Beer Tasting at &Union review

I reviewed &Union a while back and have been several times since then. The menu has changed a bit, now including a paté option as well as a prego roll. They are also now open in the morning from 7am, offering pastries, tostadas and organic coffee.

I’m always interested in learning more about the things I eat and drink so when I was invited to attend a beer tasting and pairing recently, I called a few friends and we went along. Understanding the origins of the things you consume makes them so much more interesting. Seeing the passion of the people who make them and serve them results in a fuller experience. I believe if we slowed down and appreciated things more, we would reduce waste and excess. This is the essense of the Slow Food movement which I will post about another day.

This evening at &Union did exactly that, it increased our appreciation for their products. They are passionate about their products and want to share that with people and help them to appreciate the benfit and value which is intrinsic in high quality offerings.

We started with an introduction to artisinal beer making and what the differences are between these beers and the beers you would buy in the average bar/bottlestore. They have 10 beers which they sell at &Union, we were introduced to each one with an explanation of how it’s made, where it’s made and how it differs from the other beers. We would taste each one and mostly we could pick up the flavours and characteristics that were pointed out to us. Then we were given a taste of food to pair with the beer. It was mainly different types of sausages and each really complimented the beer well and brought out the flavours.

The whole thing was quite an education and we definitely left with an appreciation for fine beer and a mental note to concentrate when choosing what foods to eat with the various beers.

We rounded the evening off by ordering a few of our favourite beers and washing them down with some prego roll and chorizo sausages. A fantastic and different evening, highly recommended.

& Union
110 Bree Street, Cape Town
021 422 2770
www.andunion.com

[Photos by Silver Fox Photography]