As most of you know, beer was invented in San Diego nearly 10,000 years ago. Shortly thereafter, civilization, democracy, and happiness were born here as well. Thus is it no surprise that our mastery of beer is a matter of renown through the farthest reaches of the universe. That’s why I’m always pleasantly surprised by plucky upstarts outside of our fair city that seek to produce pale imitations of our master craft. It’s downright ADORABLE.
When I heard one such brewery was descending on Union Kitchen & Tap to put their wares on display I made the magnanimous gesture as a bonafide San Diegoan to come over and drink it. This was obviously a pretty exciting development for them, but to their credit they remained calm and even feigned a little confusion at my offer. Well played, Avery Brewing. You’ve got moxie.
Last Thursday’s affair was a four course dinner with two barrel-aged pairings for each, demonstrating their understanding of the expected ratio of food to grog for any red blooded SD resident. They even greeted us with an Avery IPA, a medium bodied quaff bursting with mint and pine notes. It was refreshing and delicious so I was understandably suspicious. However, since I had no immediate evidence they had stolen the recipe from another west coast brewery, I begrudgingly enjoyed it.
The first course, a confit of rabbit with a meyer lemon caviar*, was the perfect canvas to play a variety of flavors against and Avery took full advantage. They wedged the dish between beers aged in Chardonnay barrels (Muscat d’ Amour) and Cabernet Sauvignon barrels (Récolte Sauvage), essentially challenging the diner with the standard white or red wine conundrum. The Muscat d’ Amour was particularly striking, marrying a strong musty, wet grain funk to the crisp ale. It was the kind of nuanced and sophisticated brew pairing that would suggest they were somehow brilliant despite their Coloradoan geography.
I found myself eagerly anticipating the next course, though not for the reasons you might expect. It was a pairing with sours, my least favorite breed in all of brewmanity. All they had to do was reinforce my bias of sours tasting like glorified shots of vinegar and my worldview would remain intact. And then I tried a pickled romanesco with the Avery Dihos Dactylion. Its tartness cut through the briny crunch in a way I’d never previously appreciated. And that says nothing about how keenly the sour cherry notes in the DePuceleuse harmonized with the pluot BBQ sauce and tender duck agnolotti**.
I no longer had the energy to fight it. I was not hating this experience. I was not repulsed by these Avery brews. True to the season, my Grinch liver grew three sizes that day (which is really saying something given how swollen it usually is anyway).
The rest of the dinner was a blur, partially because of the stunning realization that breweries from the outland could produce such quality, but largely because the beers I’d consumed over the last two hours had an average ABV of 9%. I recall glimpses of the Oud Floris (an ale whose aging was segmented across barrels from Cabernet Sauvignon, Bourbon, Rum and Chardonnay) and how effortlessly it bisected the gamey richness of charred boar loin***. There was definitely a moment where I dosed an apple risotto**** with some rum barrel-aged pumpkin ale (the Avery “Rumpkin”), which was totally purposeful and not me slopping my beer all over the place.
Avery Brewing, you win. I will go on the record and say you’re awesome. Rest of the World, you’re still on notice.
Actual dishes, for reference:
*Confit of California Rabbit, Meyer Lemon Caviar, Roasted Parsnip Puree, Crispy Guanciale Wafer, in a Rabbit Reduction
**Mesquite Smoked “Mary’s” duck Agnolotti, Caramelized Pluot BBQ, Sweet Honey Cornbread Dust, Pickled Romanesco
***Wild Boar Duo: Crispy Belly, Pommes Anna, Guajillo Chile Ketchup, Charred Loin, Fried Gnocchi, Black Knight Carrot Nage
****Julian Apple Risotto “Rice Pudding”, Pumpkin Bread Crouton, Red Eye Gravy Orb, Dehydrated Apple, Pepita Toffee