A enormous THANK YOU goes out to everyone involved in the Surly Girl Beer Tasting With The Wench this past Sunday June 8th. The event had a surprisingly huge turnout and I was able to meet a lot of new beer lovers, beer geeks and hopheads. I was EXTREMELY impressed by Surly Girl Saloon‘s hospitality as well as the outstanding quality of beer, cupcakes and cheese that was provided for the tasting. The Surly Girl Staff was MORE THAN accomodating and made the experience very memorable and special. Andy Woelfing from Premium Beverage Supply did an amazing job running the tasting and I’m extremely jealous of those who won the Green Flash Brewing Company Beers.

I was completely blown away by the beer knowledge and interest of the tasters. Tasters ranged from beer afficiandos to home brewers to regular Joes who just love beer and want to learn more about it. I’m extremely excited to engage further with all the new people I met last night as well as looking forward to more people coming out of the woodwork for future tastings.

To finish things up, I want to highlight some key people that made the event so amazing. A HUGE thanks goes to Carmen, Managing Partner and General Manager of Surly Girl Saloon. If it was not for her superior organization skills and crazy cupcake idea, this event would never have been possible. MANY thanks to Andy from Premium for busting his butt back from New York to make it on time to run the event. There is no way I would have been able to run as successful a tasting without his beer knowledge and insight. BIG PROPS goes out to super duper Surly Girl baker Lara, who concocted the ridiculously delicious cupcake recipes specifically designed for the tasting. THANKS to all the bar and kitchen staff from Surly Girl Saloon who worked long and hard in ridiculous heat to help everything move so smoothly!!!

Last BUT NOT LEAST, thank you to everyone who came to the event. There is nothing I enjoy more than sharing my passions with others. There is more to eating and drinking than merely eating an drinking. Enjoying great food and beer with equally great people makes the experience twenty times better than when done alone.

(And special thanks to everyone who allowed me to indulge my passion for gaming by staying around after the tasting to play a few rounds of Apples to Apples. Expect more board gaming beer events in the future!!!)

Check out the photos on Facebook! (Unfortunately, I was too busy running around that I never got a good chance to take photos. If anyone has any pictures from the event … please email them to me so I can post them!!!

SURLY GIRL SALOON TEAMS UP WITH THE BEER WENCH FOR AN ATYPICAL BEER TASTING

COLUMBUS, Ohio – COLUMBUS, OH May 28, 2008 – Surly Girl Saloon has joined forces with local beer blogger, The Columbus Beer Wench, to create a completely unique beer tasting experience.

Known for consistently listening and responding to the wants and needs of its community, owners Liz and Tim Lessner jump at any opportunity to support its local beer loving population. The Wench recently co-hosted a successful beer tasting at one of the other Lessner local establishments, Tip Top Kitchen & Cocktails, this past April.

This time around, The Beer Wench has partnered up with Surly Girl Saloon co-owner and General Manager, Carmen Owens as well as Andy Wuelfing , a local beer representative from Premium Beverage Supply, to co-host a beer tasting in the back room of Surly Girl Saloon.

The Surly Girl Saloon proudly handles 24 beers on draught – everything from ridiculously hop-heavy IPAs to ridiculously malt-heavy Belgians. Infamous for its originality, Surly Girl Saloon offers one flavor of cupcake every day, including Chocolate Cayenne, Fresh Banana with Peanut Butter Buttercreme, and Spice Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting. Mmmm. Beer. Cupcakes. Beer. Cupcakes. Can anyone guess the premise of the tasting yet?

Surly Girl Saloon, in conjunction with The Columbus Beer Wench, invites the citizens of Columbus to explore the uncharted territory of a beer, cheese and cupcake pairing on Sunday, June 8th. The theme of the actual beer tasting will be a battle of India Pale Ales versus Belgian Ales. Tasters will learn the different nuances of each of the two styles, all while enjoying delicious fresh baked cupcakes and select styles of beers and cheeses.

The official tasting will take place on Sunday, June 8th from 5pm until 8pm in the back room of the restaurant. The event will cost $20 dollars a head and includes the beer, cheese and cupcakes. Lara Yazvac, bartender and catering consultant for Surly Girl Saloon, developed the pairings, including all of the cupcake flavors, and will be preparing the cupcakes for the tasting. The IPAs will be paired with the cheeses while the Belgians will be paired with cupcakes. The current cupcake pairings include:

Piraat Triple IPA with an orange and cardamom cupcake

Brasserie des Rocs Grand Cru with a Tommy Knocker Nut Brown Ale and cheddar cheese cupcake with bacon cream cheese frosting

Lindeman’s Framboise with a lemon rosemary cupcake

Lindeman’s Pomme with a goat cheese cupcake

About Surly Girl Saloon

Co-owners Elizabeth Lessner, Marcy Mays and Carmen Owens envisioned Surly Girl Saloon in 2004 as a pirate ship-meets-rock&roll bordello with an inspired draught beer selection and Southwestern-influenced menu. Opened in late 2005, this restaurant/bar features sassy comfort food served 11am-2am every day as well as plenty of clever adult beverages and beers with the bonus of a small venue for free entertainment many nights of the week. Surly Girl Saloon has been recognized both locally and nationally for some of its unique weekly entertainment like Punk Rock Aerobics and Open Mic Comedy, was voted Best Bar Food in Columbus by a local publication this year, and has been featured in the likes of Spin, Bust, Esquire (as a “Best Bar in America”), Budget Travel and many other publications as a worthwhile destination in Columbus.

About Carmen Owens

A former manager of Betty’s Fine Food and Spirits and a veteran of the industry, Surly Girl Saloon managing partner Carmen Owens has helped develop the current food and drink menu. Her current fascination with all things cupcake led to their presence as a dessert at SGS and now to an event which will hopefully bring together 3 of her favorite things for the public: beer, cupcakes, and learning about new ways to enjoy beer and cupcakes.

About Premium Beverage Supply

Premium Beverage Supply is based out of Hilliard, Ohio and distribute the world’s finest craft and specialty ales, lagers, and spontaneously fermented beer.

About The Columbus Beer Wench

The Columbus Beer Wench is a local Columbus based beer blog written by Ashley Routson. With the goal of becoming more educated on the world of beer, The Columbus Beer Wench invites blog readers to join in her venture towards becoming a beer connoisseur. As of this February, The Wench has been hosting informal beer tastings with local citizens at a various local establishments. The “Drink With The Wench” events have been successfully bridging the interactive realms of social media with the real world Columbus community.