The exquisite synthesis of music, culture, cuisine and craft beer that is the Brooklyn Brewery Mash tour will return for its fourth year in 2016, visiting nine world cities. Free concerts, rare beer dinners and the spirit of discovery and urban exploration will accompany The Mash in its wake as it visits the following cities:
London – May 12-15
Stockholm – May 26-29
Chicago – Aug. 11-14
Philadelphia – Aug. 25-28
Paris – Sept. 22-25
Washington D.C. – Oct. 6-9
Boston – Oct. 13-16
Austin – Nov. 3-6
New Orleans – Nov. 17-20
Each iteration of The Mash will be custom-tailored to its specific city, with a theme built around emerging neighborhoods and the discovery of new experiences in what might at first glance appear to be a normal setting. The festival will last four days in each location, launching with an invite-only tasting of rare Brooklyn Brewery beer before segueing into events centered around national headlining musical acts and the arts of cookery and beer pairing. Here’s a breakdown of each day of the festival.
Thursday – Brooklyn Beta Test
These invite-only Thursday events feature unreleased “Ghost Bottles” and Brooklyn Quarterly Experiments from the brewery’s extensive cellars, led by Gabe Barry, the brewery’s Beer Education & Community Ambassador. Ghost Bottles, as those lucky enough to have sampled them before will know, are the product of whimsical experimentation by Brooklyn Brewery brewmaster Garrett Oliver and the company’s brewing team. They’re only poured by brewers in person, and represent forays into the ephemeral side of brewing, with the possibility of one day becoming wide releases. Several classic Brooklyn beers, such as the lemon and spice-tinged Sorachi Ace saison, initially began life as Ghost Bottles. If you follow @BrooklynBrewery on Twitter, you’ll have a chance to win passes for this event.
Thursday – Feast
The brewery describes this ticketed, bacchanalia-like table as a dining experience that participants will remember for a long, long while. The meal is the brainchild of Brooklyn Brewery Chef and Head of Culinary Programming, Andrew Gerson, who travels with the Mash tour and treats the Feast as his statement event. Carrying out and building upon the philosophy of craft beer as a culinary implement laid out by Garrett Oliver in his seminal 2005 book The Brewmaster’s Table, he throws the now-familiar concept of the “beer dinner” out the window by designing a meal meant to be shared and taken at one’s own pace.
“Rather than telling the guest what they should expect or experience, it’s a celebration of seasonal ingredients and the versatility of beer that they discover for themselves,” Gerson explains. “There’s not one person proselytizing. Instead, there’s a welcoming opportunity to explore for yourself. So although there are some more intentional pairings on the table, all of the beers are presented at the same time—you taste and pair at will.”
In the 11 years since The Brewmaster’s Table, Gerson has had a perfect vantage point to watch the acclimation of beer geek palates to craft beer as a food pairing. No longer is it necessary to convince drinkers of beer’s place in fine dining, which means chefs are more free than ever to stretch the boundaries of traditional pairings.
“I think that some of the old concepts of verticals, or starting with your lightest and moving to darker or biggers beers is a little outdated,” Gerson said. “We’ve seen how palates have changed, and now we can break those former concepts. The tasters are much more adventurous and comfortable in exploring than ever.”