When Rick Nickerson of Full Sail Brewing addressed the crowd at the Beer Belly Dinner on Feb. 13 at EastBurn, he recognized a few familiar faces. This wasn’t the first time Full Sail Brewing and EastBurn have collaborated since the dinner series started six years ago.

Every second Thursday of the month EastBurn hosts another Beer Belly Dinner with fare by Chef Matt Dougherty and his staff who work their asses off to pair beer from visiting breweries for each month's feast. Proceeds from the dinners are donated to charities that the breweries select.

In March, Breakside Brewing will be forced to select five beers from its sweeping lineup. The price point for the dinner series is attainable at $40 for all of the courses and beer pairings. A Baby Boomer joked he’d have to go eat somewhere else to be full. It’s true, the starter and the appetizers tend to weigh in on the light side to leave room for the other courses.

The starter for the Feb. 13 Beer Belly Dinner was fresh scallop crudo with blood orange, chilies, and pickled ginger paired with Full Sail’s “26” Cascade Pilsner.

A spicy pork appetizer from Sheridan Fruit Company (they have a bombshell of a meat counter) on wilted winter greens with white beans went particularly well with Full Sail’s Pale Bock.

The other appetizer was only disappointing because we're fatties and wanted more lardons (small strips or cubes of pork fat) that went with the wild boar pate wrapped with endive and served with parsnip puree. Full Sail Brewing’s Weizenbock stood up to the flavors in the lardon without a fight.

Dougherty’s entree of coffee braised pork shoulder with red eye gravy and cured, shaved egg yolk couldn’t have been paired with a better beer: Black Bock.

Missionary Chocolates brought a mammoth selection of blood orange, dark chocolates and brownies which were paired with 2009 and 2011 bourbon barrel aged stouts from Full Sail Brewing.

At the start of dinner, we were barely able to settle into our seats before we were handed stubbys of Full Sail’s familiar Session Lager. My kind of party. We were encouraged to get up and talk to Nickerson and watch the food preparation. The appetizers were light and the entree was hard-hitting and I can’t imagine it’ll be any different next month, although I might try to end the night by remembering dessert.

Next Beer Belly Dinner at EastBurn: March 13th at 6:30 PM


Other ongoing brewer’s dinners in Portland:

Lunation Dinner Series at Ecliptic Brewing
Every first Tuesday of the month
Four courses served at 6:30 PM.
$45/person all inclusive. Reservations required. 503-265-8002.

Brewer’s Tasting Dinner at Oregon Gardens
April 24, 2014
Six courses and brewers served at 7 PM.
$45/person. Tickets available at Eventbrite.