Tuesday, August 9, 2011

Widmer Bros./DRAFT Magazine Beer & Food Tasting


from fodors.com

I know I’ve been writing a lot about beer recently, with IPA Day and International Beer Day, but ideally I’d live/work in a world where I only write about alcohol and I can claim that my bartending is all for research, and not actually leading to the decline of my liver (or both. Whatever). A friend living over in DC gave me a heads up about a delicious sounding beer event in the city, and if I’m sending you out of the ‘burbs I swear it will be good, or at least something I really want to go to.

Widmer Brothers and DRAFT magazine encourage you to “Explore Your Craft” this Saturday with a beer and food tasting, which I think is an excellent idea since most people (I’m among the guilty) are mainly familiar with Widmer’s Hefeweizen, and until recently wine’s been having all the fun with the food pairings. Did you even know Widmer makes other beer? They do. In addition to the Hefeweizen, they’ll be featuring their Drifter Pale Ale, Rotator IPA: X-114, Citra Blonde Summer Brew, Pitch Black IPA, Barrel-Aged Brrbon, Galaxy Barleywine, and a W’11: KGB Imperial Stout. How good does that Pitch Black IPA sound? And the Barrel-Aged Brrbon? Ok, they all sound pretty solid, and I may have to pick up some beer for “research” beforehand. You know, for journalistic integrity and because I care about you guys.

On top of the beer (which should really be enough of a reason to go already), Great American Music Hall’s Executive Chef James Whitmore will be dishing out foods themed after San Francisco neighborhoods, designed to complement the brews. The Cow Hollow menu focuses on fancy cheeses (my weakness) and nuts, but things really start shaping up with the dishes fashioned after Fisherman’s Wharf and The Mission. Snapper ceviche paired with the Pitch Black and a slow-roasted chicken mole alongside the KGB Russian Imperial Stout have me seriously salivating, and not just because I had the most pathetic sandwich at lunch today. Brownie bites and raspberry truffles from the Downtown selections finish off the night, along with more beer, naturally. I’m pretty sold, and I’ve definitely had way worse meals for the $50 ticket price. Plus, you get to meet Kurt Widmer and drink from a souvenir glass and write in your beer diary. My beer diary would start off ambitiously, talking about “the nose” and “hints” of flavors before gradually disintegrating into a mess of unidentifiable stains and enthusiastic scribbles like “I should start a brewery” and “Kurt’s the coolest!!!” Yes, that many exclamation points.
look how nice Kurt looks!

$50
6–9pm.
Great American Music Hall
859 O’Farrell St., San Francisco
Tickets 

1 comment:

  1. You should try their Halo... pretty pretty pretty good

    ReplyDelete