Beer Pairings at the Sanitas Brewery

Hardly a week goes by that I don't have at least one email from my new friend Candice. She always seems to know of something fun that's happening in the Boulder area and she loves to get groups together to see what the town has to offer. Her most recent invitation was to a dinner at the Sanitas Brewery, and Ed and I decided immediately that we were most definitely in.

The Sanitas taproom. 

After purchasing tickets for $30 a pop, we showed up on Monday night at a row of warehouses just off the highway. If this were any other town I'd have thought we were in the wrong place, but craft breweries in Boulder tend to set up shop in warehouses so I wasn't worried. Sure enough, after parking in view of forklifts and roll-up doors, we walked into a cavernous room containing several high-top tables and a modern-looking bar with large steel tanks and silvery pipe networks visible in the background. Young men, most sporting beards, walked by every few minutes, sometimes carrying lengths of tubing or buckets and all wearing t-shirts and galoshes.

Our group of about 12 was seated at a square table instead of a typical long, skinny rectangle; this wonderful set-up was perfect for whole-group discussion. Only one other small group had signed up for the pairing, which would normally seem ominous but I wasn't worried because this was Sanitas's first pairing dinner. Both of our tables were in a small room separated from the main bar area by large sliding doors. 

Zach and Clay took us through the evening's proceedings. Zach is one of the co-founders of Sanitas and Clay runs the McDevitt Taco Supply truck with his brother. Lots of breweries in Boulder are supplied by food trucks because, as Zach explained, in the beer sales world the difference between a second beer and a third beer is food, but most brewers don't know anything about the food industry. So a lot of breweries bring in mobile food providers, like food trucks, to supply their customers with sustenance to be washed down.

I'd drunk about half the beer when I took this.

Zach told us about the origins of Sanitas Brewing and Clay walked us through the history of his taco truck before we got to talking about the menu. Then the fun really began. We went through three courses plus dessert and each was served with a too-generous portion of beer. (Most people, thinking ahead to the drive home, left their glasses only partially emptied.) Before each course, Clay talked about the food and then Zach explained why he chose each beer to compliment it. Both had interesting things to say, but the acoustics in the room weren't great and I felt lucky to be sitting fairly close to the front. I liked the tuna course we started with, though I would have been grateful for more of the delicious pineapple pepper sauce. The jalepeno butternut squash soup was a fresh take on the old staple, but it was not for the faint of heart; Clay was generous with the jalepenos and it was very spicy. Just as Zach promised, though, the black IPA served alongside it put out flames with a single sip. The two complimented each other on other levels, too, however, and it was wonderful. I think this was the first time I've ever really experienced true synchrony between beer and food and I was surprised to find it almost as complex and pleasing as a good wine and food pairing. I was served a last-minute tilapia fillet while everyone else set to work on a massive portion of ribs; mine was delicious and Clay made sure to stop by to ask me how it turned out. Next time Sanitas hosts another such event, they'll have to be careful, especially in a town as liberal as Boulder, to have vegetarian options available. The dessert course, a dark chocolate chipotle brownie paired with a coffee-infused beer with hints of vanilla, was an inspired ending. 

This casual yet decadent dinner was wonderful. It was both an enjoyable social gathering and a learning experience. The portions, both of food and beer, were generous and everyone agreed that the meal was well worth the price we paid for it. 

I look forward to visiting Sanitas again, for a casual beer or for another wonderful, multi-course dinner.