Beer dinners featuring Almanac and Social Kitchen

Mark next week’s calendar for a couple of special beer pairing dinners from two of the premier breweries in the Bay Area.

Almanac Beer and Tamales

On Monday, June 17, Almanac Beer will collaborate with Roosevelt’s Tamale Parlor in the Mission District for Cervezas y Tamales.

After the Frijoles Con Agua Soup, Almanac’s Honey Saison will be paired with a ceviche tostada with radish jicama slaw and avocado. The next course will feature Chef’s Seasonal Tamales with Almanac’s Extra Pale Ale. Puebla Chicken Mole with house-made tortillas, jasmine rice and beans will be paired with Biere de Chocolat. Dessert will be a Barrel Noir Float with Humpry Slocombe Horchata Ice Cream.

$45 prix fixe menu & beers, plus tax and tip.

Reservations available from 5:30-9

To make a reservation, contact Roosevelt’s at 

(415) 824-2600.

Roosevelt Tamale Parlor

2817 24th St.

San Francisco, CA 94110

Please no changes or substitutions.

Social Kitchen Brewmaster Dinner BBQ

Social Kitchen and Brewery in the Inner Sunset will host its second Beermaster Dinner of the year on Tuesday, June 18, with the theme, “Family Summer BBQ.”

Dinner will include such off-the-menu items as chili cornbread fritters, BBQ chicken with blackeyed pea and sweet pepper ragout and peach and nectarine cobbler. Featured beers will be the recently released Seventy Five Ale (with 75 ingredients, really), as well as West Side IPA, SKB Pilsner and Rapscallion.

Pairing Menu

First Course: 

Salad of gem lettuces, plums, cherries, feta, almonds and jicama in buttermilk-poppyseed dressing

Chili cornbread fritters

Paired with Seventy Five Ale

Second Course:

Slow-roasted BBQ beef brisket and BBQ chicken legs

Black-eyed pea and sweet pepper ragout

Yukon gold potato salad with green beans, celery, and whole grain mustard vinaigrette

Grilled corn on the cob with chili, lime and cilantro

Paired with West Side IPA & SKB Pilsner

Third Course:

Peach and nectarine cobbler with butterscotch and whipped cream

Paired with Rapscallion

The three course prix fixe dinner on the mezzanine will be hosted by Brewmaster Kim Sturdavant and Chef Christopher Wong. 

$50 per person

Social Kitchen


1326 9th Av.

San Francisco, CA 94122


Main: 415-681-0330

E-mail for reservations: info@socialkitchenandbrewery.com 

or call 415-681-0330

Historic 7 Mile House Meets San Francisco’s Anchor Brewing

Times have changed quite a bit since the historic 7 Mile House opened in 1853. During the Gold Rush, 49ers were prospectors seeking their fortune panning for gold, which they often spent having a good time in San Francisco. This was long before Joe Montana and Jerry Rice, and even John Brodie and Bob St. Clair.

One thing hasn’t changed, however: people still like to eat good food and drink good beer in San Francisco. Owner Vanessa Garcia Villacarlos is determined to bring the 160-year old stagecoach stop on Bayshore Boulevard up to date by transforming the former brothel, biker

and trucker hangout, and gambling den into a colorful sports bar, with live music and karaoke. Not to mention some pretty tasty food. Along with familiar pub fare like nachos, buffalo wings and burgers, 7 Mile House features authentic Filipino dishes like lumpia, salpicao and adobo.

During last week’s dinner with Anchor Brewing, we discovered that beer pairs just as well with these classic Filipino dishes as it does with burgers and fries—maybe better.

The dinner began with a nod to the Gold Rush days with a 19^th century brew: Anchor’s California Lager. Anchor says that this lager, now available year-round, is made with two-row California barley; Cluster hops, which were the premier hop in 19^th century California; and Anchor’s own lager yeast. It’s a refreshing yet flavorful beer that could easily become a summertime lawnmower favorite.

For the first course, sauteed tender New York steak in a la pobre sauce, called Salpicao, paired nicely with Anchor’s seminal Liberty Ale, arguably America’s first IPA. It’s hard to believe that this excellent single-hopped, dry-hopped ale dates all the way back to the pre-craft brew days of 1975. Brewed to celebrate Paul Revere’s historic ride, Liberty Ale ignited the craft brew revolution and continues to hold its own even in our very hoppy beer times.

Next, a Pacific Rim Salad with pineapple, mandarin oranges, cashews, Asian fried noodles and orange-ginger dressing was paired with Anchor’s seasonal Summer Beer, a light wheat ale that brought out the citrusy elements of the salad. Goldings and Glacier hops offset the sweetness of the fruit.

My personal favorite was The Famous Pork Adobo with Rice: tender marinated pork slowly simmered and served with Jasmine rice. It was served with Anchor’s classic Steam Beer, which for many of us was our introduction into the world of craft beer long before anyone knew what craft beer was. The Northern Brewer hops proved a nice counterpoint to the somewhat salty pork, and every bite and sip was delightful.

San Francisco tradition literally blended with new San Francisco in a beer float that combined Anchor  Porter (first brewed in 1972) with Bi-rite Caramel Ice Cream. Beer pairing generally suggests two flavor approaches, complementary or contrasting. With a beer float you get both. Before the ice cream melts, the bitterness of the beer is in stark contrast to the sweetness of the vanilla ice cream. As the ice cream melts and blends into the beer, however, the contrasting flavors meld, with the roasty Pale, Caramel, Black and Chocolate malts complementing the sweet and salty caramel vanilla ice cream. Try it at home some time.

The ambitious Garcia Villacarlos has lofty plans for the historic 7 Mile House, with special events and activities almost every night of the week. She is currently working on building a new outdoor patio that could make this out-of-the way historic landmark a popular destination for people who love food and drink and having a good time. Just like in the Gold Rush days.

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