SF Beer Week 2010: Lagunitas Brewer’s Tapas Dinner
My posts for SF Beer Week have been a bit delayed. Bad internet access and a new job have pushed my posts back, but I’m ready to dive in and get back on track. First up, The Brewer’s Tapas Dinner at Lagunitas Brewing in Petaluma which took place last Tuesday. Riding shotgun with me for this event was fellow Hop Press writer Mark Dredge who was visiting us from London.
The evening started with mason jars full of Lagunitas’ flagship brew, Lagunitas IPA. It’s funny, with access to so many of Lagunitas’ beers locally, I rarely have the IPA and honestly can’t remember the last time I had one. It was nice to get re-acquainted with the beer as it was fresh, hoppy and refreshing.
To start off the dinner, the glasses of IPA were topped off to go along with Asian-style duck confit on wonton chips. The maltiness of the beer matched the richness of the duck with the hops cutting through it all to balance the pairing.
The next course was a beer cheddar soup made with Lagunitas Imperial Stout. This was a twin pairing with the Imperial Stout and the double IPA Hop Stoopid. I felt the Imperial Stout proved to be an excellent pairing with the sharp flavors of the cheddar playing against the roasted malts of the stout. The Hop Stoopid missed the mark in my opinion but I talked to others who preferred the pairing. Either way it proved a good opportunity to try out Black and Tans in between courses.
Course three was a mixed greens salad with a Czech Pils Balsamic Vinaigrette. The idea behind this course was to acts as a refresher for the palate. The flavors were subtle but sharp with the hops, vinegar, onions and blue cheese all providing sparks that lit up the tongue and brought some excitement to the dish.
My favorite course was the fourth course, short ribs braised in hairy eyeball served over creamy polenta and paired with fresh Hairy Eyeball. The theme of this dish is “rich” and it was brought in waves. The short rib fell apart on the fork and soaked up the gravy. With the polenta on the same bite it brought back memories of meat and potatoes on cold nights. The Eyeball blended in perfectly with the other aspects of the dish in a completely complimentary way.
To finish the evening the party shifted upstairs to the private loft where vertical offerings of Gnarlywine, Eyeball and Imperial Stout made their way around along with a trio of Cappuccino Stout cupcakes. Mark and I went ahead and had a taste of the Gnarlywine flights. Vintages from 2006 and 2008 were offered up for us to try. I’ve always felt that Gnarlywine hits its stride at 2 years and this only strengthened that opinion. At two years the oxidative notes add body and complexity to the beer while they begin to fall away in the 4-year old.
All around, the dinner was a great experience. The beer flowed freely and the individual courses were well thought out and a great example of how beer and food can compliment one another. For pictures of the food and other happenings that night check out the slideshow.
2 Comments to “SF Beer Week 2010: Lagunitas Brewer’s Tapas Dinner”
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How about mentioning the chef who created all of these wonderful dishes…
Lisa Galindo was the chef for the evening