The Best Dining Events at Brooklyn Brewery Mash With Chef Andrew Gerson

A huge part of the Brooklyn Brewery Mash is the pairing with food. Yes, the arts and music are very important and lots of fun. But the food's the thing, especially here. Happily, Brooklyn has its very own in-house chef, Andrew Gerson, who lives and breathes flavor combinations and tasty beer pairings.

He'll be here to oversee several events: The Slow Supper in collaboration with Dinner Lab on Tuesday, March 24; Pints and Pies at Pizza Delicious on Wednesday, March 25; and the Brooklyn Beefsteak at Republic on Sunday, March 29.

So, what's the deal with the Brooklyn Beefsteak caveman-esque meat frenzy?

It's a new collaboration we've been doing that really captures the food history of New York, a celebration of beef and beer which dates back to the 1800s when this would be an all-male fundraiser kind of event. We stay true to that by keeping that down and dirty vibe [Ed. note: though women can and do participate nowadays]. We provide an apron and that's it, no silverware, no plates. We've got 600 hangar steaks to cook up with butter and Worcestershire sauce. The steaks go out on a round of bread, which leads to the bread stacking competition - the more bread you have stacked, the more meat you ate and the more bragging rights you get. It's just a really fun, communal event.

What's your experience been working with Dinner Lab, not just here, but in all the cities the Mash goes to?

I just love the Dinner Lab format, and they do such an excellent job with creating and building space for these cutting edge, innovative pop-ups. They've taken the entire format to the next level, and the execution is amazing. I love the work they do with supporting up and coming chefs, and I've made a lot of friends through our collaborations.

For the Mash, this event is the most culinary and significant, because we can really showcase the possibilities of what a beer and food pairing can be. Really, the most interesting food I make is at these pop-ups.

What are your plans for eating and drinking in New Orleans?

I'm really excited about trying Mopho, I can't wait to see what Michael [Gulotta] is doing there. Cochon always delivers. I also want to get over to New Orleans East, I just got back from a trip to Vietnam and I'm just loving those flavor profiles and techniques. Gonna eat a lot of po-boys, and get to Sylvain. I think that's a lot of the list, but I know there's so much more.