Beer goes with lots
of food, from burgers and pizza to carbonnade a la flamande. But does beer
belong with breakfast?
To find out, we
visited Social Kitchen and Brewery to sample a beer collaboration between the
brew pub’s head brewer Kim Sturdavant and winemaker James Davids of Oro En Paz.
Davids makes wine on Treasure Island from organic grapes sourced in Lake
County. Last fall he was talking to Sturdavant about his Semillon grapes and
the two friends concocted a plan to make a saison-style ale using 600 pounds of
Semillon grapes (40 pounds of juice) added during fermentation. As Sturdavant
told Brian Stechschulte of the SF Brewers Guild, “The end result is just a
combination of two people in two different fields working together to make
something.”
Saison has recently
become a popular style among American brewers for good reason. While
Belgian-style farmhouse ales from breweries like Brasserie Dupont are
thoroughly enjoyable in their own right, they also lend themselves well to blending
with other flavors.
Saison Du Semillon
is bright, golden and crisp, and very easy to drink. It’s a little tart and
finishes very dry. Although it’s clearly a spicy saison, the Semillon grapes
add subtle notes of honey and fruit, and the 7.7% abv is well hidden. It’s a
perfect sipper paired with lighter foods or even fresh fruit on a warm summer
day.
Saison du Semillon
is also a delightful beer with breakfast, whether you enjoy it with Social
Kitchen Chef Chris Wong’s signature pork belly fried rice at Sunday brunch or
with fried chicken and waffles or even steak and eggs. 
Sturdavant is an
adventurous brewer with a deft touch, creating beers that are easily accessible
to beer newcomers without being condescending to more experienced beer drinkers.
If you know any wine lovers curious about drinking beer, Saison Du Semillon
would be a good place to start.
No comments:
Post a Comment