Session 8 : Beer & Food – Lunch

12:45 pm – Lunch

(NOTE:This is a day-long continuation of the Session 8 Beer & Food post, so make sure you start with Breakfast.)

Last night was pizza night here at the ranch, so that naturally makes today’s lunch leftover pizza. I’ve paired my two slices of pepperoni, sausage, bell pepper, tomato and onion with 12 ounces of cold, refreshing Stone IPA.

Originally brewed with extra hoppy goodness to keep it fresh on its voyage from North County San Diego to the rest of San Diego County, Stone’s IPA now ships throughout North America and a few places beyond.

I’m particularly fond of Stone’s IPA because I think it’s excellent early example of the West Coast IPA style. A deep amber color, rich white head, big floral hop bouquet and excellent flavor balance of big malt and hop combination, it’s a perfect offset for the strong flavors and aromatics of the cured meats and fresh veggies of my pizza.

Plus it does a great job of cooling the molten blobs of cheese that weld themselves to the roof of my mouth every time I take a bite of pizza. (You think I’d learn about microwave ovens and hot cheese, but I don’t.)

The only drawback to a Stone IPA at lunch is, even though it’s really good, you have to limit yourself to just one. At 7% ABV, two or so of those and you might as well forget about operating heavy equipment, flying jets, doing open heart surgery, or any of the numerous other things we all do after lunch.

Next up: snack time!