Winter Brewmaster Dinner roars at the Zoo Continued from Page 1
your-mouth Braised Beef Short Ribs; the maple notes of the beer highlighted the decadent nature of the meat. For dessert, Jack & Ken’s Bareleywine Ale was served alongside Butterscotch White Chocolate Mousse -- one hell of a conclusion. Between each course, Grossman and Sullivan would muse about the beer with a little dash of Sierra Nevada history thrown in. The quality of the pairings was excellent. Chef Charles Boukas of Albert’s explained that the prepara- tion for this meal was months in the making, starting with the beer tasting and note-taking session. Eventu- ally, the group started leaning towards Mexican and South American-inspired flavors for the dishes, with Boukas tinkering with the menu even until the night of the event in what he described as a “organic and dynamic process.”
The next Brewmaster Dinner is in the fall, with date and brewery to be announced. The price is $69 per person, plus tax and gratuity. Details and tickets will become available online at
sandiegozoo.org/brewmas- terdinner
Phuket the Binturong shows off a few of his talents during the Live Animal Presentation
local craft beer, and celebrates its 20th anniversary this year. Albert’s hosts Brewmaster Dinners twice a year, and local brewing companies Pizza Port, Stone and Green Flash are among those who’ve been featured in the past. The dinner I attended was held Saturday, January 21st.
I arrived at the reception, found a menu and scanned
it. While Kellerweis Hefeweizen, Torpedo IPA, and the “Albert’s Street Tacos” buffet were all fine and well, it was the line “Live Animal Presentation” that caught my eye. Plate of little tacos in one hand and Torpedo IPA in another, I watched two zookeepers introduce and describe a variety of animals, like the Great Horned Owl named Shaman, and a Binturong named Phuket. That evening, I simultaneously created and checked off the item “drink beer in a room with zoo animals” from my bucket list.
After the reception, we were guided downstairs and seated inside the restaurant. The man in charge of the
evening was Peter Randolph, Albert’s manager. “I can’t think of a better way to celebrate a 20th anniversary than with Sierra Nevada,” Randolph said. He nodded to a table full of Sierra Nevada employees, including Steve Grossman and assistant brewmaster Terence Sullivan. He went on to explain how both Albert’s and Sierra Nevada make it a company policy to be environ- mentally mindful.
Beers and plates started appearing in front of guests. The first course featuring Ovila Abbey Saison was paired with a Spiced Shrimp and Avocado Salad. The lime vinaigrette present in the salad danced off the saison very well. Next up for the second course was 30th Anniversary “Brewers Reserve” Grand Cru paired with Smoked Pork Loin over masa cake. The beer, “made from the three beers that launched our brewery,” said Grossman, matched the dish that got spicier as I ate it. The third course paired the Sierra Nevada/Dog- fish Head collaboration Life and Limb with melt-in-
In the meantime, you can also visit the Sabertooth Grill at Elephant Odyssey for some great bottled beers: Karl Strauss Fullsuit Belgian Brown Ale, Stone Pale Ale, Sierra Nevada Ruthless Rye IPA, Samuel Adams Alpine Spring and more. Currently, plans are in the works to bring more locally-brewed beers, especially seasonal releases, into the San Diego Zoo.
Smoked Pork Loin, spiced cactus masa cake, tomatillo chilies and citrus sauce, garnished with a petite ice plant
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