Many restaurants offer wine dinners, and more recently beer dinners have become popular as well. But on Oct. 16, about 35 people enjoyed a friendly contest at Columbia’s Aida Bistro and Wine Bar to see whether beer or wine was a better accompaniment to a four-course meal.

Aida Bistro owner Joe Barbera and his chef, Sean Riggs, selected the wines for the evening, and Clipper City Brewing Co. provided the beer. The spirit of the evening was all about exploration, experimentation and fun, with a bit of a poke at the traditional notion that wine goes better with fine food than beer.