Santa Cruz Mountain Brewing suds, so special they glow. (Photo by Curtis Cartier)
Nicole Beatie says she’s pretty certain Friday evening’s Twisted Tasting will be a fun event—partly because its menu of exotic beers paired with unique, locally produced foods.html is bound to attract adventurous people. But ultimately, she says, it’s not as scary as it might sound.
“Some people, when they first hear about it, seem a little worried—like they think it’s an interesting idea, but they’re not sure they’re going to like it,” she says. “But everyone will find something here to really, really like.”
Beatie, a brewmaster at Santa Cruz Mountain Brewing, says the event was the brainchild of Emily Thomas, another brewmaster and the local beer company’s co-owner.
Thomas was inspired on a recent trip to Oregon, where she visited colleagues at the vaunted Gilgamesh Brewing Company—a beermaker that uses no hops, instead substituting all manner of ingredients for flavor. It was Gilgamesh’s chocolate mint stout that had motivated Thomas to make her Chipotle Chocolate Stout, which will become a regular at the Tap Room in the Swift Street Courtyard.
“Emily’s a creative genius,” Beatie says. “When she came back from Oregon, she said, ‘I have an idea,’ she pitched it to me, and we were off and running.”
Beatie and fellow brewer Tommy Mills responded with a concoction combining pigs’ ears (you heard me), sourced from their neighbor Chris LaVeque’s El Salchichero.html, with dates and maple syrup. SCMB is also serving a beer flavored with horchata, as well as Thomas’ “Love Potion,” made with raspberries and rose hips.
When the SCMB folks contacted other people in the industry about a Twisted Tasting event, the idea caught on immediately. “Soon people were calling us to ask if they could come,” Beatie says.
The list of brews that will be featured at the event is jaw-dropping. Gilgamesh is bringing a “Mamba,” brewed with black tea, rye and tangerine zest. Moonlight Brewing, from Santa Rosa, brewed its offering with redwood branches. From Russian River comes Supplication, a brown ale aged in pinot barrels with sour cherries.
And the brand new Sante Adairius brewery in Capitola is featuring a Belgian Blonde Ale with Brettanomyces and Lactobacillus. (I don't know either, but I’ll bet it’s good.)
The victuals, equally creative, will come from a bunch of local slow-food favorites: El Salchichero, Garden Variety Cheese, Friend in Cheese, Companion Bakeshop, Front Street Kitchen, Bavarian Pretzel Works and Farmhouse Culture, to name just a few.
Beatie is clearly excited to gather with like-minded folks to try something new. “That’s all we want out of this event,” she says, “to inspire people.
TWISTED TASTING
Friday 6-9pm at the Top of the Ritt
Tickets $65 at twistedtasting.eventbrite.com
