Jason and I finish our #cpbestinfest episodes and highlight the inaugural Best in Fest winner, Institution Ale Co.  Shaun Smith, takes time out of busy schedule to visit with us about Institution Ale Company's growth and guides through a tasting of Restraint, the winning beer.

Food Pairings for Restraint

Kevin
Chinese Cuisine: Soy Duck
French Cuisine: Duck la Orange
Italian Cuisine: chanterelle Risoto
Japanese Cuisine: Roast Trunips
Mexican Cuisine: Pork Tomale
US Cuisine: Deer/Elk
Breakfast: Bangers and mash
Dessert: Tiramisu

Zach
Us Cuisine: Any kind of BBQ




Andrew
Dessert: Wafer cookies, caramels

Jason
Us Cuisine: Roasted pork loin with thyme and a light berry glaze

From Institution Ale Company's Website:
An American Brown Ale aged on hard maple. This beer balances complex flavors of nuttiness, chocolate, roasted coffee, and sweet maple. A full bodied yet refreshing dark ale.

ABV: 6.0%   IBU: 34   SRM: 21

This is the 21st year of this annual event and to celebrate its coming of age -so to speak- beer has been "officially" included in the title of the event.  Casa Pacifica Angels Wine, Food & BREW Festival kicked off its 2014 festival with a commercial beer competition on May 3rd.

To make the introduction of beer in the title something really special, we added a commercial beer competition to the mix to highlight local and regional breweries. We thought this would be a great way to bring attention to the growing craft beer movement and give you a chance to explore new beers or beer styles and plan your beer tasting experience once you step through the gate. 

What makes this competition something special is the judging panel was asked to provide food pairing suggestions for each of the beers that were entered into the festival.  Below you will find their food pairing suggestions for Surf Brewery's County Line Rye. You won't be able to find all of their food pairing suggestions at the festival -some of them are pretty exotic- but use the suggestions as a guide to enhance your beer experience.

Food Pairings for 
County Line Rye


Kevin
Chinese Cuisine: Kung Pao
French Cuisine: Creamy Cheeses
Korean Cuisine: Fish curry
US Cuisine: Grilled Corn
Breakfast: Chorizo & Eggs



Zach
US Cuisine: Burger topped with bacon and sunny side eggs.

Andrew
Mexican Cuisine: savory 
US Cuisine: savory

Jason
Other: Rich/savory meaty stew

From Surf Brewery's Webpage

INSPIRATION: Named after a surf spot bordering Ventura County & LA County. 

TASTING NOTES: Brewed as an American Pale Ale with a twist, a healthy dose of rye adds a subtle spiciness and frothy white head while generous amounts of pleasantly spicy and floral American hops compliment the gentle rye character. Pairs well with a sloppy burger at the beach! Gold medal winner in 2012 and Silver medal in 2013 at the LA County Fair Commercial Beer Competition.

14.0°-Plato  41-IBU  7.0-SRM  6.0-ABV

The Judges
Jason Hendrick, Zach Rosen, Andrew Carter, Kevin Prat

Whether it's seafood, comfort food, or dessert the pints&pairings #beersuggestioneers have you covered when it comes to Barrelhouse Brewing's Pale Ryder. 

Food pairings suggestions:  
1.  Biscuits and Gravy
2.  Lobster Roll 
3.  Crab Cakes

General Food Pairings: Cuisine: American, Asian, Mexican. Cheese: earthy (Camembert, Fontina), nutty (Asiago, Colby, Parmesan) tangy (Brick, Edam, Feta), Meat: grilled meats (poultry, pork)

Barrelhouse Brewing Co: Pale Ryder

American Pale Ale examples:  Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, Stone Pale Ale, Deschutes Mirror Pond, Full Sail Pale Ale

Serving: Pint Glass or Mug @ 40°- 55° 

Aroma: Subtle caramel and rye malt aromas round out the prominent lemony-hop aromas.

Appearance: Crystal clear copper with an slight off-white head that leaves plenty of lacing on the glass.

Flavor:  Prominent, lemony-herbal hop flavors dominate first but seamlessly fade into the spicy, rye malt flavors.  A dry, resiny hop bitterness lingers in the aftertaste.

Mouthfeel: Medium bodied, full flavor

Description from Barrelhouse Brewing Co.


Pale Ryder Rye Style Pale Ale – Citrus | Hoppy | Lemongrass
What makes our Rye Style Pale Ale memorable is it’s incredibly unique aroma. It delivers citrus, apricot, mango, ginger, and lemongrass, created from our one-of-kind blend of Sorachi Ace, Centennial, Cascade, and Chinook, followed with a beautiful balance of bitterness and malt character. We brewed long and hard to deliver something special among a sea of mediocre pales.
ABV 6.1% | IBU: 39 | S.G. 1.056

The pints&pairings #beersuggestioneers enjoy Saint Archer Brewing Company's Pale Ale.  Whether it is sushi, curry or somewhere in-between, we have a bunch of great beer pairing suggestions. But, hangout to the very end of the show for a "blow-your-mind" pairing!

Food pairings suggestions:  
1. Pasta with a garlic butter sauce and fresh ground pepper.
2. Clam sushi bite
3. Indian curry stew (either red or yellow)
4. Shortbread cookies

Basic Food Pairing Suggestions: Cuisine: American, Asian, Mexican. Cheese: earthy(Camembert, Fontina), nutty (Asiago, Colby, Parmesan) tangy (Brick, Edam, Feta), Meat: grilled meats (poultry, pork)

Saint Archer Pale Ale

American Pale Ale examples:  Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, Stone Pale Ale, Deschutes Mirror Pond, Full Sail Pale Ale

Serving: Pint Glass or Mug @ 40°- 55° 

Aroma: Reminiscent of an English pale ale in terms of malt aroma but with an interesting hop profile that perfectly melds several different hop varieties into a complex herbal, spicy, tropical fruit mixture.

Appearance: Hazy golden with a thin white head that fades quickly.

Flavor:  Grassy, earthy and malty bringing us back to a day when this is what pale ales were supposed to taste like. Malt becomes more present as it warms but the hop flavor becomes more piny and resinous.

Mouthfeel:  Medium bodied beer with a pleasant bitter aftertaste that leaves you wanting another drink. 

The pints&pairings #beersuggestioneers re-visit BJCP style #10 American Ales because I just happened to have a Surly Bender on hand.  This is a wonderful take on American Brown Ales and we have some fantastic pairing suggestions.

Pairing Suggestions for American Brown Ales
1. Quiche
2. Nutty Cheese
3. Caramel desserts

Style: American Brown
Serving: Pint Glass or Mug @ 45°- 50° 

Aroma: Hints of sweet chocolate, caramel with toasted nuts are typical of this style.  Some American browns have pronounced hop aromas especially if they are dry hopped.
Appearance: Pours clear brown to dark brown with a light tan head.
Flavor:  Pronounced sweet malty flavors reminiscent of caramel and chocolate are balanced by elevated hop flavors and bitterness.
Mouthfeel:  Medium-full body that finish fairly dry due to the hops and elevated carbonation levels.

Other Examples: If you can't find this particular beer, I suggest you start with Indian Brown Ale from Dogfish Head (hoppier than Bender) or Moose Drool Brown Ale (a middle point between the Dogfish and Surly browns) from Big Sky Brewing Co.

Food Pairings: Cuisine: Barbecue. Cheese: Earthy, Nutty. Meat: beef. Dessert: Chocolate.

HopHeadSaid: I prefer American brown ales over English brown ales because of the elevated hop profiles. The hop profiles help balance the toasted caramely/chocolate sweetness keeping the beer refreshing without limiting the beer’s pairing ability. The assertive hop intensity means the malt flavors have to be increased making it a great pairing beer for grilled foods, assertive cheeses and chocolate desserts.

Jason and I get back in the studio and catchup with each other. Spoiler alert ... Jason drinks more beer than I do! 

Your beer pairing suggestioneers are back this week with American Pale Ales. It is a welcome change of pace from the malty Irish and Scottish ales we had been drinking up to that point.  

Jason comes up with one of the most exotic Po-boy sandwiches I've ever heard of.  You'll have to listen to the podcast to find out what it is.

Pairing suggestions for American Pale Ales:

1. Cheese
2. Fried foods
3. Grilled foods
4. Pizza
5. Everything, except maybe dark chocolate.

10A American Pale Ale examples:  Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, Stone Pale Ale, Deschutes Mirror Pond, Full Sail Pale Ale,

Serving Temp: 40°- 45°

Suggested Glassware: Pint Glass, Mug

Food Pairing Suggestions: Cuisine: American, Asian, Mexican. Cheese: earthy(Camembert, Fontina), nutty (Asiago, Colby, Parmesan) tangy (Brick, Edam, Feta), Meat: grilled meats (poultry, pork)

Jason and I catch up with each other and talk about mobile bottling units, the local music scene and my interview with Jamie Floyd of Ninkasi brewing.