Let’s face it, a whole lot of beer geeks are also foodies, so anytime a brewery decides to create special pairings of its finest ales and lagers with some delicious eats, folks tend to get excited.

Well, get excited, because over the next four weeks there are at least four major pairing events that we know of, and certainly more are probably in the works.

Steel Bender Brewyard will kick things off with the return of Sweet Bites and Beer this Wednesday and Thursday. The brewery has teamed up with four different restaurants/dessert shops to create some delectable pairings. You can get all four for $19, with $10 of that going to Lavender in the Village to support its agricultural and educational initiatives.

Here are the four beer/dessert pairings:

• COMPA Blue Corn Lager + Blue Corn Piñon Biscochitos from Celina’s Biscochitos
• Cherry Dynamite + Chantilly Cake with raspberry filling & cherry shortcake topping from M’tucci’s Twenty-Five
• Red Iron Red + Germolata Piñon Chocolate from Eldora Chocolate
• Hefe Lifting Hefeweizen + Banana Cream Cheesecake from Willieray Cheesecake

Sorry, no substitutions, but then again, why would you sub any of those?

We can also point out that Eldora was recently ranked fourth out of the top 10 chocolate shops in the entire country, per USA Today‘s Reader’s Choice rankings. M’tucci’s executive pastry chef Brianna Dennis won the 2019 Neighbor of the Year Award, for giving back to the community, at the New Mexico Restaurant Association Hospitality Awards. See, more reasons to support this event.

Marble Brewery gets in on the action on Saturday, August 5, with Pastry & Pints. This event will happen up on the Sky Deck at 111 Marble Ave. from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. The cost is $28 and it will get you four 7-ounce pours paired up with some tasty pastries.

Chef Brandon Garner will handle the desserts, and production manager John Heine will offer up a guided tour through how the Marble staff and Chef Garner came up with the pairings.

• Helles Lighter Side Lager w/ pear, brie & balsalmic crostini
• Porter w/ alfajores dulce de leche cookie
• Alpha Acid Trip Citrus Sunshine IPA w/ smoked sausage & red pepper danish
• UNRELEASED Berliner Weisse w/ lemon curd, rasberry coulis trifle

You can already purchase advance tickets.

The final two events both take place on Saturday, August 19, but fear not, there should be enough time to get from one to the other.

First up, Marble Heights will be celebrating its anniversary with a little help from M’tucci’s to create Bruschetta & Brews. It will run from 3 to 4 p.m. and tickets are available now for $28.

The pairings are as follows:

• Lighter Side Lager: Helles w/ ham, caprese, basil with a golden balsamic reduction bruschetta
• Heinebrau Dark w/ balsamic roasted mushroom, herb goat cheese, and caperberry tapenade bruschetta
• Mo’ Pina Mo’ Problems w/ arugula, shrimp braised in tea orange & brown butter, gouda cheese, and tomato compote bruschetta
• Desert Fog w/ Italian sausage, calabrese, and mastardo bruschetta

Now, if that is the appetizer, then the main course is at Boxing Bear Firestone from 5:30 to 8 p.m. The brewery is teaming up with Vara Winery and Chef Jon of Sandia Mountain Sauce Company (our favorite new food truck of 2023) to create a three-course dining experience.

Vara’s Megan Clemens and Boxing Bear director of brewing operations Justin Hamilton paired up the wines and beers with Chef Jon’s dishes. At the end of the meal, you can get a pint of your favorite beer and a private tour of the brewing facility.

Tickets are available now, and seating is limited.

If you would like a preview of what Chef Jon creates on a weekly basis, Sandia Mountain Sauce Co. is parked at Boxing Bear West Downtown every Wednesday from 4 to 8 p.m., at Firestone every Friday from 4 to 8, and at Casa Vieja every Sunday from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m.

Are any other breweries planning special pairings in the next month? Let us know and we will add it to this story or a future article.

Keep supporting local!

— Stoutmeister