Beer and doughnuts…yep, they're that good

The best thing about a restaurant with tons of beer taps is the ability for one to pair their brews directly with the food they order. That’s not to say one has to — many are the nights where I opt to drink what I feel like, pairing be damned — but when the mood, menu, and tap list are right, magic can happen. I was recently on the receiving end of such sudsy sorcery when visiting the newest limb on the Cohn Restaurant Group’s family tree, Draft Republic.

Before perusing the food menu, I went straight for the draft list to examine the 36 ales and lagers at this beer-centric eatery, which replaced the CRG’s Strip Club late last year. San Diego County’s first family of restaurant operations has procured a pretty good list.

There is room for improvement, but they offer more than just the ubiquitous standbys — Ballast Point Sculpin IPA, Stone Pale Ale, Saint Archer White. Lesser-seen offerings abound, including one of my favorites, Zumbar, a coffee- and chocolate-infused imperial stout from Sorrento Valley’s New English Brewing Company.

I dog-eared that selection for later in the meal, then turned my attention to the edibles. It was there I saw what appeared to be the second half of a slam-dunk beer-and-food pairing — fresh doughnuts filled with espresso buttercream served with a side of espresso chip ice cream. LeBron can’t jam it home with greater force than this beer-and-dessert duo.

The coffee in the beer and the fried goodness sync up perfectly, while Zumbar’s chocolatey essence adds a secondary flavor that helps the already tasty doughnuts soar. It’s not some complicated one-two punch some master cicerone would have to help lesser-experienced pairers discover. It is, however, one so delicious, I feel inclined to point the way to all of my readers.

The beer on its own is already one of the best-flavored imperial stouts in the county and could serve as dessert by itself. But have a sip just before and just after biting into one of those sugar-dusted balls of chewy dough, experience the outflow of warm, oozy, coffee-kissed filling, and you’ll know beer-and-food symbiosis at its best. Despite being stuffed before this last course arrived, I ended up devouring the whole thing. It was that good.