Beer Me

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By Kristin Namimoto As a person who has recently relocated to San Francisco, I’ve got the most ridiculous check-list of restaurants, food trucks and even shipping containers to visit. Though I do get around to crossing things off, my magical list seems to get exponentially longer every month. Not surprisingly, beer has been dominating this list lately. Like wine and sake, I’ve always enjoyed beer best with food. Here are some great beers and pairings I’ve tried recently:

Rodenbach Sour Ale and slow cooked char siu pork belly from Mission Chinese. The acidity makes a clean cut through the fatty, melt-in-your-mouth pork belly and balances it really well. I don’t really enjoy sour beer on it’s own but it’s pretty phenomenal with hearty dishes such as those found in some Americanized Chinese food!

Lost Coast Tangerine Wheat Beer and cornmeal fried oysters. Another former San Diegan and I were pleasantly surprised by this mildly hopped, bright beer. We had it on a road trip to Tomales Bay in a random roadside shop and it was the perfect pairing with cornmeal fried oysters for obvious reasons! It’s like summer in your mouth.

Morimoto Soba Ale and home-made mushroom pizza (chanterelles, maitake and oyster mushrooms with rosemary and parmesan).I had to try this beer- it’s made by Iron Chef Morimoto and Rogue.  The warm, earthy almost nutty flavors of soba complimented an equally earthy and warm homemade mushroom pizza beautifully.

Saison Dupont Farmhouse Ale with my favorite bar snacks at The Alembic: pickled quail eggs and a handful of honey-cumin glazed nuts. A couple of writer friends recommended Alembic and these dishes on a recent press trip and I have to say Alembic might just be my favorite beer bar in the city next to The Monk’s Kettle!

Celebrator Brauerei Aying Doppelbock and the charcuterie platter at The Monk’s Kettle. This rich, malty (and dangerous-if-you’re-not-careful) bock-style beer is especially delicious with the wild boar salumi and oak-smoked ham, which bring out the roasted notes in the beer.

I’ve also recently heard of barleywine- have you had it? If so, what do you think? We’d also love to hear any beer recommendations you have!