It’s time to raise your glasses – the Stormont Beer Tasters Club are in town.
One of the newest beer tasting clubs in eastern Ontario is looking for new members and is already enjoying some of the finest that barley, malt and hops has to offer.
Club members believe in the promotion of local, organic and humane farming and the promotion of small- to medium-sized brewing companies. The majority of club meetings are scheduled to be held at Shnitzel’s European Flavours in Cornwall.
Amanda Burger, founder of the Stormont Beer Tasters Club, said the hope is to double the membership in the not-too-distant future.
“We really want to meet lots of people,” she said in an interview with Seaway News.
The idea for the club is simple, said Burger. She and her husband Patrick, are both outgoing individuals who enjoy a good glass of beer every now and then.
“And there must be other people who enjoy good beer as well,” she said. “So why don’t we meet them.”
At each meeting, beers are combined with a four-course menu that is created specifically for the group using grass- and grain-fed, free range meats and organic vegetables.
Everything served to the members comes from special menus prepared based on the beer choices to be tasted so that the food and drink compliment each other.
The idea to have the organic, healthy meals came from her co-organizer, Kevin Gillis, who suggested that members might want to know how to pair the drinks with different flavours.
Burger is quick to point out that club meetings are not a drunken free-for-all. Four different beers are sampled during the evening, but just two ounces of each beer is served.
“I don’t want to support someone drinking four (whole) beers in two hours,” she said.
There is no membership fee.
Members who are interested can join the event on a first come, first serve basis and pay for their own meals.
The cost for the four-course meal plus beer samples is about $40.
The next event will be hosted on May 12 starting at 6:30 p.m. You must be a member of the club to join in the fun.
To join or for more information visit stormontbeertasters.com or e- mail info@stormontbeertasters.com.
