Sun Wah Dinner w/Goose Island Pairings

On a rather chilly April night, I had the great opportunity to join friends for a truly unique dining experience.

A handful of friends and I joined together with Brewmaster Greg Hall of Goose Island for a unique pairing with the always tasty Sun Wah, for one of his last events with Goose Island. The expansive Sun Wah menu of both classics and new dishes were paired perfectly with the craft brews of Goose Island.

While I have had many of Goose Island's Chicago favorites such as 312, Sophie, Matilda and Pere Jacques) I hadn't even heard of some of these other brews. For a good reason too: a lot of these are new.

The beer pairings for this dinner was exclusively made of the Goose Island Vintage and Vintage Reserve lines. I discovered two new favorite beers that night. Lolita, a pink rose colored Belgian style pale ale fermented with wild yeast and aged on raspberries in wine barrels, has a great fruity flavor with tons of bubbles, very similar to drinking a great champagne or rose!

My favorite beer by far is the Fleur, a pale ale blended with hibiscus and kombucha tea, it was a very light beer but not absent of great flavor. I plan on buying a case for the soon coming summer!

And of course, the Sun Wah menu was a great combination of favorites that keep customers coming (like the pork bun) also showcasing tradition menu items only regulars order (bittermelon with chicken) and new varieties of their expanded menu.

Dinner attendees sat at large round tables with 10 people seated at each. This setting made for a great opportunity not only to catch up with old friends, but to forge new relationships with others who appreciate great food. Our odd group of friends quickly became friends with the friendly blondes next to us, as well as the gamer-men and gamer-girlfriends (YES, they exist! I smell a reality show to be made..) quickly became friends after brew 2 was poured.

The new Sun Wah space with great lofted beams made the whole evening one not to be forgotten. Their move from the old dilapidated space around the corner to the expanded modern space they currently reside in may be the best move they've made.