Last Thursday, I had the pleasure of attending Malts, Hops, and Curds at the Andaz downtown. This was my first time at one of their salon events, so I wasn't sure what to expect. For this event, we were tasting samples of beer from San Diego's very own Green Flash and delicious cheeses from another local place, Venissimo Cheese.
When I heard that these two businesses would be sponsoring the tasting, I knew that we were in for a treat. I've had a sampling of their items at various parties, but never had a custom tasting combining the flavors so well. We started off light, with the Saison Diego, which was quite refreshing, and paired quite well with the honey bee goat gouda.
Between each tasting, the owners of the respective businesses gave a talk about the items, and proper tasting etiquette, which is to take a sip of beer, then a nibble of cheese, then to pour some beer over the cheese and consume.
Another pairing of note was the West Coast IPA paired with a very sharp Scharfe Maxx, a sharp cheddar. I don't normally enjoy IPAs at all, but this one was actually tasty!
The night's beers included the Saison Diego, Rayon Vert, 30th Street Pale, West Coast IPA, Grand Cru, Barleywine, and the Serano Chili Double Stout.
My favorite tasting of the night was easy -- the Grand Cru, a sweet, dark ale, nice and malty, and the ewephoria cheese, which was a butterscotch gouda. Heavenly!
I really hope that there are more events like these in the new year!
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