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| Vanessa with Zane Lamprey |
Our first San Diego Beer Week experience has come to an end, and the grand finale was the opulent Beer Garden event at the Lodge at Torrey Pines, featuring plenty of beer and culinary pairings from some of San Diego's finest chefs. We even got to party with professional boozer and Drinking Made Easy host, Zane Lamprey.
San Diego Beer Week's Beer Garden Closing Party at the Lodge at Torrey Pines took place on Sunday, November 13th, 2011 from 12pm-3pm. The event brought together the best of San Diego's thriving craft beer community with food samplings from amazing local chefs. For $65, each admission included a commemorative glass and unlimited tasters of beer and food, with each brewery paired with a local chef to create a truly unique and delicious beer and food pairing event. The following is a list of the participating chefs, their offering(s), and the beer paired with their dish:
Dairy Less Grain Sweetened Chocolate-Peanut Butter Truffle Toasted Hazelnuts & Yogurt-Pumpkin Panna Cotta
+ Karl Strauss’ SDBW Double IPA, On the Tracks’ “Golden Spike”
Alex Carballo/Andy Halvorson – Stone World BistroStone House made “Charcuterie and Stone Farms Pickled Vegetables
+ Mother Earth Brewing Company’s Evo Ale, Lost Abbey’s Avant Garde
Hanis Cavin – Carnitas Snack ShackTzaddik Farms Turkey Ballotine / Toasted Hazelnuts / Black Kale/Dried Cherry Compote. Mole Negro
+ Rock Bottom Gaslamp’s English Brown, Rock Bottom La Jolla’s Black Porter
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| Chef Gunther Emathinger's lobster dish |
+ Manzanita Brewing Co’s Chaotic IPA, San Diego Brewing Co’s Freshy Yum Yum
Jeffrey Strauss – Pamplemousse Boursin Cheese Ravioli, Parmesan Cream, Rock Shrimp, Asparagus and Baby Tomatoes
+ Oggi’s Brewing Co’sBlack Magic Stout, Aztec Brewing’s Chipotle IPA
Anthony Sinsay – Harney Sushi Pretzel, mustard, cheddar, pork shank
+ Coronado Brewing Co’s Stoopid Stout, Ballast Point’s Abandon Ship Smoked Lager
Kyle Bergman – The Lodge at Torrey Pines Coconut curry/red curry grilled pork belly
+ Pizza Port “Hakuna Ma Ta Tas” Breast Cancer Awareness Pink IPA and “High Tide”
Amy DiBiase – The Shores
Lightly Smoke Trout, Crushed Potato-Fennel, Green Apple Salad, Pommery Mustard
+ AleSmith’s IPA, Mission Brewery’s Amber Ale
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| Chef Jeffrey Strauss' Ravioli and Rock Shrimp |
Hoi Sin Glazed Brandt Beef Cheek Bao Bun with Shiso & Pickled Shallots
+ Stone Smoked Porter, New English Brewing Co’s Explorer ESB
Jason McLoud – La Valencia
Goat cheese and wild mushroom flatbread
+ Lightning Brewery /Green Flash Brewing Co.
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| Chef Amy DiBiase's Trout dish |
Benefitting Chef Celebration Foundation of San Diego, the Beer Garden experience was a casual, yet elegant social atmosphere brought together by the San Diego Brewer's Guild. The Lodge at Torrey Pines made for a gorgeous setting for the event, and participants surely seemed to be enjoying themselves - one guest in particular.
"There's a murder! A murder!" - We heard the statement frantically screamed from the other end of the event. When we glanced over, to our surprise we saw comedian Zane Lamprey pointing to a flock of crows flying overhead (aka a 'murder' of crows). The outspoken host of boozing based shows Three Sheets and Drinking Made Easy was seemingly out of place at such an event, but was having a blast nonetheless. We chugged a few beers with him and moved back to stuffing our faces.
We hope that the Beer Garden event returns to the Lodge at Torrey Pines for many years to come. For $65, you definitely got your money's worth with unlimited food and beer samplings at one of the most beautiful settings in San Diego.
For more information on San Diego Beer Week, visit the website at sdbw.org, and for up to the minute information, follow Beer Week on Facebook and Twitter.
