I invited my dear friend, Adan, to share his photos and experiences at Bite at the Beach on May 24. All photo and writing credits to Adan P.
The Bruery’s Belgium-style strawberry sour with pan-fried fish cake and citrus aioli from Simmzy’s
Last Saturday, Manhattan Beach hosted its inaugural food and craft beer pairing festival, Bite at the Beach, at the MBS Media Campus. This was not just another glorified beer garden, but rather an event that put local breweries and artisanal restaurants front and center, in a delightful and delicious exposition of collaborative culinary efforts.
Upon first entering, a short walk down New York St. (a small street with store fronts used for filming) will bring you to the booth of the title sponsor of the event, Stella Artois, where they were pouring their signature drink as well as Cidre, a refreshing cider. From there, the venue opened up to the left and right where you could find a different brewery and restaurant under each small tent.
The drink and food pairing of the day was a saison with ceviche/seafood combo that was apt for the start of warmer weather. A saison is a complex style of beer that is fruity in aroma and flavor, with some tartness, mild bitterness, and semi-dry, with many having a touch of sweetness. Although many flavorful saisons were present, Halia from Goose Island Beer Company stood out from the pack. Golden in color, mild carbonation, moderate (and pleasing) adherence to the glass, a light malt body, and a subtle peach flavor throughout made this my pick for the best saison–perfectly crisp and refreshing.
Sofie and Halia saisons from Goose Island Beer Company
Circa, a restaurant in Manhattan Beach, had many attendants walking around the venue with trays of wonderful morsels to taste, including my two favorites at the event: beef tenderloin skewers and sea bass ceviche. The ceviche had a lime-based herb sauce with a touch of guacamole that was satisfyingly fresh and helped clear your palette; while their beef skewer paired exceptionally well with the hoppier and more full-bodied beers.
Circa’s beef tenderloin skewer paired with Angel City IPA and a cannoli from Grimaldi’s Pizzeria
Circa’s sea bass ceviche
Throughout the event, Adam Gertler of Food Network fame, hosted a series of informative panels ranging from “How to Pair Beers with Food” to “Curious and Creative Uses for Beer”, such as washing your hair and even coaxing some life back into the yellowing patch on your lawn! The panels were a fun and educational distraction from the gluttonous festivities, and allowed for some digestion between all the delectable entrées.
To close, the best eatery and brewery duet was Rock’N Fish and Ballast Point Brewery. The New Orleans Cajun-style shrimp and the highly-acclaimed Sculpin IPA contrasted perfectly, with the shrimp’s spices and herbs counter-balancing the strong bitter hop from the beer.
Cajun-style shrimp from Rock’N Fish
The stand-alone best beer goes to Blind Ambition, a wonderfully complex and well-balanced belgian dark ale from Ladyface Ale Companie.
Also of note is Pacific Gravity, a contingent of local home-brewers that exhibit a passion and exuberance to the craft that is rare in any profession. Besides having over a dozen beers on tap (no one else was pouring more than four), they also had an exquisite selection of mead, which is a wilder and unfiltered strain of beer.
Meads from Pacific Gravity
Although I have previously sampled many of the beers from the brewers present, Saturday was a day of many firsts. I look forward to the next Bite at the Beach.
The Kolschtal Eddy brown ale from The Dude’s Brewing Company paired with aguachiles ceviche from Coni’Seafood
Modern Times paired with Fresh Brothers pizza
Dessert pairing with beer
With Santos Navarro of Tin Roof Bistro
The Bruery
717 Dunn Way
Placentia, CA 92870
714.996.6258
Goose Island Beer Company
1800 North Clybourn
Chicago, IL 60614
312.915.0071
Angel City Brewery
216 S Alameda St.
Los Angeles, CA 90012
213.622.1261
Ballast Point Brewery
10051 Old Grove Rd
San Diego, CA 92131
858.695.2739
Ladyface Ale Companie
29281 Agoura Rd
Agoura Hills, CA 91301
818.477.4566
Pacific Gravity
Home Brewer’s Club
4358 1/2 Sepulveda Blvd
Culver City, CA 90230
The Dude’s Brewing Company
1840 W. 208th St.
Torrance, CA 90501
424.271.2915
Modern Times Beer
3725 Greenwood St.
San Diego, CA 92110
619.546.9694
Simmzy’s
229 Manhattan Beach Blvd
Manhattan Beach, CA 90266
310.546.1201
Circa
2001 Chestnut St.
San Francisco, CA 94123
415.351.0175
Grimmaldi’s Pizzeria
1 Front Street
Brooklyn, NY 11201
718.858.4300
Rock’N Fish
120 Manhattan Beach Blvd
Manhattan Beach, CA 90266
310.379.9900
Coni’Seafood
3544 W Imperial Highway
Inglewood, CA 90303
424.261.0986
Fresh Brother’s Pizza
4751 Commons Way
Calabasas, CA 91302
818.225.7555
Tin Roof Bistro
3500 N Sepulveda Blvd #100
Manhattan Beach, CA 90266
310.939.0900