It has long been a tradition that ahead of the summer period a batch of brewers from the US crosses the Atlantic and brings with them some interesting beers to share with thirsty beer writers as part of the work undertaken by the Brewers Association.

It’s been a pleasure to attend a number of lunches the BA has held to showcase various US beers and breweries each year and their matching capabilities with food. This year has been a definite high-point with the ‘East Meets West’ event held at Moi restaurant in London’s Soho

Kicking things off was Steve Grossman, Global Ambassador of the legendary Sierra Nevada Brewing Co, whose light Pilsner Summerfest 5% ABV was matched with Porthilly oyster, sweet sake, finger lime and Lamb belly, curry, sesame.  

William Sutjiadi, Chief Operating Officer of Shogun by Embolden then introduced the complex green-tinged Midnight in Tokyo Matcha Hazy IPA 7.5% ABV that was pitched with House pickles, steamed fried buns, smoked cod’s roe, chilli crisp, Bluefin tuna tataki, karashi miso, and grapefruit.

We then moved on to Ashley Pond, Director of Business Development at Deschutes Brewery who introduced the classic Black Butte Porter 5.5% ABV that has a soft subtlety and was paired with A5 Wagyu nigiri and Smoked toro tuna nigiri.

Stephen Hughes, Master Brewer/Owner, Coldfire Brewing Co introduced a complex brew The Sparrow & The Crow 8.1% ABV that is a blend of oak fermented ales aged in wine barrels for up to two years then transferred onto freshly picked pinot noir clusters from the Willamette Valley. This was paired with King oyster mushroom, watercress and Dashimaki tamago, grilled eel.

Moving onto the main course Andrew Moore, Owner, Knee Deep Brewing Co introduced Breaking Bud 6.7% ABV that had all the attributes you could desire from a West Coast IPA. Mosaic, Simcoe and Columbus hops gave flavours of tropical fruit and pine leading to a refreshing dry finish. This was paired with baked rice, wild mushrooms, Cacklebean egg yolk, 36-day dry-aged bone-in sirloin, beef sauce and Miso-cured trout, namayasai leaves. Just for good measure there were also sides of Namayasai salad, mustard miso vinaigrette, pickled pear and grilled summer beans, smoked tofu, shiso.

Robby Willey, Co-owner/Founder, The Virginia Beer Co brought things to a close with the barnstorming Ideas of Order 13.2% ABV. This Barrel-aged Strong Ale involved a blend of 34-month Bourbon barrel-aged imperial Milk Stout with 16-month English Barleywine. This was paired with a refreshing Raspberry, whey sorbet.

For what was a superb lunch thanks go to Lotte Peplow, Brewers Association American Craft Beer Ambassador for Europe, Alexandra Baych, Agricultural Attaché, Agricultural Attaché for the UK and Ireland, U.S. Embassy London, Foreign Agricultural Service and Adam Dulye, Global Ambassador/Executive Chef for the Brewers Association.

The meal highlighted how the US continues to brew some cracking beers. The UK is an important market for American craft beer exports and is the third largest in the world accounting for 8.2% of all global exports. Even so, it would be great if we had more of them over here.

Glynn Davis, editor, Beer Insider