Last night I attended the Lazy Magnolia beer and dessert pairing at the Flying Saucer. Five desserts were paired with five different Lazy Magnolia beers. This is the first time they’ve attempted a dessert pairing, but the Saucer’s beer dinners have usually been excellent, so I had no problem buying a ticket.
First Course: Bourbon balls and Southern Gold, Lazy Magnolia’s golden honey ale
Second Course: Apple cobbler paired with Ginger Jack, the brewery’s seasonal beer
Third Course: Pumpkin cheesecake and Lazy Magnolia’s pale ale (didn’t catch the name of this one).
Last night’s event was the first time my friends Bill and Gary had ever attended a beer/food pairing at the Saucer. They thoroughly enjoyed themselves.
Fourth Course: Pecan tarts and Lazy Magnolia Southern Pecan Ale
Fifth Course: Homemade ice cream and Jefferson Stout
All five desserts were made from scratch by Saucer manager Mike, and even without the beers they’d be worth the $20 I paid for my ticket. I had no idea Mike could cook!
Last time the Saucer did a pairing – the Abita beer dinner back in the summer – I only gave it four out of five stars because the beer rep didn’t talk about the beers enough, and because all the beers were available locally. Neither was an issue this time. Lazy Mag rep Will talked about all the beers, both in presentation format and talking to each of us individually. One interesting thing I learned is that they use an old Popeye’s biscuit maker to roast pecans for their flagship Southern Pecan ale. As for the beers, only Southern Pecan is commonly available in Memphis, although Jefferson Stout has been on tap at the Saucer before and may reappear.
The brewery is increasing its production and plans to expand its product line into new states next year. People asked how they are able to brew beer in Mississippi (Kiln, MS), when the state has the most restrictive beer laws in the country. They said there’s a misconception that Mississippi cannot have licensed breweries; this is not true, although homebrewing is still illegal there. Their beers have to be 6% ABV or less. They do tours of the brewery but are not allowed to do tastings as part of the tours. They hope to change this when new bills go before the Mississippi state legislature next year.
Back to the tasting itself – I also need to mention that servers Katie and Kyla did a great job taking care of us. I found absolutely nothing to complain about at this dinner. 5 stars out of 5, easily.
Unfortunately the dessert pairing was not as well attended as they had hoped. Their beer dinners usually sell out, but I guess people were skeptical about pairing beer with desserts (or were attending the Trans-Siberian Orchestra show down the street). They only had 12-14 in atttendance, which is a shame because Mike cooked for 40.
(Note to Saucer management: Expect an email from the Nuh-Uh Girl saying “I heard the dessert pairing went well. Any leftovers? :-)” once she reads this.)
I look forward to the next beer/food pairing at the Saucer, and if they do another dessert pairing I hope this post convinces people to give it a try. Big thumbs up on an outstanding event.
As for the news: I have enough to do a “Friday update” post, but I need to use the remainder of my lunch break for a different activity – eating lunch! There will be a post up tonight.