Anyone who visited a pop-up or food truck from the ‘underground’ dining scene in Atlanta has likely done so at a brewery. Breweries provide the space for these chefs to share some of the most unique dishes in the city which can be paired with some of the most unique beers.
But as of this Friday, instead of just drinking a beer at the brewery with dishes made by chefs, it’s possible to drink a beer made in collaboration with chefs when Wild Heaven Beer launches the first of what will be an ongoing ‘Chef Beer’ series celebrating the Atlanta culinary community.
Made in collaboration with pop-up chef and Food Network veteran Carla Fears from @gourmet_street_foods, the Belgian-style Witbier will feature orange peel, coriander, pink peppercorns, cilantro, and lime zest.
What inspired the collaboration with chefs? Wild Heaven Brewmaster Eric Johnson says he finds more inspiration working with chefs than with other breweries: “Beer is culinary. There is a limitless palette of flavors for the brewer to choose from to make an amazing beer. Chefs bring a whole new perspective to the table and they view flavors way outside of the typical brewing paradigm.”
Eric believes that the series could continue indefinitely as there is a great culinary scene in Atlanta: “We could brew beers with chefs for decades and still not come close to exhausting all of the unique flavor opportunities out there.” He says he enjoys how the experience pushes him outside of his brewer comfort zone with the opportunity to borrow flavor combinations from what can be found at local markets and restaurants.
This Friday through Sunday at @wildheavenwestend underground dining scenesters and beer lovers can enjoy a special menu created by Carla made to pair with the beer, including a Chef Series beer battered mussel hoagie, beer battered chicken thighs and herbed meat patties and steak frites with beer aioli. Carla says that the menu inspiration comes from understanding the flavor profile of the beer and the great food comes from that region (Belgium). With that in mind, she says “I pick my brain from a chef & consumption point of view to create the final culinary magic.”
The details: The Chef Beer series goes on sale from Friday at Wild Heaven at both the West End and Avondale Estates locations. Chef Carla Fears from Gourmet Street Foods will be serving the special menu that pairs with the beer at the Avondale Estates location on Friday 4-9PM, Saturday 1-6PM and Sunday 1-7PM.