San Diego Brewers Guild

SUDSY SAVOIR FAIRE – HOW SWEET (& SAVORY) IT IS!

Brandon Hernandez

SUDSY SAVOIR FAIRE – HOW SWEET (& SAVORY) IT IS!
CONTEMPORARY BEER AND CUISINE COUPLING IS ALL THE RAGE
by Brandon Hernández 02-2008

A bold, earthy cabernet and a thick, dry-aged pepper-crusted porterhouse steak. A crisp,
perfectly-chilled pinot grigio alongside a plate of fresh shellfish. A medium-bodied pinot noir to
amplify the flavor of grilled lamb chops. Food and wine go hand-in-hand and chefs relish the task
of pairing their gastronomic creations with just the right vintage and varietal.
A similar phenomenon involving the pairing of beer with food is picking up some serious steam.
Brewmaster dinners and special beer-pairing menus and events are popping up all across the
nation, not to mention right in our own backyard. A number of La Jolla restaurants are celebrating
the compatibility of their cuisine with craft brews hailing from San Diego to Europe and all parts
in-between.
Not surprisingly, one of the venues championing this movement is the La Jolla Brew House. A
restaurant that has made a name for itself with a rotating roster of varied yet equally satisfying
year ‘round and seasonal craft beers brewed on-site, this Fay Avenue hot-spot hosts a four-course
beer dinner each month for just $26. The most recent, the Winter Harvest Beer Dinner, featured
steamed mussels paired with a crisp, clean Belgian wheat, Angus beef short ribs and three-cheese
macaroni and cheese with a full-bodied Red Lion ale and chocolate and vanilla ice cream over a
peanut butter and chocolate cookie complimented by a roasty brown ale. Not quite the potato
chips a la sour cream and onion dip with a Bud Light you might have pictured at the open of this
article, eh?
Well this, fair reader, is only the tip of this tasty iceberg. The skyrocketing popularity of diverse,
flavorful craft brews being produced both locally (San Diego is widely-respected as one of the
top beer-producing regions in the country) coupled with our rapidly advancing dining scene and
the amazing fare being created by its talented chefs has created the perfect environment for this
deliciously intoxicating trend to ferment in.
Beer and food pairing is happening everywhere from small-scale neighborhood pubs and
watering holes to upscale restaurants. A prime representative of the latter corps is The Shores
Restaurant, an off-shoot property of the La Jolla Beach & Tennis Club. The restaurant recently
hosted a Brewmaster Dinner where the head brewers from Quebec-based Unibroue were on-hand
to educate diners on their line of old world-style European beers and sample the innovative flavor
combinations created by Executive Chef Bernard Guillas and Chef de Cuisine Augie Saucedo.
The meal kicked-off with plum-smoked prime New York carpaccio, arugula salad, cumin gouda
cheese and banyul syrup paired with Unibroue 16, the company’s 16th anniversary ale featuring a
semi-sweet, slightly smoky flavor profile with floral, herbaceous notes that further enhanced the
delicate carpaccio and arugula as well as the pronounced flavors of the smoky gouda and sweet
wine reduction. Next up was a mixed seafood plate featuring smoked salmon, mussels, scallops
and prawns in a delicate star anise butter that matched up perfectly with Unibroue’s citrusy La
Fin du Monde triple-fermented golden ale.
The entrée du jour was thyme-crusted pork tenderloin with potato rosti and candied onion glaze
matched with a caramely, slightly nutty Don de Dieu triple wheat ale. That was good, but the two
finest couplings of the night came next – a beer-battered apple beignet served with Ephemere, a
beer fermented along with Granny Smith apples, and dark chocolate truffles paired with a sinful,
cocoa-infused Tois Pistoles dark ale. At first thought, sweets might not seem to go well at all with beer. At first taste, however, it becomes clear that chocolate hasn’t seen such a natural mate since
being introduced to the marshmallow, graham cracker and campfire trifecta.
A long-time local craft beer institution that’s been onto this perfect partnership for quite some
time is Karl Strauss Brewing Company. They’ve been floating scoops of vanilla ice cream in their
Oatmeal Stout and toffee-esque Red Trolley Ale and setting their ales and lagers up with hot little
dishes for the past three years. From day one, food compatibility has been a chief priority. After
all, they were the first brewpub to open in San Diego since Prohibition and, as such, have been
instrumental in pioneering the beer and food connection.
In order to help ensure an optimal taste experience for their customers, Karl Strauss’ website is
equipped with a Beer Pairing section that lists which foods go best with each beer in their
extensive line. For those who are short on web savvy, time or both, servers are equipped with
knowledge of which libations go best with each dish, so you’re never more than a question away
from symbiotic food-and-beer bliss.
Best bets are the fried calamari with a crisp Woodie Gold to cut through the spiciness of the
accompanying chili aioli dipping sauce, Amber Lager with beer-brined pork chops or Stargazer
I.P.A. with either the drunken shrimp or spicy Cajun chicken pasta. Or sample Karl Strauss’
monthly feature – a brand new dish paired with the beer best-suited to compliment it. In
December, a Holiday Rye IPA was served alongside surf and turf. January featured a Red Trolley
Ale and crunchy BBQ chicken salad combo (the salad was so popular it is now on the regular
menu). This month, you can feast on pan-roasted tilapia over linguine coupled with a frosty
Amber Lager.
Now that you are up on this hip, fun, tasty trend you are implored to go forth and eat, drink and
be merry. A great opportunity for doing so will be Tuesday, March 11th at 7 p.m. when the La
Jolla Brew House holds its most popular dining event of the year, the St. Patrick’s Beer Dinner.
The number one resource for finding out about the exciting beer pairing events taking place
throughout our region is the Upcoming Events section of the San Diego Brewers Guild website –
www.sandiegobrewersguild.org. Check it out and take the first step into a brand new world of
spirited libations. And for more information on the restaurants mentioned in this article, refer to
www.lajollabrewhouse.com, www.theshoresrestaurant.com and www.karlstrauss.com.
# # #
Brandon Hernández is a native San Diegan. He has been featured numerous times on The Food
Network hit program Emeril Live, is the author of a cookbook titled The Restaurant At Home and
offers his expertise on food preparation and menu planning as a culinary consultant via the San
Diego-based Deep Crimson Culinary Visions. He can be reached via e-mail at
deepcrimson2008@gmail.com.
Contact Information
16096 Caminito De Linda
San Diego, California 92128
Phone: (858) 945-3462
E-mail: ssonic40@gmail.com

← Return to Article List