Many thanks to North Coast in Wayzata and Executive Chef Ryan Aberle for inviting Dawn and I as guests at their Sam Adams beer dinner last night. We were treated to 18 courses paired with 18 beers. Even with small portions and pours, we were still stuffed by the end of the night, but we had the chance to try a lot of beers and a lot of great food and meet some good people (at least half of which were at Winterfest the previous night). Ryan is an engaging host and his passion for beer and food come through in the menu and pairings. Some of my favorites: White Ale with Black Tiger Prawn, Tamarind & Corriander; Boston Ale with Scallop, Farro and Burnt Orange, Boston Lager with Duroc Pork, Lavendar and Passionfruit; Honey Porter with Duck, Brie & Currant and of course Chocolate Bock with Guittard Chocolate, Cayenne & Cream. Really, though, everything was quite good and beer and food pairings were top notch. I’ll heartily recommend that you try to catch one of Ryan’s beer (or wine!) dinners in the future. Well done!