Gabe Gordon is hosting an Italian Beer Fest from May 6-9 at Beachwood BBQ, his notable Seal Beach beer emporium. “The whole point is to introduce a slightly more mature beer culture to a segment of beer that isn’t really well represented in Southern California,” says Gordon. Beachwood will feature 18 Italian beers on draft and a dozen more bottles, including Pausa, which is a housed at the 'Lorusso e Cotugno' penitentiary in Turin. Bottled Italian beers regularly run in the $40 range, so 5-ounce and 10-ounce pours will allow local beer lovers to sample the product at a much lower price point. Look for beers like Super Baladin from Birrificio Le Baladin; Chimer from Del Ducato; Chiostro from Piccolo Birrificio; and My Antonia, a collaboration between Birra Del Borgo and Dogfish Head.
Gordon will also cook several Italian-American specials during the festival, “spin it like how an American barbecue place would do Italian food.” One dish may be a smoked chicken Parmesan.
On Thursday, a group of 25 Italian brewers, distributors and importers will be in town as part of a SoCal beer tour, and at least one person will speak at Beachwood. Gordon said they’re caravanning from San Diego, so he’s not exactly sure of their ETA, but it will be in the evening. [Feast LA]
