Category: Beer & Food

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from the Untappd Podcast – Part 1


I have been listening to the Untappd podcast a bit, been on a pod binge of all sorts lately and two stories caught my attention that they spoke about, here is number 1…

Who would have thought that Stouffers meets craft beer in Alabama.

Back Forty Beer Co. from Gadsden, Alabama, provided Stouffer’s with the beer for the new frozen entree Beer Glazed Meatballs. Back Forty’s Truck Stop Honey Brown Ale (silver medal winner in the Specialty Honey Beer category at the 2010 Great American Beer Festival) is the beer used and though, I can’t drink that beer with the meal, maybe I could find a different one to pair with it. And maybe, Stouffer’s will create a whole craft beer line of dinners.

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Six Courses


The official cask marque’d beers of Yorkshire Square Brewing are getting the beer dinner treatment.
Robert Bell, the Executive Chef of the restaurant Chez Melange along with YSB owner Gary Croft and Andy Black the brewmaster from Yorkshire Square have created a quite British take on the beer dinner.

Here are the pairings, “Mini Cornish Pastie that pairs incredibly well with the Early Door, an English pub bitter. Served next, is the Bouzy Scotch Egg paired with the Little Nipper Beer, a golden ale/blonde ale. The third tasting includes Mulligatawny, an English soup, paired with Yellow School Bus, an American style cream ale. Fourth, is an authentic Pork Vindaloo served with an extra special bitter, the Strongest Possible Language. Fifth, is the Lamb Shepherd Pie paired with the Double Mashed Export Stout. The night is then finished with a century old dish, Spotted Dick with vanilla custard and paired with an English Pale Ale.”

Tickets are $45 per person for the August 27th event (that is a Monday), plus tax and service, and are available for purchase by calling Chez Melange at (310) 540-1222.

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Eat and Drink Your Feelings


My wife and I have been enjoying the Los Angeles Ice Cream boom for a few months now. We even have a list, comprised of, need to visit, have visited – liked, have visited – didn’t like. I thought it was a nice long list but Eat Your Feelings was not on the list.

Now, thanks to Eagle Rock Brewery, I can get some ice cream and beer pairing going….
“Our friends from Eat Your Feelings will be out at the taproom serving up some delicious gourmet ice creams to have with your beer on Thursday, September 6th from 6-9pm. Bring some friends and see who can come up with the best flavor combinations! Maybe we can even convince Chef Jason to make an ice cream with that beer!”

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Pizza and Casks


Coming soon, when you are at MacLeod’s for a pint of the cask, you will be able to slide over to a window and get some pizza to go with it.

The next door kitchen will be overseen by chef Bruce Hall (who is also heading up the upcoming 2nd location Ale and Pie Emporium). The window will have slices and salads. Then it is up to us to determine which pizza pairs best with which beer.

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A Beer & A Podcast – The Dave Chang Show


I have already highlighted one Ringer podcast and now I am back with another. But this one delves (at first) into the opening of the Majordomo restaurant by Dave Chang of Momofuku fame.

The podcast starts with episodes before the restaurant opens and then into a few episodes after the initial start of service. Bill Simmons is around for these episodes to add in sports analogies and the voice from outside to the proceeding which really do shed light on the process of opening a brand new restaurant especially in a city that Chang has not opened a restaurant in before. Not to mention the location which is not Beverly Hills to say the least.

You will get hungry while listening even though there is some repetitious sections (enough about the Kimmel dinner already!) but buried in the discussion are some great realizations about how to manage and how to delegate and just how to be a boss which I think are even stronger than the restaurant topics.

The beer choice is easy. Grab a crowler or a 4-pack of cans from Highland Park Brewery. Their new Chinatown location is a two minute drive from Majordomo. Maybe you can get the Quinoa Cowboy Pale.

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Adoption


Masumoto Farms is well known in the SoCal beer world. You see lovely beers from Homage to Cellador to many, many more that use their stone fruit to make their beers even better.

But even I did not know that you can “adopt” a tree. Check HERE for the details. Yes, it is expensive. Yes, you harvest in July and August when it is really damn hot.

But the thing is, this agriculture is important. Beer is soooo tied to the land and any opportunity to help those who actually do the hard work of growing should be rewarded. Shouldn’t farmers and teachers get the same money that LeBron does? Or at least 1/2?

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Gold

I am not an adventurous eater. I can’t handle even mild spice. Sushi makes me gag. But because I live in Los Angeles, I didn’t need to be.

Jonathan Gold did all the eating for the whole city. I would listen to him on Good Food and wonder how many restaurants in the San Gabriel Valley that he had been to and if it was close to 100% of them. I would skim his Gold List and be amazed at the width and breadth of it.

But setting aside the food, the two things that I hope to always carry with me, are his enthusiasm and positivity. That genuine food lust wasn’t loud or boisterous but it was poetic and very descriptive. Pick a random review either in print or audio and words will start to fly at you. It is almost as if he was describing the feel of the dining room as he was eating.

The lack of (in a good way) of purely negative reviews is something that I have latched onto as well. Is there bad food and bad beer, yes? Should one write about them? Probably, but as has been said of Michael Jackson and his beer writing, the omissions said all one needed to know about any faults. I would rather steer someone towards the good as opposed to penning a vitriolic post.

L.A. got lucky to have Mr. Gold around searching out food adventures and his insight will be sorely missed. But I do believe that others, like me, have taken their favorite aspects of his writing to use when they sit down to write about whatever their passion is,and that will keep L.A. food and beverage writing truly Gold-en.

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To the Market


Usually beer dinners are a bit pricey. (Usually for good reason) But if you were looking to try a beer and food pairing and are closer to Silver Lake than Inglewood, then this Three Weavers at Gelson’s event might be for you.

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Strand to APL

I follow the intersection of food and beer a lot. Usually it is the beer dinner that is at the fore. But I believe that beer and food will have really made it when dive bars to fancy James Beard-y restaurants have three to four taps of local #independent beers on tap. As cities like Portland and Denver do to name just two.

But then I saw this…

The restaurant is an anticipated steak house in Hollywood, APL. The photos I saw of the interior are classy AF. So seeing that they have a single beer supplier and it is Strand Brewing from Torrance is super cool.

L.A. beer needs to continue to embed themselves in restaurants.

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Paired in LA

When it comes to pairing beer and food, the Brewers Association has an ace in the hole with Chef Adam Dulye.

And Los Angeles will benefit from his expertise and some mighty good beer when they finally West Coast their PAIRED® event on October 18 & 19, 2018.

“PAIRED is the ultimate collaboration between celebrated chefs and small and independent craft brewers from around the country.” The fact that you might find some great beer that you normally don’t see should excite you.

Here are more of the details: “A cadre of 42 small and independent craft brewers will be selected via lottery to participate and partner with 21 chefs to create two delectable dishes paired with two special beers.” Chefs will be coming from Colorado, Pennsylvania, Washington DC and Missouri.

PAIRED L.A. will take place at Los Angeles Center Studios. Tickets are $85 for general admission. A limited number of VIP tickets will be sold for each night for $200. The VIP experience includes early entrance, VIP Lounge (with seating) overlooking the event area, specialty beer tastings not found in the main event, meet & greets with brewers, exclusive credentials and gift, and more.