Brewmaster Geroge Reisch, center, returns to Saipan for the Brewmaster Dinner.
GUY Pudney, resident manager of Marpac, which distributes Budweiser products in the CNMI, said tickets have been sold for the Brewmaster Dinner, which will be held on Friday, Oct. 20 at the Crowne Plaza Resort.
“It’s a great event,” Pudney told Variety. “People love beer and rarely do they come across a fifth-generation brewmaster.”
The brewmaster is George Reisch, who comes from a family of brewmasters. At one point, he was the official brewmaster of Anheuser-Busch Inc. as well as the company’s director of brewmaster outreach.
Reisch is also a past president of the Master Brewers Association of the Americas and has served as a tasting judge at the World Beer Cup and numerous other international and domestic beer events, a media release stated.
For the Brewmaster Dinner on Friday, Reisch will collaborate with local Executive Chef Zenn Tomokane to expertly pair Marpac products with a four-course meal. Drinks are unlimited.
The event begins at 5:30 p.m. with a social hour mixer on the lawn adjacent to the Hibiscus Hall, where Goose Island IPA will be served with pretzels and sausage, alongside a beer cheese dip.
From there, guests will be ushered into the Hibiscus Hall for a guided four-course meal.
Course one begins with tuna nigiri, micro greens, citrus, Maldon sea salt-scorched tuna nigiri, and ginger mayo paint paired with — in the words of Pudney, “the new favorite of the CNMI” — Michelob Ultra.
Afterward, guests can partake in the beer corn chowder, jalapeño crisps, and bacon course served alongside the King of Beers, Budweiser.
For the main course, guests will go international, with Belgian Stella Artois paired with a smoked, Certified Angus beef kalbi, sweet potato cake, and house-made pickles.
And finally, dessert: vanilla gelato, pear caramel, dark chocolate tuille and Michelob AmberBock.
Pudney said the beverage pairings represent Marpac’s “top five beers.”
Demand for the Brewmaster Dinner was significant, he said, adding that initially, the event was to be held in a room for 128 people.
However, last week when tickets quickly sold out, Pudney said they requested more space at Crowne Plaza, and the event can now accommodate 168 people.
Pudney said the Brewmaster Dinner is always a memorable occasion.
“This is one of those events that after it’s done people still talk about it for a month or two,” he added. “And George is a showman, he’s an entertainer. He’ll talk to the crowd and get them involved.”
He said this year’s dinner is part of a milestone in Marpac’s operations — its 50th anniversary.
“We want to do something special and getting the brewmaster here is a nice touch to the events that we’ve been having,” Pudney said.
A photo from a past Brewmaster Dinner.
