This Friday kicks off the last week of Beer & Seafood events we've been hosting recently. It's been a long summer of local beer, featuring four brews on draft each week from the same brewery along with menu pairings. The idea was to offer our guests the opportunity to try a larger repertoire of beers from each brewery than we would usually have at any given time, and get to know the people who create them in the process. Thanks to Kevin Furgal for coming out last Friday to help us celebrate Karl Strauss.

This Friday, Tod Fitzsimmons and Jessica Oliver (and possibly also the owner and head brewer Peter Zien) will be with us from AleSmith Brewing Co. Tod has brewed for AleSmith for a full 12 years, bringing handcrafted artisan ales to San Diego alongside the other brewers. We will be featuring their Lil' Devil Ale, X (Extra Pale Ale), Nautical Nut Brown Ale and Old Numbskull Ale on tap, and we also regularly have their flagship beer, Anvil ESB Ale, in 22 ounce bottles.

In other news, last Sunday, Sea Rocket Bistro hosted the "Sipping Sierrans," an informal gathering of beer and wine loving Sierra Club members who select a different venue each month at which to hold a tasting of food and drink. Given our interest in serving locally sourced and sustainable seafood, and our concern with environmental issues in general, the bistro seemed a natural choice for one of these social meetings. We served a tasty smorgasbord of salads, ceviche, sardines and beer cake to pair with the flight of wines which included a Savignon Blanc from Frangipani Winery in Temecula, Viognier from Cass Winery in Paso Robles, Chardonnay Special Selection from Fallbrook Winery, and Muscat Canelli from Salerno Winery.

Here are a couple of photos from the event. My thanks to Richard Miller, who organized the whole thing, and Ted Gourvitz who came down from Fallbrook Winery to mingle with guests and chat about the wine-making process.

We look forward to seeing you again soon at the bistro!