Review: Beer Club Live - pub beer and food matching event

The campaign has partnered with Everards Brewery for its four June events, and wants to attract different pubcos to work with in the future. The venue for the debut event was the Rutland & Derby, in Leicester.

TABFT Beer Club Live aims to offer an interactive, intimate experience. Neil Gannon, marketing lead at TABFT, has worked in the beer industry in Belgium and Czech Republic, and wants to see Britain embrace a culture similar to the two beer-loving nations.

"We want to shift consumer attitudes, to change behaviours. Education is essential. Beer has far more right to be associated with food than so many other beverages, for its textures and flavours," he said.

No better time for matching events 

Gannon said there isn’t a better time for pubs to embrace beer and food matching due to the "reinvention of British beer".

He said: "The industry has been in decline for years, and it’s back in growth again." He rejects the philosophy of sticking to "ale with a pie and lager with a curry".

Gannon said he could have sold 50 tickets for the event, but chose to entertain just 20 customers for a more intimate affair. The event kicked off with expert speaker Mark Tetlow, Everards’ quality assurance manager, describing the 9,000-year history of beer.

Attendees were treated to meatballs with Leicestershire beef & tomato stew complemented by Everards’ craft beer/pale ale Two Tribes.

An explanation on how to brew beer was accompanied by drinkers sampling malts and smelling hops.

Roast potatoes and gravy were served with the golden ale Everards Tiger, followed by beef brisket accompanied by Titanic Brewery’s Plum Porter and Stout.

Brownies and ice cream were complemented by the sour Liefmans Cuvée Brut and abbey-style beer Leffe Blonde. Customers were encouraged to debate why each of the flavours matches.

Tetlow added that "the key is small glasses" filled with high-quality beer.

"It’s not about overcoming the food, it’s about complementing it. Experimentation is key; some things will work, some things won’t," he told the Publican’s Morning Advertiser​.

Customer reaction

Customers at the event seemed convinced. One I spoke to said she had never considered drinking beer with a meal before. "It’s been beer for a night out and wine for food, but it’s interesting to see how different beers go with food," she said. She agreed that smaller glasses were ideal for food matching, rather than a pint.

Another said: "We are all conditioned to drink wine. A lot of the beers we had were excellent, particularly with the brisket. I would definitely try again. I often think you’re given a wine list straight away, but if they make an effort to have a beer list when people sit down people might start drinking it," he said.

Everards said there was nothing stopping other pubs across the country holding similar events. Head of marketing Erika Hardy said: "We want to get people really excited about beer, not just Everards beer. It’s about bringing people together, and celebrating beer, not about plugging products."

The pub’s general manager James Scott said he would host similar events again because the pub is keen on quirky ideas to attract new customers. Scott was impressed by the educational aspect of TABFT, and the wide demographic it attracted.

TABFT expansion plans 

TABFT also plans to develop a kit to help pubs set up their own beer and food matching events, offering practical ideas and themes licensees can use, and guidance on running a successful night.

The campaign’s popularity is growing. It it now boasts more than 25,000 Twitter followers and 125,000 fans on Facebook.

Beer and food lovers are encouraged to tweet their pairings, or ask for suggestions from experts. "The combinations are endless. People keep trying to catch us out but we keep coming back at them," Gannon added.

"It’s a chance to explore and a journey of different flavours."

Visit www.beerforthat.com/BeerClubLive​ for more details.