Beer and food pairing in classy setting attracts women
I was impressed with Savor, the beer and food pairing festival held last weekend in Washington's Andrew Mellon auditorium.
Forty-eight craft breweries from around the country poured their beer in small glasses. and each beer was matched with a food item.
My favorite matchup was the Boscos Brewing Co. Hefeweizen from Memphis Tenn., paired with chicken breasts cooked with lemon grass. The two-day event was sliced into three sessions, and attendance was capped at 700 for each session. Each session was a sellout.
Women comprised at least a third of the crowd, a much higher proportion than at most beer festivals.
Pairing the beer with food, along with the high-tone setting of the Mellon with its guilded ceilings, probably attracted the ladies.
Anyone else attend? Anyone else have a favorite pairing?
What do you think of my theory that if you hold a beer tasting in nice setting, and match beer with food, then women will come?
Comments
In my experience - a majority of women still thumb their noses at beer.
Posted by: bryanintimonium | May 21, 2008 10:57 AM
It would have to be a really special occassion for me to consider spending that much money on a beer tasting.
I was talking to a male friend about hitting up a festival this summer, and he said his wife would probably not come because she is not really into beer drinking... and that was when I understood why I have so many male friends and so few female ones.
Posted by: Heather | May 21, 2008 11:23 AM
Rob – SAVOR, in my opinion, was a very noble effort by the Brewers Association, based in Denver, to attempt to showcase unique beers from diverse breweries around the nation paired with finger foods in a special upscale setting in DC. Was this goal achieved – most definitely! Did 2100 people at $85.00 per head show up for 3 sold-out sessions – YES. Was the crowd drawn to this event based on setting, beer selection, beer and food offerings, Beer geek nirvana, free tickets purchased on an expense account – who really knows? Did this “beer & food-centric event” draw more women then usually – absolutely! What was particularly unique about this event was the presence of the “beer celebrities” available to the avid beer-fan crowd. Not in my 22 years of exposure to the beer business, out side of the GABF, have I ever seen, in one place, so many A–class celebrity brewers either pouring at their own stand or mingling in the crowd.
Posted by: Joe Gold | May 22, 2008 12:29 AM