Get Surly!
May 2015
Greetings!  
Introducing Brewer's Table
Surly Brewing has always been comfortable challenging and elevating the perception of what craft beer should be. That same philosophy is now driving our craft beer-inspired, chef-driven restaurant, Brewer's Table - challenging and elevating people's perception of great food, paired keenly with Surly beer.
Credits: Michael Nelson/Surly Brewing Co.

Our new finer dining restaurant opens at 5pm this Friday, May 22. Brewer's Table is located on the upper floor of our Minneapolis brewery and offers an adventurous dining experience that aims to build on the movement to bring the range of the pint to the plate. Brewer's Table might be finer dining, but it's still Surly. We're not ones for airs and graces, this ain't a jacket and tie kind of joint.
Book Your Seats
The restaurant is open Wednesdays and Thursdays from 5-10pm, and Fridays and Saturdays from 5-11pm. We highly recommend you make a reservation, which can be for parties up to six people, on OpenTable. The bar seating area and the outdoor deck seating will be available for walk-ins. Book your seats HERE.

The Menu 

The menu will be broken out into the categories of "snacks," "small," "vegetable," "fish" and "meats." We'll regularly introduce new menu categories, with a focus on seasonable foods and ingredients.

 

When we open, menu items will include...
*    Snacks: Reuben with beef heart; fried green tomato with king crab.
*    Small plates: Beet salad with foie gras; crudo featuring guajillo and avocado.
*    Vegetable dishes: Risotto with wild mushrooms; cauliflower with carrot puree.
*    Fish dishes: Octopus with pickled peppers; Hamachi collar.
*    Meat plates: Guinea hen; lamb sweet breads.

  

The menu will also feature a "beer and a bump" order that pairs a surprise special dish with a Surly beer that complements the plate. You won't know what you're getting for the dish or beer until it's brought to the table.

 

Like our Beer Hall downstairs, Brewer's Table serves only Surly beers. We're only allowed to serve our own beer under Minnesota law, but this has given Executive Chef Jorge Guzman and his team, in association with Head Brewer Todd Haug, a unique opportunity to focus on pairing food and beer. Our servers will assist you to ensure you pick the best Surly beer to go with your dish.
Interview With Jorge Guzman, Executive Chef Of Brewer's Table
Our Executive Chef Jorge Guzman and his team of six chefs will lead the Brewer's Table kitchen. Guzman, a St. Louis native, cut his teeth in many Twin Cities finer dining restaurants, and also designed the menu for the Beer Hall. We sat down with him prior to the opening of the new restaurant.

What is the goal of the restaurant?
JG: We want this to be a casually graceful or a gracefully casual experience, not pretentious - approachable and comfortable. People can come in shorts and a t-shirt, a hoodie or business casual. We are aiming it at refined diners who are adventurous and who want to be exposed to new culinary ideas.

How you would describe the menu?
JG: It's an ambitious menu with aggressive plates. The menu really sets us apart because of the challenge in pairing our food specifically with beer. Our goal is to take people to new territory when it comes to food meeting beer.
We didn't want to do a course menu - when's the last time you ate like that? People don't eat like that, where they go from an app to a salad to a main course and a dessert. We want people to be comfortable to pick and choose what they want and sample across the menu.

How is the food different than the Beer Hall?
JG: The Beer Hall presents big, bold flavors that match the bold flavors of the beer. Downstairs, we concentrate more on the beer and food as a whole, not just focusing on one component or highlighted ingredient as we're doing upstairs.

I think Surly drinkers will welcome the challenges we put in front of them at Brewer's Table. The food is more nuanced and we've concentrated on specific ingredients in both the food and the beer that are accentuated when paired together.

How will the beers pair with the food?
JG: We are focusing on certain flavors in both the food and beer, and trying to accentuate or heighten them by making certain ingredients stand out.

What are some dishes that you feel are special?
JG: The duck heart is a very savory piece of meat. The Guinea hen when paired with a Hell tastes like summer, it's one of the pairings we are very happy with. The hamachi collar is one of simplest dishes with some of the best meat, and it also requires the diner to pick it up and eat it.

There is no signature dish - all the dishes have pinpoint tastes, all of them bring their own unique elements to the plate.

Where are the ingredients from?
JG: I don't use second-rate products. We are doing a lot of prep from scratch. We bring in food from well-sourced farms, sourced locally when we can, or from reliable vendors or farms.

How would you characterize the restaurant?
JG: Brewer's Table is a venture that we have taken on to show people that beer and food belong on the dinner table together. I love wine with dinner, but beer can also elevate my dining experience. We at Surly want to show our community that this is an awesome way to dine!

Both chefs and brewers are constantly learning, evolving and growing. The best part about it is that here at Surly we get to do that together to bring an experience to our guests that no one else is doing anywhere. We are more than excited for this challenge and cannot wait to share our experiences.