{"id":11832,"date":"2015-09-23T07:32:40","date_gmt":"2015-09-23T14:32:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/archives.csusm.edu\/westcoastersd\/?p=11832"},"modified":"2018-04-17T11:39:41","modified_gmt":"2018-04-17T18:39:41","slug":"plates-pints-barons-market","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archives.csusm.edu\/westcoastersd\/2015\/09\/23\/plates-pints-barons-market\/","title":{"rendered":"Plates & Pints: Barons Market"},"content":{"rendered":"

Behind the scenes at SoCal gourmet grocery chain Barons Market\u2019s backroom beer-pairing session<\/strong><\/p>\n

Grocery stores are built to provide a feast for the eyes within their spacious confines. Everywhere one looks, fruits, vegetables, meats, seafood and thousands of other products (including beer) are arranged in the most appealing, attention-getting manner. A great deal of thought goes into a food store\u2019s interior, but there\u2019s a lot going on outside a certain Southern California grocery chain\u2019s outposts. Enter the Barons Backroom Beer Tasting, a quarterly event where each of the chain\u2019s five stores invites patrons to experience multiple beer-and-food pairings behind the store.<\/p>\n

For each Backroom event, Barons collaborates with a different local brewery. Past participants have included Acoustic Ales Brewing Experiment<\/strong>, Garage Brewing<\/strong>, Modern Times Beer<\/strong> and Rough Draft Brewing Company<\/strong>, representatives from each have been on-site to help present their brands in the best, most informed light. That educational element mirrors members of Barons\u2019 staff, who explain the dishes coupled with the local brews. Those items are conjured from ingredients carried in the stores, making for pairings that are easy for attendees to replicate on the home front.<\/p>\n

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The tasting team at Barons<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Once a brewery has been selected, key representatives from that business are invited to a pre-event pairing session at one of Barons\u2019 locations where they are asked to bring along the beers they most want to showcase. Once on-site, the brewery reps taste through a preliminary tasting menu developed by an assortment of Barons\u2019 culinary minds. Beers are poured into tasting glasses so the reps and roughly a dozen Barons employees from all of their stores (Point Loma, Rancho Bernardo, Alpine, Temecula, Wildomar and, soon, Murrieta) can analyze their compatibility with each dish.<\/p>\n

I was able to sit in on the tasting session for the next Backroom event will take place on Wednesday, September 30 from 6 to 8 p.m. and feature beers from Pizza Port Brewing Company<\/strong>. Tickets are available at each Barons location the day-of as well as online in advance via the company\u2019s website<\/a>. The menu will be as follows:<\/p>\n