USA. Global restaurateur HMSHost has revealed Sycamore Brewing and Charlotte-based HMSHost Chef Michael Charette as the winners in the second staging of the ‘Brew & Bite Battle’ at Charlotte Douglas International Airport.
The exciting culinary competition pitted four well-known local craft breweries against each other – NoDa Brewing Company, The Olde Mecklenburg Brewery, Sycamore Brewing and Wicked Weed Brewing – in a contest to create the best snack-sized bite that “perfectly paired” with one of its signature beers.
Each brewery teamed up with a local HMSHost chef and had just 30 minutes to create a beer-and-bite pairing to impress the judges.
This year’s judges included stock-car racing champion Dale Earnhardt Jr and his wife Amy Earnhardt – hosts of podcast Bless Your Hardt – and Greg ‘Woody’ Wood, Chris Wilcox and Chelsea Paxton, hosts of Charlotte’s The Woody & Wilcox Show.
Sycamore Brewing and Charette came up with the winning combination via its ‘Sonoran Sycaburger’, which features chipotle blood orange aioli, fried green tomatoes and pepper jack cheese among its ingredients.
The tasty creation has earned an exclusive spot on the menu at select HMSHost restaurants across Charlotte Airport.
The other HMSHost chefs involved in the contest were Jadarian Davis (NoDa Brewing Company), Austin Mintz (The Olde Mecklenburg Brewery) and Michael Spears (Wicked Weed Brewing).
Event emcee for the compeition was Juanita Thompson, on-air host and correspondent at ReachTV.
Passengers travelling through the airport during the event also had an opportunity to sample craft beer from the participating breweries along with samples from event sponsors Liquid IV and Oberto Snacks. 
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