Craft Beer Meets Culinary: The 2025 Pairing Dinner Menu
The Brewers Showcase at the 2025 Telluride Blues & Brews Festival will kick off in spectacular fashion on Thursday, September 11 at 6 pm with a decadent beer pairing dinner at Black Iron Kitchen + Bar at Madeline Hotel & Residences, an Auberge Resort.
This exciting culinary event will feature a five-course meal prepared by Madeline’s Executive Chef , thoughtfully paired with craft beers from Sierra Nevada Brewing Company, Firestone Walker Brewing Company, Crooked Stave Artisan Beer Project, 4 Noses Brewing Company and Carver Brewing Company. The evening will also feature live music from Jontavious Willis.
Attendees will be welcomed with an exclusive first try of Sierra Nevada’s PILS Premium Pilsner followed by five dinner courses with locally-sourced ingredients and their respective beer pairings. Brewers and personalities will introduce each course giving a unique insight into the world of flavor profiles and combinations. Diners will have the opportunity to meet and interact with hop farmers and brewers in an intimate setting unlike any other.
Tickets are $195 and include five courses and six craft beers.
2025 Menu
Welcome beer - Sierra Nevada PILS Premium Pilsner
King Salmon, Lager Leche de tigre, Red Onions, Cilantro, Avocado
- with Firestone Walker Brewing Co Cali Squeeze Blood Orange Wheat Ale -
Tomato carpaccio, Roasted Halloumi & Zucchini, Roasted Pepper hummus
- with Carver Brewing Company Weminuche Witte -
Raviolo, Shrimp mouse, Delta/Pale Ale corn sauce, Esquite salad
- with Sierra Nevada Pale Ale -
Braised beef cheek / Stout demi glace, Butter Chaterels, Purple Potatoes, chipollinis
- with Wild Provisions Geuze Belgium Sour Ale-
Baba, Pale Ale Almibar, Peaches, Vanilla Cream (Butter Beer)
- with Crooked Stave Brewing Company Colorado Wild Sage -
Chef Juan Carlos “JC” Flores Valle
Juan Carlos “JC” Flores Valle, originally from Acapulco, Guerrero, Mexico, joined the team in 2020 as an intern and quickly stood out for his creativity and passion. What started as a short-term role became a journey of growth, as JC developed into a core part of the kitchen through hard work and collaboration. Rooted in his Mexican heritage and inspired by the Rockies, JC blends tradition with fresh ideas to create food that connects people. For him, every dish is about more than just flavor - it’s about sharing stories and creating memories that last.
Jontavious Willis
Jontavious Willis is the performer this festival whose acoustic blues are the link between past and present. Since the age of 14, when he stumbled across a video of Muddy Waters doing Hoochie Coohie Man, Jontavious knew what he wanted to play. Already a seasoned performer thanks to attending church and singing with his grandfather, that first taste of the blues set him on his own path. His original songs mine the Delta, Piedmont, Texas and Gospel blues traditions, giving those classic artforms fresh interpretations. None other than Taj Mahal took note of Jontavious, calling him his Wonderboy, and inviting him on the road as the opener for the TajMo Tour with Keb’ Mo’.
His 2018 album, Blues & Rhythm, was awarded Best Self-Produced CD at the Blues Foundations’ International Blues Challenge and his second album, Spectacular Class, earned him a Grammy nomination.
He views blues music as a way to honor the past while keeping it relevant in the present. It’s a genre that resonates through time. “Out of all the current music I connect with the blues the best. The same blues songs of the Jim Crow era can still be sung today. The songs about getting mistreated and abused are still fights we battle daily.”
Tickets are $195 and include five courses and at least six beers.