Sparta’s Mohawk House ‘love their locals’ during American Craft Beer Week

SPARTA — If you build it, they will come.

Maybe it’s his love of “old world craftspeople.” Maybe it’s the stories behind the brews. Maybe it’s because nothing pairs better with fresh food than fresh beer. Whatever the case, Steve Scro, owner of Sparta’s Mohawk House, has created northern New Jersey’s first “craft beer mecca.”

“People are going back to the basics,” Scro says. “They want to know where their food is coming from and they want to know where their beer is coming from.”

Scro is using American Craft Beer Week (May 13 to 19) to make sure his customers know the answers to each of these questions.

On May 16, Scro will be holding a benefit for local farmers, some of whom grow and raise the very food found on the Mohawk House’s menu. As an interesting twist, Scro will be partnering those farmers with local brewers and brewery representatives. This marriage of food and beer, Scro says, will give people “a better understanding of the efforts and quality” that go into everything on the menu.

The pairings won’t stop there, either. While the Mohawk House has already embraced the concept of a “beer dinner,” where they invite a brewer to host a several course beer-paired meal, they will soon be pairing every dish on their menu with a draft from their ever-changing list of 50 beers.

“When you open a menu, you will see what pairs well with that meal,” Scro says.

Revolving pairings so often might seem like a lot of work to some, but Mohawk House Executive Chef Ken Salmon is up to the challenge.

“By talking with the brewers and learning what’s in the beer,” Salmon says he has learned to compliment the dishes he creates. “We’re constantly trying to find ways to bring [the beer] to the table."

The education goes beyond Salmon. In addition to nightly meetings and beer tastings, the servers take trips to local breweries to learn the science behind the beer.

Love your locals
In addition to the May 16 event, Scro will be offering drafts from the ‘Love your Locals’ section of his beer menu at a discounted price all week.

“We’re here to get more people introduced to these local breweries,” he says.

Aside from the American Craft Beer Week specials, the Mohawk House offers $2 off of all drafts daily from noon to 6 p.m., as well as half price growler fills on Sundays and Mondays. The revolving beer menu can be checked at www.beermenus.com, but Scro offers a word of advice if you see something you like — “Beer moves quickly here, so get it while you can.”