Brewmaster George Reisch shares interesting facts of the beers paired with each course.
Guests at the Brewmaster Dinner raise their glasses.
OVER 150 food and beer lovers relished Marpac’s Brewmaster dinner at the Crowne Plaza Resort on Oct. 20, Friday evening.
The special guest was fifth-generation brewmaster George Reisch, who retired as the official brewmaster of Anheuser-Busch Inc., which makes Budweiser, Busch, and other beers.
He and local Chef Zenn Tomokane collaborated to put on an evening of beer and food pairings.
“As a brewer your beer brands are kind of like your children, so I introduced my children to [Chef Tomokane] and the chef matches up pairings that he thinks will work the best,” Reisch said.
The event began with a social mixer at 5:30 p.m. on the lawn adjacent to the Hibiscus Hall, where guests were served Goose Island IPA paired with pretzels and sausage with a beer cheese dip.
Afterward, inside the Hibiscus Hall, guests were seated and treated to two types of tuna nigiri paired with Michelob Ultra; beer-bacon-corn chowder paired with Budweiser, which Chef Tomokane said is a recipe straight from the collection of Anheuser-Busch; Stella Artois and beef kalbi with sweet potato cake and fresh pickles; and a dessert of vanilla gelato, pear caramel, dark chocolate tuille paired with Michelob AmberBock.
Guests enjoyed unlimited beer during the event while Reisch talked about the history of the various beers and taught guests how to properly pour their beer into a glass. He reminded the crowd that beer and food are a pair as old as time.
“In the history of the world, beer was always the humble servant of food,” he said.
“I have no doubt tonight people are going to knock their socks off when they have this wonderful food,” Reisch told Variety before the event. “The beer is just there to elevate the food and do a good job with that. I’m really happy about the menu tonight.”
Reisch likewise congratulated the Shimizu family, owners of Marpac parent company Ambros Inc., for celebrating 50 years of business on Saipan.
At the event’s conclusion, guests were able to take home complimentary branded beer glasses.
For dessert: vanilla gelato, pear caramel, chocolate tuille and a cake paired with Michelob AmberBock.
The evening’s main course: kalbi with sweet potato cake and pickles paired with Stella Artois.
George Reisch and the Shimizu family pose for a photo. The Brewmaster Dinner was held in part to honor the 50th anniversary of Marpac, a subsidiary of Ambros Inc. founded by the late Ambrosio Shimizu.
