With things opening up again at Lockdown Level 2 Delta (as it is known…), we were able to go to a pre-lockdown planned trip to local pub Sprig and Fern for one of their annual beer and pie tasting sessions. This year, the offering was five Sprig and Fern beers with five empanadas from Marianas Kitchen. We went for Sunday lunch after a walk through the Botanic Gardens.
Below you can see the five beers and five empanada before we started eating and drinking. Naturally the glasses are tasting sizes and not pints! It always looks so good all laid out and ready to be tried.
The first empanada was a pork, beer and mustard one, made from pork slow cooked in Pilsner. The beer was, naturally, Sprig and Fern’s Pilsner. A good match, and a good fresh start to the tastings. Next up was a lamb and herb empanada made with slow cooked lamb, Malbec, spring onions, thyme and rosemary and served with a New Zealand Pale Ale, which went really well with the very tasty empanada.
At number three (the picture below is of me at the half way mark), there was an American Pale Ale alongside a minced beef and spice empanada, with a good taste of cumin and paprika. Number four was our favourite combination, with a beef and chimichurri empanada served with a really lovely red IPA, which had a lovely almost caramel taste. Finally, there was a cheese and bacon empanada which I have to say was suitably cheesy served with a West Coast IPA which went well with the what we were eating.
Verdict? A fun way to spend a Sunday lunch, tasting a variety of beers alongside some food, and all within walking distance of home. We’ve done this event a few yeas now, and always enjoy it.
You can find Thistles and Kiwis on Facebook, and also on Instagram @thistlesandkiwis. As for Twitter….am totally inactive these days. If you want to get in touch, email me on thistlesandkiwis@gmail.com
Thistles and Kiwis 
That got me hungry for pie 😋. What a great event. Even the beer sounds good and I’m not much of a beer drinker.
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It was good fun!
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An unusual and fun event – glad you could enjoy it.
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Yes it was so good it was able to go ahead, albeit a month late.
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That really looks lovely! Tastings are so much fun… although I can’t do beer tastings because I’m coeliac but I do whiskey tastings.
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Both the beers and the pies look and sound amazing! I’m not much of a beer drinker, so these are probably the right size for me. I assume the pies are bite size? Nice to have somewhere like this that you can walk to and (and more importantly) back home!
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Yes – just small pies! And yes the walking to and from the venue was a good thing (and all uphill going home too…).
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That looks like such delicious fun, I think my favourite would have been the same as yours I love a a really dark beer/ale with what sounds like a real fancy pie, lol. Did you go home & have a nap after all that, such fun.
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Yes we did have a nap afterwards! It was a fun event.
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Mouth is watering!!
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This is inspiring! I used to make empanadas and I always drink beer. I’ll start rolling my dough and do a tasting at home. Such fun!
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Oh do try and share your results!
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I have to say I’m not really a beer fan and I’ve never tried empinadas but they sound really yummy
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