I’m pretty good at maintaining confidence, but I hate keeping secrets. So it pleases me that I can finally share what, up until now, I have been contractually obligated to keep under wraps for over six months. Being in the beer industry has many pluses, one of which is occasionally being invited to exclusive events. Last year, while working for Stone Brewing Co., I had the opportunity to take part in the filming of an episode of Top Chef that took place here in San Diego. (Many thanks to Stone community relations manager Chris Cochran for this awesome experience!) Shot at former Top Chef contestant and Top Chef: All-Stars champion Richard Blais‘ Little Italy restaurant, Juniper and Ivy, that episode aired last night. Many of you likely saw it and, being craft beer fans, wondered about the quartet of brews that Stone and Ballast Point Brewing and Spirits supplied the hit Bravo TV show. I tasted them all along with some of the dishes they were paired with and am happy to provide my impressions along with some fun insights from the filming.
Coming into this experience, I was excited to taste the pair of pilot beers Stone research manager Steve Gonzalez and the company’s small-batch team put together. They were completely new base beers built to include a number of interesting ingredients thrown at them by two of the judges: Blais and co-host Padma Lakshmi. The first was a Belgian-style golden strong ale brewed with ginger (added in the boil), tamarind (whirlpool) and jalapeño peppers (bright tank) that was vibrant and refreshing with nice spice and a restrained tartness from the tamarind. Back then, I was in charge of Stone’s beer-naming team and recommended “Padma in Gold Lamé.” It didn’t stick, as Bravo preferred the simple “Padma’s Golden Ale,” but tell me that wouldn’t have made for good TV. Stone’s other beer was a red stout brewed with beets, chocolate and ras el hanout (a North African blend of spices including cumin, coriander and cinnamon). A golden stout brewed with Guatemalan coffee from North Park’s Dark Horse Coffee Roasters served as the base for the beer, which was earthy in its spice characteristics with nice notes of roast and a dry finish. Both beers were tasty and tremendous from a food-friendliness perspective.
Ballast Point’s beers were good, too, though not as inspired. I don’t say this as a homer (I don’t even work at Stone anymore) or someone miffed about the Constellation acquisition. BP simply took two of their core beers, Black Marlin Porter and Wahoo White, and added specialty ingredients to them. To be fair, they have been doing this for years, mostly from their Home Brew Mart and Little Italy locations by the hand and under the advisement of specialty brewer Colby Chandler, so it was no surprise that the beers were big on flavor, but they were a little overbearing in their adjunct influence whereas the Stone beers balanced the ingredients with the beers themselves. I would have actually expected the opposite with BP being so known for balance and Stone so prone to going over-the-top, but all four beers did a good job showcasing San Diego brewing prowess.
The local epicure contingent is buzzing about the local-boy we had in the competition, Chad White. After several years cooking at and helming several San Diego restaurants, White shuttered his East Village spot, Común, and moved to Washington State to establish a new farm-to-table venture. Some say this somewhat unceremonious exit is a sign that he won, but only time will tell. All I can say is that I was able to taste the dish he prepared for this episode of Top Chef (in which 11 chefs competed)—herb-roasted opah with tamarind-roasted carrots, ginger-pine nut froth and a hominy puree—and it was outstanding. Each component was bright in its flavors and brought its own unique earthiness, acidity and spice, coalescing into a dish that was rather complex. As I sat at my table, glimpsing White explaining his dish to those famous judges, I flashed back to many conversations I’d shared with the chef over the years, starting with the first time I met him and he hurriedly retreated back to the kitchen where he had accidentally burned a piece of toast in a frying pan. Talk about having come a long way. It was easy to be proud of and root for him.
And speaking of the judges, my dining companions and I had a good time monitoring their beverage intake. I was proud to see Emeril Lagasse, the star-chef who had me on his shows nearly a decade ago, finish all or close to every drop of each beer put in front of him. It was a stark contrast to Blais, who sporadically sipped. And though they come across a bit cold from time-to-time—usually when axing a losing contestant—I wondered what Tom Colicchio and Lakshmi would be like in-person. The answer: quite nice. Both made a point of getting to know Gonzalez, Ballast Point brewmaster Yuseff Cherney and the rest of their colleagues in the staging area prior to the taping.
For all the Hollywood glitz and window-dressing that goes into television productions, I was surprised to see so little of it on this day. What you viewed last night (or will eventually see if the espisode is still emblazoned on your DVR) was what actually happened without a ton of edits, re-shoots or audience plants. It was as authentic as the beers that were brewed for it, and that’s pretty cool.