Once it hits your lips, it's so good.

Beer tasting club? In Tampa?  Yes, please.

This past Monday I had the extreme pleasure of attending the Inaugural Beer Tasting presented by Beer Tasting Club at The Green Lemon, formerly known as The Lime.

I had no idea what to expect from this event other than my ticket was extremely cheap and I would be sampling four craft beers.  Good enough for me!  So I was more than pleasantly surprised to find out upon arrival that we would also be served food pairings. We grabbed seats in a private room after being greeted warmly by Javi and Dave, the men behind the plan: get a group of beer lovers in a room, serve them some crafty suds and boom, instant party.  Simple but genius.

Our tasting was presented and explained by Kris, friendly and quite knowledgeable about the offerings. From bottom left and clockwise we have Graffiti Orange Creamsicle, an American Pale Wheat Ale from local craft brewery, 7venth Sun Brewing.  Next up is an American Style Double IPA, Green Bullet from Green Flash Brewing.  Definitely my favorite of the bunch. Top right is Purple Haze from Abita, a Light American Wheat Ale that most everyone has had if you're into beer.  And last but certainly not least was Happy Ending, an American-Style Imperial Stout from an awesome brewery, SweetWater Brewing Company, based out of Atlanta.

The chow was pretty tasty and surprisingly well paired.  In order of the beer I listed we had samples of the Crispy Mahi Taco, The Mateo ( a grilled skirt steak quesadilla), Homemade Jalapeno Poppers and a side of Guacamole.  The Happy Ending was topped off with a Churro and Vanilla Ice Cream.  Happy ending indeed... Nothing mind-blowingly unique but all good eats kindly served up by The Green Lemon, which also features an extensive Tequila Bar.  Silver.  Chilled.  No training wheels.  Info you need in case you'd like to buy me a shot...or three.

Company was fantastic and I'd say the first outing of the Beer Tasting Club was a success.  Definitely looking forward to what the next events hold.  I know I'll be surrounded by good people with great taste (even though a certain someone ordered a Corona Light and then promptly had to explain himself).  It was also my first visit to The Green Lemon and I was impressed by the plethora of tequila, the beer list, the eats and the atmosphere.

Stalk Beer Tasting Club on Facebook for more on events and check out their website http://www.beertastingclub.com/ to sign up.  Hope to see you at the next tasting.  Cheers!