Finally, a post where I actually left the house! Two of my closest friends decided to do their birthday dinner at The Keg (can’t argue with that), which gave me ample opportunity to take a look at their beer menu.

Being a keener, I looked up the drink menu prior to even leaving the house to decide how I wanted to pair my drinks with my food, and when I first took a look at the drink menu, I noticed that their beer menu was smaller than the wine menu… like significantly smaller. I think there was about 100 wines and like 9 beers, making my selection a little easier.

I decided to start off my night with something nice and light to go with my [delicious] caesar salad, the Brickworks Street 501.

The menu mentioned that this selection was ‘bright, semi-sweet’, but, for some reason, I wasn’t thinking it would be a cider. So, my first sip was a bit of a surprise… but a good surprise.

Typically, sweetness from ciders gives me a headache, but because it is a semi-sweet cider, it was perfect for my tastebuds. Some ciders tend to be very dry when they aren’t overly sweet, but it had no fry finish at all. 10/10 on the cider scale.      

For dinner, I ordered the baseball steak (rare, of course) with mashed potatoes and veggies. To pair with my steak, I selected the 8th Sin by HopCity Brewing Company.

This beer pours very dark, is opaque, and is often mistaken for a stout (such as Guinness). I was feeling VERY full by the time my steak came, so I wanted to make sure my beer didn’t take up room in my stomach. Luckily, black lagers (unlike stouts), have a much lighter body without giving up on taste, making it an ideal beer to drink with a heavy meal!

When it comes to taste, it has a chocolate and espresso undertone, giving this beer an assertive bitterness. It is quite hoppy, with a dry finish. I have an acquired taste for bitterness, so my palate was quite pleased with this brew. I would definitely order this beer again!