Slowly but surely, craft beer is taking over.  We now use cans more frequently.  We make great pilsners (see the Beer of the Week).  Now chicken wings, once the domain of happy hours and light American watery lagers, are being paired with craft beer.

I recently e-mailed Stefano Enjem, the man behind BrewWings , “a start-up mobile food business that focuses on pairing the best gourmet chicken wings with the ever popular and growing craft beer industry.  His goal is to change people’s perspective on “going out for wings and beer.”

BrewWings wants to cater (literally) to craft breweries who may have food less tap rooms, beer festivals that need food options and other beer-centric events and establishments. Enjem will “make sauces with local beer and then toss the wings and serve them together.” He also has “wing-tops,” customizable toppings for wings created on the spot to maximize the wing and beer pairing experience. Using the stout style as an example, Enjem explained that they “would toss up our original sauce (made with all fresh ingredients), and add bleu cheese crumbles to bring out the characteristics in the stout along with some crumbled bacon for taste and texture.”

And BrewWings will be traveling around L.A. in the coming days and weeks for you to give their take on wings a whirl:

– August 10th: Timeless Pints, Lakewood
– August 16th: Alosta Brewing, Covina
– September 13th: Eagle Rock Brewery, Los Angeles

The Beer of the Week is a hoppy and organic pilsner, Fresh Cut from Peak Brewing of Portland, Maine.  Instead of adding to the Session IPA craze, they have amped up the pilsner with Chinook, Citra and Centennial hops. This adds aromas of citrus, grass and spice without creating an ersatz pale ale or IPA.  It pours a bubbly and beautiful yellow and is a perfect, just-got-off-work beer to start your night with.

Your Homework is to watch some of the short form videos on the BrewAge YouTube channel. You can learn about yeast cultivation, barrel aging and wet hop beers. Learn about beer technology and home brewing. Or just get thirsty seeing all of the different beers on-screen instead of in your glass. The videos are well done, don’t overstay their welcome, and also introduce you to some of the characters that inhabit the craft beer industry.

Find more of Sean Inman’s writing on his blog, Beer Search Party.