DEVIL’S PEAK BREWING COMPANY

On Monday evening we were treated to a beer and food pairing at Beerhouse on Long, where the Devil’s Peak Brewing Company presented us with six locally brewed beers of their own, each very different to the next.

Devil’s Peak BC started publicly trading in 2012. After two years of research and development, they hit the market with their Founder’s Series of beers, initially sold only at outlets such as Banana Jam Cafe. The brewers have since seen a huge growth in their business in the past year and a half – around the same time the Cape Town craft beer revolution really started taking off.

I’d like to point out that I know dangerously little about beer, but am being educated at a rate of one craft beer at a time.

The pairings of the evening included:

First Light Golden Ale paired with smoked salmon, horseradish, capers and toasted rye. The brew is named after the famous landmark Devil’s Peak, with its slopes the first to receive the sun’s golden light in the morning. This was the first of the evening and set the precedent for the night – a great pairing this combination was.

Woodhead Amber Ale paired with truffled foie gras benedict. I’m big on truffles but not too big on foie gras, so I skipped the delicacy and had the rest with the ale – they paired really well together.

Next up was my favourite pairing of the evening, an American Pale Ale paired with tamarind shrimp and orzo mac and cheese. The citrus notes of the tamarind shrimp coupled with the citrus aroma of the Pale Ale was rather amazing! The orzo mac and cheese added a new dimension to the pairing with its creamy texture, but at the same time not too cheesy.

Black IPA with curried goat and mango chow. This was a first for me and quite an explosion of flavours. The dish was about as Jamaican as you can get, with its fruity and curry flavours – paired up with the roasted taste of the Black IPA it was pretty damn good.

Imperial IPA paired with lime and chilli posset with salted caramel. My second favourite pairing of the evening. This IPA by Devil’s Peak BC is filled with hoppy flavours and it was quite light. In my opinion, it took a backseat to the heavier flavours of the lime and chilli.

The last pairing was ‘Grapes of Wrath’, a beer-wine hybrid which is very, very interesting. At the end of the night the attendees were asked to vote on which beer was their favourite and the hybrid was voted hands down the best by the true beer connoisseurs. Paired with a blue cheese fondant and blueberry compote, it too was an explosion of flavour, but i feel like I need at least several hundred craft beers under the belt before I could enjoy Grapes of Wrath for what it is.