Beer Table, Brooklyn

A birthday dinner at Beer Table in Park Slope, Brooklyn (beertable.com) was the perfect beginning to a celebration that spanned three locations near and dear to Cobra’s heart. Though the bar is open for beers and bar snacks daily, we chose to partake of the weekly Tuesday night beer and food pairings selected by the owners. The snug space can only seat about 30 (and there are no reservations) so we arrived early to snag seats at one of the three communal tables. Once ensconced, we settled in and turned to our server to guide us through the list of about 25 bottled beers, with a few on tap to balance it out. All change daily and none – mostly Belgian – were familiar to us.  We started with a Hoevebrowers Toria from East Flanders (ABV 6 ½). The effervescent blonde had notes of melting butter and honeysuckle which paired nicely with our first course of escarole and butter beans with a warm champagne vinaigrette. Next up was a homemade chorizo with parsley and Spanish piquillo peppers. A great match for the De Dochter van de Korenaar Bravoure, a 6 ½ malt with a faint taste of wood smoke that perfectly complemented the smoky sausage.  Our cheese course to finish was Toma Della Rosa with salted almonds, honey and bread, served in tandem with Sur les Bois La Botteresse Ambree. Hailing from Leige, in the French-speaking Wallonian region of Belgium, this spiced amber ale had notes of orange peel and caramel with a spicy nose and an ABV of 8.

Beer Table is definitely for the connoseuir. The three-course meal is $25 and the quantities are small. Paired beers are an additional $15 and with a 6 oz. pour you are basically getting a bottle and a half. But this is New York and as all the beers are $10 and up for a 12 oz. bottle, this is the way to go to get the maximum tasting experience. A great place for that special beer occasion!