I’ve drank many a beer in my day, but now I can say that I’ve eaten one, too. Tabitha Stroup of Friend in Cheeses Jam Co. and Emily Thomas of Santa Cruz Mountain Brewing have teamed up to create a jelly using SCMB’s “Giant DIPA” Double IPA, and it’s a mash made in heaven (sorry, I couldn’t help myself). Amber-hued, malty and sweet with herbal hop aromas, it definitely tastes like beer … but it’s spreadable. Trust me, it’s good.
Fantastic with buttery double- and triple-crème cheeses, it also makes a dynamite glaze for pork loin and bacon, especially if that bacon then becomes a BLT. Thomas says they’ll be making a grown-up PB&J at the Great American Beer Festival in Denver with DIPA jelly and cashew butter. As Stroup frequently says of her eclectic preserves, you’re only limited by your own imagination.
Find it at SCMB’s Westside taproom, and at the Westside and Felton farmers markets.
MORE BEER
Capitola-based Sante Adairius Rustic Ales is opening a second location at 1315 Water St., in the building that previously housed Blithe and Bonny and Staff of Life—a bit easier to find than their brewery tucked away up on Kennedy Drive. Co-owner Adair Paterno reports that, “The new tasting room will be decidedly SARA, but will provide a different look and feel and overall experience. The centerpiece of the space will be a decommissioned 90-barrel foudre, which has been re-milled to serve as the back bar and tap housing.” They hope to open their doors this fall.
Meanwhile, the team that brought Beer Thirty Bottle Shop & Pourhouse to Soquel is proposing to open an additional establishment in a new commercial area called the Hangar, on Aviation Way in Watsonville. The new location will be “craft-beer-centric, with a complementary food concept,” says Kym DeWitt. Guests can expect outdoor seating, regular entertainment and a family-friendly environment. “We hope to bring career-level opportunities to South County,” says DeWitt, who cautions that there’s a lot of work to be done before the development is approved and ready to open.
