So the July issue of Players Club, Lenny Dykstra’s mag for pro athletes, should be arriving on the doorsteps of your favorite ballplayers, tennis players, and chess players with an article by yours truly. It’s all about pairing grilled food with fancy beer, a topic dear to my heart and, er, gut.
The story was a blast to put together; talking to a dude about beer is pretty much the easiest sort of interview to conduct. I had the pleasure of chatting with Ben Wiley, co-owner of Bar Great Harry, Jimmy Carbone of Jimmy’s no 43 and Garrett Oliver of the Brooklyn Brewery. According to those guys (and to me, a fellow suds snob) if you’re not drinking Japan’s Hitachino Nest White ale all summer long, you’re nuts. The 22 ounce bottle, which is gorgeously designed, pours quite the frothy Belgian-style white ale loaded with flavor: Coriander, citrus, spice, you name it, it’s there. It’s lightly cloudy but eminently more interesting than your average German wheat beer or sugary Belgian ale—it’s light, and it opens up even more as the chill wears off. I threw a bit of lemon peel in mine, though orange would work beautifully, to bring out the citrus-y elements. It’s a natural match for grilled salmon.
I’ll stop waxing so brewtastic now. But check it out before—to quote Homer Simpson—the government takes it away from us.
