1st October 2009

Three Conies Beer with Food

22nd September

Our evening at The Three Conies, Thorpe Mandeville began with the House Bitter – ‘Drunken Bunny’ – on arrival and we were ushered into the dining room. This is a fantastic venue for an evening meal, the area is a converted barn and the high ceilings and tasteful decor contribute to an all round relaxing and enjoyable experience.

The first course was Leek & Potato Soup which was matched with Hooky Bitter. This was an excellent pairing as the beer really cut through the strong taste of the leek and onion. This was followed by a generous helping of ‘Mini’ Fish & Chips paired with Hooky Gold.

We were all agreed that the beer batter on the fish was the best we’d all had – it had no grease at all. An accompaniment to the fish & chips was Mushy Peas of which I have never been a fan.

However, these were no average mushy peas, they were homemade and were seasoned with fresh mint. The mintiness in the peas worked well with the hoppiness of the beer, the two herbs complementing each other well.

The whole dish went very well with the beer which was a slight surprise as Hooky Gold is not known to go with fish but the light freshness of the beer complemented the heaviness of the dish beautifully.

Our main course was Game Casserole with Mashed Potato and Seasonal Vegetables, this partnered Copper Ale. This is a pairing we had had before and worked very well. The casserole included Rabbit, Pigeon, Pheasant and Venison so there were lots of different flavours.

The beer stood up well to these rich meats and was the most popular combination of the night.

We were then presented with a stunning looking dessert of Chocolate Mousse presented in a Brandysnap basket served with a Spun Sugar garnish.

Double Stout was certainly the beer for this! We already knew that Double Stout goes very well with Dark Chocolate but it also complemented this delicate chocolate dish very well, the smoothness of the beer went down well with the smoothness of the mousse.

To finish off the meal we were presented with an impressive cheese board which included Stilton, Edam and Wensleydale.

We paired this with Twelve Days and, as ever, this was a beautiful coupling. Twelve Days always matches the cheese board, it is particularly good with blue cheeses (a great substitute for Port) and our opinion on the matter is if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!

We would like to thank Nick, Richard and all the staff for a really great evening!