Last night was the kickoff event to the 3rd annual
Syracuse Beer Week. It was hosted at the
Empire Brewing Company in Armory Square and Madison County was well represented at the event.
I've been to a lot of food events over the years, but this was quite possible one of the best events showcasing beer and food in one spot. The event was called a Farmstead Beer Pairing and it featured 14 "grazing" stations around the restaurant. At the grazing station you also received about 5-6 ounces of a beer that had been selected to pair with that food. Most of the beers were from Empire, but they also featured beers from around New York such as Southern Tier Brewing Company, Brooklyn Brewery and Brewery Ommegang.
The real point of pride for the evening for us at Madison County Tourism was the overwhelming number of food products from our own farmers. In large part thanks to the great people over at the Central New York Bounty, 12 of the 14 stations featured a product from right here. Not to mention that hops from Foothill Hops flavor the Empire State Pale Ale, and pumpkins from Critz Farms flavor the seasonal Critz's Pumpkin Ale. It was fun to watch people taste the local products and sample the wide variety of products from Madison County. Whether it was Kobe Beef grown in Cazenovia, Elk from DeRuyter, Elm Oyster Mushrooms grown in Hamilton or Lamb Sausage with Hop Mustard the vast number of products produced by Madison County farmers is impressive.
All around what a huge win for the farmers in Madison County, and for the Empire Brewing Company. 
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