DIO NIC ESS X

If you haven’t been to a DioNicEss event before, the number 10 might be a good place to start. And you might want to lock down your tickets now because of who they are pairing with this time around….

“The tenth installment of the famed “DioNicEss” food & drink pairing series is coming to Long Beach’s celebrated Beachwood BBQ & Brewing on June 10. To commemorate this decadent decalogy, the theme of this event has been dubbed “DioNicEss X: Coming of Age,” a play on the fact that every course, as well as the rare beers artfully paired with them, will have undergone some sort of careful aging. Tickets to the 5pm dinner are now available for purchase, but they won’t last long. Admission is $80 per person, all-inclusive, with proceeds benefitting the Real Medicine Foundation. On deck for the evening:

5 aged foods paired with 5 aged beers — This menu is NOT for the squeamish. “We’re dealing with multiple types of preservation here,” says Executive Chef Gabe Gordon. “Pickling, salt curing, air-drying, fermenting, alkaline curing, smoking, barrel-aging, canning… you name it, we’re doing it. And some of these flavors and textures are going to be way the hell out there; I just want to be on record as having warned people about that ahead of time.”

Brewmaster Julian Shrago is creating a special beer called “System Of A Stout” specifically for this event. This limited, draft-only release is an imperial stout brewed with coffee beans (custom-roasted by Portola Coffee Lab to Julian’s specifications!), green cardamom pods, and blackstrap molasses, evoking the flavors of traditional Armenian coffee. In keeping with the event theme, the finished brew will then be aged on oak chips that have been soaked in 25-year-old Armenian brandy, adding even more layers of complexity.

In the spirit of all DioNicEss events, no detail is overlooked, thanks to a dynamic team working hard to craft an exquisite dining experience unlike any other:
Gev Kazanchyan, Public Health Professor & Food Writer
Gabe Gordon, Executive Chef, Beachwood BBQ & Brewing
Julian Shrago, Brewmaster, Beachwood BBQ & Brewing
Dave Watrous, “The Gueuzehound”, Beachwood BBQ & Brewing
Randy Clemens, cookbook author & BJCP Recognized Beer Judge
Cambria Griffith, Social Superstar, Golden Road Brewing

Guests will also be treated to a few unexpected surprises during the evening, including a small parting gift to take home and enjoy. Grand poobah Gev Kazanchyan explains this special touch: “In every one of the 10 DioNicEss events that I’ve organized, I’ve followed one simple principle: always over-deliver. There’s nothing quite like getting more than you paid for!”

More details surrounding this glorious evening and teasers for the menu will be posted to the DioNicEss Facebook page and @DioNicEss Twitter account as the event draws nearer. Additional kegs of System Of A Stout will be sent to a very small number of better beer bars in Los Angeles, Orange, and San Diego Counties, each of which has agreed to donate $2 per pint poured to the Real Medicine Foundation. Once the final list of participating locations is finalized, it will be announced via the aforementioned social media channels.”