Last Saturday instead of finishing my keezer, doing school work, repairing the garden beds, wiring the home network, doing our taxes, paying bills, or any of those other things we should have done, we went to Dry 85 for their Bacon Brunch.

I wanted to try out Dry 85’s brunch ever since I saw “HOGS-N-HOPS” on the menu. Calling it “Bacon Brunch” also sets a certain level of expectation that only added to my need for a meal based around beer and bacon. Thankfully I was not let down. The menu has exactly what you would expect. Bacon.

Everything (with one exception) on the menu has bacon in it, or the item simply is bacon. The one exception is bacon lox, which is made of salmon. The last time I checked salmon was not made out of bacon. I could be wrong though, since just about everything is made out of bacon these days.

I started off with an Arrogant Bastard and was quickly reminded of how much I enjoy this beer. It has been a really long time since I last had one, and it was like sitting down at the bar to catch up with an old friend. Everyone talks about the hops in this beer, and there are a lot of hops, but for me it’s the malt that really makes this beer great. The strong roast, chocolate, and caramel malt flavors really help balance out the strong alcohol and intense hops. And as much as I enjoy Arrogant Bastard I have to admit that it does come on strong. Just like that old friend, I’m glad we had the chance to catch up after so long, but I’m ok with the fact that he only comes by once a year.

Now I also promised to write about bacon, and Dry 85 gave me a lot to write about; however, I’m going to focus on the Hogs-n-Hops because it is the purest form of beer and bacon indulgence on their menu.

The photo above is the Hogs-n-Hops (plus my Arrogant Bastard). It’s a mix of three different types of bacon, paired with one of the hoppier beers on draft. So you may be asking, “just a plate full of bacon?” To which I will reply, shut your face because this is delicious.

You get two large strips each of apple smoked bacon, double smoked bacon, and maple bacon. The apple smoked is just really high quality smoked bacon that has been cooked to perfection; however, the double smoked is something entirely different. Imagine the greatest Christmas ham you have ever tasted. Now imagine you’re sitting by a toasty warm camp fire as the smell of hickory fills the cold autumn air. Now imagine those two experiences had a beautiful love child that was immediately slaughtered, cured, sliced, and fried to perfection. That is what the double smoked tastes like.

The maple bacon was also a great experience, but it needs to come with proper eating instructions:

1. Pick up maple flavored bacon between thumb and two fingers.

2. Take bite of bacon and return it to plate.

3. Lick bacon flavored maple syrup from thumb and fingers.

4. Repeat.

Overall I have to say that the combination of IPA and bacon is a great one that I can’t believe I’ve never tried before.