Beer and bacon tasting at Paddy Long’s Pub: Photo gallery

Owners of Paddy Long’s Pub have created a delicious twist to the typical beer tasting: A side of bacon with each pint. Patrick Berger and Chris Latchford have been beer geeks since before the opening of their Lincoln Park bar in 2007—and starting out with four types of bacon on the menu, beer and bacon pairings felt almost inevitable.

“I live in a Polish neighborhood, so I ate a lot of bacon already. We ended up putting a few different types of bacon on the menu anyway, so Chris and I kind of came up with the idea because we already loved both [beer and bacon],” Berger said.

The beer and bacon tasting appears an instant hit, with standing room only at their first event last November. Since then, over 3,000 bacon lovers have stopped at Paddy Long’s to get a taste of the combo. In the meantime, the guys seem to have perfected their succulent pairings.

The pairings change seasonally. I tasted a number of the savory bacon and refreshing beer pairings on October 9th. This season, beer and bacon lovers begin with a locally brewed Metropolitan Krankshaft Kolsch (made in Ravenswood) and a ham-like bacon. Round two was a perfect pairing of mildly spiced peppercorn bacon and a light smooth Trumer Pils to sooth the mouth after each bite. The similarities in the water in Berkley, Cal. and Salzburg, Austria (location of the original brewery) have brought another brewery to the American West Coast. This easy drinking lager has won the beer world cup the past two years.

The Spaten Oktoberfest that came in round four seemed to be a crowd pleaser. The slightly darker malt had a citrus tang that was accompanied by an American breakfast bacon. The tangy and smoky hickory pairing is one of Berger’s (co-owner) favorites. “This beer is made for pounding down and having fun. This beer has already got me in trouble this year,” Berger said. The last beer on the list of five was what the staff at Paddy Long’s called "the dessert." A hint of coffee and chocolate in the Stone Smoked Porter escorted by a brown sugar crusted bacon left tasters with a sweet memory of their first beer and bacon tasting.

Tastings take place every Wednesday and Saturday evening 7—9pm and Sunday afternoons 2—4pm.

Take a look at the pairings offered this fall after the jump.

Today's Beer & Bacon Pairing

Metropolitan Krankshaft Kolsch paired with Irish Bacon
Brewed in Ravenswood, this German style Kolsch goes great with the Irish bacon.

Trumer Pils pairerd with Pepper Bacon
Classic thirst quenching Austrian pils that puts out the fire from the peppercorn smoked applewood bacon.

Boulder Mojo IPA paired with Imported Danish Bacon
The spicy hops go wonderfully with the thick cut Danish.

Spaten Oktoberfest paired with Hickory Smoked Bacon
The sweet malt in this classic Bavarian seasonal lager goes nicely with this hickory bacon.

Stone Smoked Porter with Brown Sugar Bacon
Chocolate and coffee with a hint of smoke make it the perfect companion to this sweet bacon.