spicy Sausage. Paired with Munich Light. Not being much of a clam eater, I was slightly reluctant to get excited about this but I was ready to dig in anyway. By this point I had already had two glasses of their ESB and I was ready for a beer change. The pairing was well done. The light, bready flavors and clear hop spice from the Munich Light went perfectly with the spicy sausage. Not to mention Munich Light is a very refreshing beverage. Clear yellow, faint hop aroma (Hallertau) and overall superb drinkability. Nothing in your face. A light, flavorful, craft beer. The Helles broth was delicious to dip the bread in also.

2. The Salad. Barley Risotto Tower with Porcini Mushrooms, Cucumber, Beefsteak Tomato, Fire Roasted Red Pepper and Micro Green Salad with Basil Vinaigrette. Paired with ESB. This was a very interesting dish, the mushrooms mixed with the barley risotto was unique and flavorful. I didn’t care much for the eggplant or cucumbers. The ESB was a nice, fruity ale, lower in alcohol but bursting with flavor. Typical ESB notes, fruity, hoppy, malty, a bit nutty, all mixed together in a smooth package. A beer I could drink lots and lots of and not get tired of it.

3. The Intermezzo. Spiked Watermelon Sorbet. DELICIOUS. Made with Vodka. Sweet, refreshing, boozy. A nice treat.

4. The Entrée. Garlic-Lime Grilled Flank Steak with an Ancho Chile Demi Glace, Cilantro Rice and Nopales (Grilled Cactus) with a Roasted Tomatillo Salsa. Paired with Patriot’s Pride. My favorite dish and most incredible beer of the night. The steak was amazing and the grilled cactus was quite tasty with the tomatillo salsa. The demi glace was perfect to dip everything in. Patriots Pride blew my socks off. I’ve smelled a lot of beers and none compare to the unique, grassy, herby blast of hops I got when I put my nose to it. The brewmaster told us this beer is basically their signature Pale Ale “dipped in chocolate.” The result is a very hoppy, aromatic brown ale, with faint orange hues on the sides of the glass. Alcohol was present but enjoyable. Again, the aroma was like a fresh bag of hops right in my nose, but the darker malts used also shone through in the aroma. A sweet mixture, and I am still thinking about it today. I basically took my wife’s glass right out of her hand because I could tell I liked the beer much more than she did.

5. The Finale. Georgia Peach Cheesecake with a Blackberry Caramel and Vanilla Bean Whipped Cream. Paired with Hefeweizen. Amazing cheesecake and fairly typical Hefe. I’m a much bigger fan of cheesecake than I am of the Hefeweizen style. The beer was very true to style, heavy banana and clove notes all the way through and even some vanilla which did go well with the creaminess of the cheesecake. Another great pairing.

In conclusion, we had a very enjoyable time. It was my first brewery tour and first Brewmaster dinner. I commend Emmett’s for a job well done on all fronts. The hospitality, the atmosphere, the interaction, the food, and of course, the beer. This is a quality establishment that serves great food and makes great beer, I highly recommend a visit to any of their three Chicagoland locations, and if you can hit one of these quarterly Brewmaster Dinners, you shouldn’t be disappointed. Thanks to my wife for the very thoughtful evening, for listening to me geek out at the brewery last night, and for 5 wonderful years so far.