#LeedsFoodMonth | Brewdog Pieminister Pies

Leeds Food Month is an incredible month long event showcasing the best food trends at the moment throughout the city, with special markets, events and some restaurants and bars showcasing special festival additions to their menus. By far, one of my favourite bars in Leeds is Brewdog, so when I heard they were taking part in the food festival, I couldn't resist but to pop on down and try one of their pies from showcasing kitchen, Pieminister.

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Brewdog Leeds is located just behind the Corn Exchange, and I was pleasantly surprised to find that a Pieminister restaurant had open on the opposite side of the old exchange - somewhere that I will definitely be trying to go to before I move away from Leeds. Whilst it's quickly becoming a staple chain brewery popping up around the country and beyond, Brewdog still has that unique feeling to it with it's cask beers and bottles of everything from sweet beer to incredibly peaty and high percentage beers. I am definitely a lover of the Dead Pony brew and also the Punk IPA. Brewdog also do amazing food - I was always a massive fan of their meat and cheese platter which had a selection of find meats and cheeses that complimented the hops in their beers perfectly. They have now changed over to including more 'bar snack' style foods.

I went along with my friend, Jez for lunch last week to test out some of these new popcorn flavours, as well as some of the fabulous pies for Leeds Food Month. We went with a cheddar cheese and smoked paprika flavour - cheese popcorn is something I have seen before and always wanted to try. We also went with the suggested beer to go with this popcorn flavour - This. Is. Lager. - which, I wasn't a massive fan of the taste of Pilsner malt, but I can't deny it had a smooth taste, which I wasn't expecting, and also complimented the rich cheesy taste of the popcorn - they certainly have their flavour combinations spot on!

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It was quite a long wait for the pies (forty-five minutes) which I was a little disappointed at, because they are usually fairly quick on their food turn around, however, the bar tender was really lovely in explaining that they took quite a while due to them being oven baked fresh to order - something which I didn't mind waiting for, especially when it allowed me to sample a number of tester beers in between.

I went for a Piesminister classic with a special Brewdog Twist - the Moodog - a delicious mix of Brewdog 5am Saint Ale, British Beef and Free-rage Smoked Bacon. You can even buy these pies online in boxes of six or twelve - which I strongly recommend!

The Moodog pie was absolutely delicious - mouthwatering chunks of British beef in thick gravy and really crispy pastry. The mustard side went really well with the pie as well, with the slightly spicy mustard complimenting the rich flavours of the beer gravy and bacon. It was one of the most delicious pies I've had in a long time and I can strongly recommend try one of these Pieminister pies! Especially in the Brewdog setting, which gives a truly honest British Pub feel to it with a modern atmosphere - a trend that I think will only get stronger in the UK in years to come.