Brew Food

From the Foreword

This book comes to you from a city and county that lives, eats, breathes, and DRINKS great craft beer. San Diego has long enjoyed its reputation as the craft brewing capital of the United States. Over the past two-plus decades, beer has grown into an integral element that has unified diverse communities all across San Diego county. Today, “America’s Finest City” is home to well over 50 brewhouses, all working to produce exquisite handcrafted ales and lagers. Many San Diego breweries have garnered national and international praise and have won many awards.

It’s only fitting that a book dedicated entirely to cooking with (and of course drinking) craft beer should spring from this environment. Whether you’re taking in the sun-kissed shores of coastal bergs, sightseeing downtown, or venturing out for a day-trip to the mountain town of Julian, craft beer is never out of reach in San Diego. It has seeped into — and saturated — every square mile of territory and has won the hearts, minds, and palates of San Diego’s people.

The true worth of BREW FOOD lies in the variety of options within its pages. Unlike cookbooks that focus on niche subjects, such as cooking with a particular protein, mastering an individual piece of kitchen equipment, or studying a singular culture’s gastronomic heritage, this book was built to provide the basis for culinary fun and exploration. It is our hope that it will appeal to people of all walks of life and all levels of culinary skill or interest.

Cutting edge haute cuisine, pub grub, ethnic dishes, and family recipes that have been passed down for generations — all of this and more is represented on these pages. BREW FOOD truly embodies the love and enthusiasm San Diegans bring to the creation and enjoyment of craft beer. And, in the spirit of loving craft beer, this book brings together an array of individuals, ideologies, ingredients, and recipes, all of which flavor San Diegans’ way of life and, more succinctly, their approach to elevating beer to its proper, lofty place in the culinary world.

If you love beer, you’ll love BREW FOOD. That’s because this book will show you there’s actually something better than drinking beer: drinking beer AND cooking with it! The mouth-watering recipes on these pages have been developed by a wide variety of food-and-beer professionals – from brewers to chefs to bar owners and all kinds of key people within the craft beer community. These are folks that have years of experience cooking with beer, and they’re thrilled to share what they’ve known for a long time: beer can be a wonderfully versatile and exciting element in almost any kind of cuisine.

Recipe List

starters | sides

Sculpin Beer Cheese 14
Toronado’s Famous Fromage Fort 17
Lil’ Devil Salad with Lil’ Devil Poached Shrimp and Vinaigrette 18
Company Pub’s Carrot and Orange Soup 21
Alesmith’s Wee Heavy Artisan Bread 22
Roasted Apple Soup with Hoppy “Grilled Cheese”25
The Chicks for Beer Chica Fresca Shrimp Ceviche 29
Classic San Diego Fish Tacos with Chipotle Lime Cole Slaw 30
Cauliflower, Beer, and Gruyere Soup 34
Crab-Stuffed Wontons in Manzanita Blonde Creamy Tomato Sauce 34
Stone’s Tilapia Ceviche 37
Beer Cheese Soup with Black Forest Bacon and Parmesan Garlic Croutons 38
Wasabi Cole Slaw 40
Spicy-O-Life BBQ Basting or Dipping Sauce 41
Long Beans Topped with a Fried Egg 43
Burgers and Dogs Surf & Turf: Chorizo Turkey Slider, Roasted Pepper Chili, Spicy Pickle Chip
and Smoked Gouda Biscuit with Shrimp Sausage and Crawfish Etouffée 44
Pairing Beer and Cheese: Ideas and Inspirations 48

main courses

Wahoo Wheat Cioppino 60
Judgment Day Steamed Carlsbad Mussels with Andouille Sausage, Eggplant, and Mushrooms 63
Green Flash Barleywine-Glazed Salmon 64
Small Bar’s Beer-Batter Fish with Remoulade 66
Brown Butter-Seared Scallops with IPA Gastrique, Hop Flower Dust, and Candied Peanuts 69
Steamed Black Cod with Maitake Mushrooms and Manila Clams in AleSmith Horny Devil Nage 71
Ginger Mussels and Sour Wench 75
Hefeweizen Coriander-Baked Sea Bass in a Tangerine-Scented Reduction with Fresh Corn and Tomato 76
Brewmaster’s Beer-Battered Fish Tacos 78
Hess Brewing’s Grazias Para Paella 80
Cali Belgique Braised Pork with Orange and Fennel Over Jasmine Rice 82
Creole Eggs in Purgatory with Hop Butter-Fried Eggs, Jambalaya Risotto Cakes, Crawfish, Sauce Piquánt and Worcestershire Porter Reduction 84
Bunz Burger with Smoked Porter Bacon Jam 88
Toronado’s Arrabiata (Arra•beer•ata) 91
Gingham’s Beer-Braised Lamb Shanks 92
Tiger! Tiger! Bratwurst 94
Three Li’l Pigs Burger (Pulled Pork, Bacon, and Ham with Beer-Thyme Mustard) 96
Pork Stout Osso Buco 98
Velvet Glove Mac ’n’ Cheese 100
Sour Wench-Braised Duck with Smashed Savory Yams and Garlicky Greens 103
Lightning Pulled Pork Sandwiches with Sweet-and-Sour Cole Slaw 105
Chris Gort’s Brewer’s Flatbread Pizza & Pizza with Bacon & Sour Cream Topping 108
Cowboy Chicken Sandwich with Beer-Batter Onion Rings and Stone Smoked Porter BBQ Sauce 110
Urge Gastropub’s Sculpin Mac & Cheese 113
Spicy Curry with Crispy Pork Belly and Hop Oil 114
Searsucker’s Cali Belgique Short Rib Sandwich with Horseradish Sauce 116
Cinnamon-Dusted Pork Tenderloin with Jalapeño-Yam Hash, Cilantro Pesto and Chocolate Stout Mole 118
Tempeh Shepherd’s Pie with Stone IPA Garlicky Mashed Potatoes 122
Three-Day Mission Amber Pork Belly (aka “Beer Belly”) 124
Easy Aztec Beer Mac & Cheeze 126
Stout-Braised Pork Belly with Cocoa Crust and Red Beet Slaw 129
Spicy IPA Burger with IPA Onion Strings and Apricot Habanero Ketchup 131
Stone Smoked Porter Chili 134
BBQ’d Jerked Barleywine Chicken with Succotash 136
Mission Amber Ale Braised Short Ribs 138
Coq Au Bier 140
Quad-Braised Osso Buco 142
Paul Segura’s Favorite Big Beer Burger with Beer Onions and Beer-Brined Bacon 145
Chef Gunther’s Pot Roast Sliders with Black Garlic-Truffle Horseradish Sauce 147
Goulash and Dumplings 150
Sweet Georgia Brown Lamb Stew on Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes 152
Imperial Stout Pot Roast 155
Ritual’s Perfect Pork Belly with Glazed Carrots and Parsnip Purée 156
Matt Rattner’s Favorite BBQ Carnitas Pizza 158
Avant Garde Herb-Crusted Lamb Medallions with Avant Garde Whipped Potatoes 161
Hosting Your Own Beer Dinner: Ideas and Inspirations 164
San Diego Crostini With Elder Flower Cream Cheese, Sage Pesto, and Local Smoked Yellowtail 168
Chile Wahoo Wheat Mixta Ceviche on Duck-Fat Tortillas 171
Grilled Lamb Chops with Puréed Parsnips, Glazed Carrots, and Blackberry Sauce 173
Orange Sculpin Cake with Orange-Mango Semifreddo 176
Chocolate and Goat Cheese with a Balsamic Black Marlin Reduction 179

breakfast | desserts

Oatmeal Stout-and-Bacon Belgian Waffles 182
Searsucker’s Apple & Ale Muffins 185
Navigator Dopplebock Bread Pudding with Rum Raisin Caramel and Blue Cheese Whipped Cream 186
Grand Cru Strawberry and Kumquat Galette 188
Toronado’s Stout Nutella Trifle 191
Chocolate and Stout Pot de Crème with Malt Florentine Cookies 192
Black Marlin Cake with Cocoa Malt Ice Cream and Raspberry Coulis 194
Rock Bottom Stout Cupcakes 196
High Dive Wahoo Lemon Bars 199
Older Viscosity Stout Cake with Whipped Cream and Ganache Glaze 200
Mother Earth Mancakes with Vanilla Cream Ale Frosting 203
No Judgment Here Goat Cheese and Raspberry Cheesecake with Beer Caramel and Fresh Berries 204
Chris Cramer’s Favorite Imperial Stout Crème Brûlée 206
Green Tea Layer Cake with Beer Frosting Two Ways 208
Russian Imperial Beer Nog 211

Press

• "Brew Food Launch Party", San Diego Living, Channel 6 (Nov 2012)
• "Brew food for the fall", Fox 5 Morning Show (Nov 2012)
• "Best New Craft Beer Cookbook: San Diego Chefs and Brewers Collaborate With Brew Food", LA Weekly, Sarah Bennett (Nov 2012)