Pizza and Beer: there is a reason it is a classic

Yes, pizza and beer is a cliche. Everyone knows that pizza and beer go together. Why bother talking about it here? Here's why:It gets a hell of a lot better than a bud and pizza hut (hopefully this isn't an epiphany for any of you).

I experienced what was pretty much pizza and beer heaven this week and it just wouldn't be right if I didn't say a few words about it.

Okay, I've been to Mellow Mushrooms before. Actually, I've been to about five different locations, many times. This time was different.

We were in Athens looking for apartments and we stopped for dinner and ordered some pizza. I, after reviewing the taps, ordered a glass of Terrapin Hopsecutioner.



Terrapin Hopsecutioner
7.2% ABV, American IPA

Hopsecutioner, as indicate by the name, is an IPA with bold hop flavor up-front. It's well-balanced but with a great hit of piney, citrusy hop bitterness. This beer isn't revolutionary for an IPA, but it meets all the expectations for the style, delivering on flavor with a somewhat higher than typical alcohol content. The alcohol did get to work very quickly on my empty stomach, giving me a nice buzz and putting me in a great mood for the pizza. If you want a great IPA with plenty of great hoppy flavor, this is a rock solid choice.

This pizza was perfection. Italian sausage, mushrooms, feta cheese, and basil. Firstly, the crust was amazing. The dough was the perfect consistency - not too crunchy or undercooked - and was absolutely delicious, and was topped with a sharp Italian cheese, I'm guessing parmigian, and olive oil. The sauce was also great, not revolutionary but well executed. The toppings went together perfectly. This pizza was a delicious combination of the sharp feta and parmigian cheese, the creamy mozzarella, spicy and fatty sausage, savory mushrooms, and herbal fresh basil. I thought that this pizza was better than any I'd had at a Mellow Mushroom... they're doing it right in Athens.

The pizza and beer went great together too. The bitter, piney flavors in the beer cut through the creamy, fatty flavors of the pizza and accented the sharpness of the feat cheese. Having a slight buzz from the beer seemed to make everything more enjoyable as well. This was the best pizza and beer combination I've ever had. Pizza and beer isn't groundbreaking, but I enjoyed this meal more than any I've had in a long time and this enjoyment is all because of this pairing. How could I not talk about it here? If this is your kind of pizza, I highly recommend trying this out at Mellow Mushroom with a bold IPA like Hopsecutioner.