Kindling for the Smokestack

The second of what we hope will be monthly beer dinners at Kindling Spirits is in the books and the event was a wild success! A huge thanks to Nicole Bean of Boulevard Brewing Co. for helping us get this dinner off the ground and for talking through the fine series of Boulevard beers we enjoyed. The turn out was even better than we could have hoped - although I failed to do an official head count, we easily topped 50 attendees. If you've been in the Kindling banquet room, you know that means an absolutely packed house! A huge thank you, too, to everyone who attended. I saw a few regulars, of course, but I was amazed at how many new faces I saw in the crowd.

We enjoyed several of Boulevard's year-round offerings, including two versions of their Unfiltered Wheat. By two versions, I mean we sampled the beer in the standard 12oz glass bottles that most are familiar with, but we also enjoyed the beer in a new, terrific-looking 16oz aluminum bottle as well (held by Nicole in the photo). A great presentation for this beer and a terrific way to enjoy a well-made American wheat beer in a durable and versatile package. These will be a big hit for outdoor events that don't allow glass bottles on premises. I know I'll take advantage of these new bottles for the remaining Sunset Concerts in Carbondale, assuming we get more in stock in time!

The food, as always, was excellent. While we didn't formally pair the food with the beer lineup this time 'round, the beers still matched well throughout. The Unfiltered Wheat was light and refreshing and complimented the starter course of fresh green leaf salad masterfully. The main course was Kindling's famous steak sandwich and the bolder flavors of Boulevard Pale Ale and Single Wide IPA proved to be a great accompaniment to this course. Finally, and probably the highlight for me, was the foray into Boulevard's Smokestack series of beers - namely the Belgian-style quad, The Sixth Glass. This dark, rich and fruity ale paired wonderfully with the fresh homemade chocolate chip cookies we were served. Decadence! Finally, Nicole was so kind as to bring along several bottles of the new Smokestack Two Jokers Double Wit for everyone to ... err ... umm ... cleanse the palate at the end of the night.

All in all, I was exceedingly happy with how the event turned out and am thrilled to see so much interest in better beer in Southern Illinois. All I can say is that it's about time we start to do things like this in the area because it's clear there is plenty of interest from both beer geeks and the general public. I'll look forward to announcing the next couple of events scheduled at Kindling for later this month and into August. Stay tuned for that info soon.