Winter Beer Dinner

There are now more small breweries in America than any time since Prohibition, and San Diego-based Stone Brewing Co. — founded in 1996 — is one of the original West Coast craft breweries to lead that resurgence. Five of their beers are in the spotlight at the first Connoisseur’s Club beer dinner of 2014, presented with the guidance of cicerone “Dr.” Bill Sysak, known as a master pairer and all-around nice guy. (He got the “Dr.” nickname as an Army medic.) The meal begins with Thai fried oysters with spicy carrot-ginger puree and herb mix, paired with Stone’s Levitation Ale, and the courses and beers only get bigger from there.