Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Catching Up with Pizza Port Carlsbad at Local Habit

San Diego really is the Napa Valley for craft beer. The region is rich with opportunities to experience exceptional brews. The latest proof of that came to me last week when, on consecutive nights, I had the chance to sample beers from the reigning best large and small brewpubs in the U.S. (as determined at the Great American Beer Festival, the largest and most definitive craft brewing competition in the country).

Both of those operations call San Diego home. Pizza Port Carlsbad is the big boy of the pair. I caught up, broke bread, and sipped suds with their head brewer, Ignacio Cervantes, at Local Habit during the latest of the venue’s monthly Brewmaster Dinners. Those affairs feature five courses paired against beers presented and explained by the brewer du jour.

The majority of the beers Cervantes contributed were recently entered into the upcoming World Beer Cup. Held every two years, that competition is the craft brewing industry’s Olympics. Breweries the planet over send their beers in to vie as the best-tasting, most textbook versions of 90-plus individual styles. San Diego breweries have historically done well in the WBC and, after sampling Cervantes’ entries, it would seem Pizza Port Carlsbad has an above average shot at bringing home some medals.

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/apr/01/21980/

The first beer of the evening was a Belgian strong called Revelations that was a graceful, easy drinking, and packed with big time fruit and spice in the nose and on the palate. A silver medal winner at the Great American Beer Festival the past two years, it matched up well with a roasted fennel and leek soup from Local Habit chef Nick Brune. The vegetal licorice notes and slight tartness of the soup (which was extremely creamy and warmingly coating despite having just a touch of cream in it) made for a nice sweet-and-sour interplay.

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/apr/01/21978/

Another splendid pairing was 547 Haight Imperial Red Ale (named after the address of San Francisco bar Toronado...ever heard of it?) served alongside a dish of steamed mussels. Beer and mussels is a classic Old World pairing, but Brune brought a fresh Southern-inspired touch to his bowl of bivalves, adding in some salty, spicy lamb tasso. Tasso, a cured meat of Louisianan origins, is typically made using pork shoulder and jowel. Going with lamb added a slight gaminess as well as a grassiness that enriched the beer’s sweet malt character and rewarded Brune's waltz beyond the lines of traditional Tasso prep.

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/apr/01/21981/

Perhaps the best duet of the evening was Night Rider, an imperial stout cask conditioned with Mexican chocolate and chipotle pepper (a well-executed idea from Cervantes’ brewing assistant, Mike Aubuchan), and a cylinder of cocoa-infused masa that was steamed in a corn husk, tamale-style, and topped with a blackberry sour cream as “salsa” and shaved white chocolate as the sweet treat's Cotija cheese stand-in. The cocoa and chocolate came together seamlessly, as did the fruitiness from the berries and the smoked chile.

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/apr/01/21979/

This was the second Local Habit Brewmaster’s Dinner I’d attended. The first, which was held during San Diego Beer Week and featured quaffs from Hess Brewing, was just as delicious. Chef Brune is doing right by our region’s ingredients, those who produce them, and the diners who consume them. Any night there is bound to turn up good food and beer, but these dinners are even more special. I highly recommend signing up for one that features a brewery you’re a fan of or are curious about.

Local Habit is located at 3827 Fifth Avenue in Hillcrest.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all

Previous article

The danger of San Diego's hoarders

The $1 million Flash Comics #1
Next Article

Why did Harrah's VP commit suicide last summer?

Did the fight the Rincon casino had with San Diego County over Covid play a part?

San Diego really is the Napa Valley for craft beer. The region is rich with opportunities to experience exceptional brews. The latest proof of that came to me last week when, on consecutive nights, I had the chance to sample beers from the reigning best large and small brewpubs in the U.S. (as determined at the Great American Beer Festival, the largest and most definitive craft brewing competition in the country).

Both of those operations call San Diego home. Pizza Port Carlsbad is the big boy of the pair. I caught up, broke bread, and sipped suds with their head brewer, Ignacio Cervantes, at Local Habit during the latest of the venue’s monthly Brewmaster Dinners. Those affairs feature five courses paired against beers presented and explained by the brewer du jour.

The majority of the beers Cervantes contributed were recently entered into the upcoming World Beer Cup. Held every two years, that competition is the craft brewing industry’s Olympics. Breweries the planet over send their beers in to vie as the best-tasting, most textbook versions of 90-plus individual styles. San Diego breweries have historically done well in the WBC and, after sampling Cervantes’ entries, it would seem Pizza Port Carlsbad has an above average shot at bringing home some medals.

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/apr/01/21980/

The first beer of the evening was a Belgian strong called Revelations that was a graceful, easy drinking, and packed with big time fruit and spice in the nose and on the palate. A silver medal winner at the Great American Beer Festival the past two years, it matched up well with a roasted fennel and leek soup from Local Habit chef Nick Brune. The vegetal licorice notes and slight tartness of the soup (which was extremely creamy and warmingly coating despite having just a touch of cream in it) made for a nice sweet-and-sour interplay.

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/apr/01/21978/

Another splendid pairing was 547 Haight Imperial Red Ale (named after the address of San Francisco bar Toronado...ever heard of it?) served alongside a dish of steamed mussels. Beer and mussels is a classic Old World pairing, but Brune brought a fresh Southern-inspired touch to his bowl of bivalves, adding in some salty, spicy lamb tasso. Tasso, a cured meat of Louisianan origins, is typically made using pork shoulder and jowel. Going with lamb added a slight gaminess as well as a grassiness that enriched the beer’s sweet malt character and rewarded Brune's waltz beyond the lines of traditional Tasso prep.

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/apr/01/21981/

Perhaps the best duet of the evening was Night Rider, an imperial stout cask conditioned with Mexican chocolate and chipotle pepper (a well-executed idea from Cervantes’ brewing assistant, Mike Aubuchan), and a cylinder of cocoa-infused masa that was steamed in a corn husk, tamale-style, and topped with a blackberry sour cream as “salsa” and shaved white chocolate as the sweet treat's Cotija cheese stand-in. The cocoa and chocolate came together seamlessly, as did the fruitiness from the berries and the smoked chile.

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/apr/01/21979/

This was the second Local Habit Brewmaster’s Dinner I’d attended. The first, which was held during San Diego Beer Week and featured quaffs from Hess Brewing, was just as delicious. Chef Brune is doing right by our region’s ingredients, those who produce them, and the diners who consume them. Any night there is bound to turn up good food and beer, but these dinners are even more special. I highly recommend signing up for one that features a brewery you’re a fan of or are curious about.

Local Habit is located at 3827 Fifth Avenue in Hillcrest.

Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Monkey Paw Pub: Yes You Can Can

Next Article

Park Boulevard Wine & Pizza

Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader