These photos were taken Friday evening at Ballast Point Long Beach; where I participated in something I have not been able to do in over two years, attend a beer dinner. A four course meal curated by Ballast Point R&D Brewer Chris Takeuchi, combined with the fact that I had yet to visit Ballast Point’s Long Beach location, made it a pretty easy decision to accept their invitation. Together with my friend Alexis, sales rep for Eureka Brewing Company, we braved the Friday night traffic for what would be a fun and tasty evening.

So, getting first impressions out of the way first, their parking lot is massive which should probably give you an indication of what to expect inside. With a little patience we ended up with one of the best parking spots short of having a handicapped placard.

When we entered I was pretty surprised at just how massive the place is. The fact of the matter is that I never even made it upstairs so it is literally twice as big as what I observed. On top of that they have an outdoor patio which I am sure is nice most of the time; last night would not have been a good time for outdoor dining (too cold).

After checking in, we were brought over to the patio bar where we were served beer and appetizers while we waited for everyone to arrive.

Our table was set up in the currently decommissioned brewery, with a foeder sitting in the corner that actually has beer in it.

The first course of our meal was smoked duck served on a nest of crispy, purple yams, baby herbs, persimmon, gingerbread crumb, and a pickled cranberry vinaigrette, which was paired with Ballast Point’s Calico Amber Ale, which happens to be the first beer Ballast Point ever brewed. The smoked duck was delicious and was outstanding with the maltiness of the Calico.

The second course was Korobuta Pork Belly served on a spiced celeriac puree, brown butter fennel, pomegranate, baby leek, and tapioca crisp which was paired with Oud Bruin (India Street Collection #5). The flavor of the Oud Bruin combined with the pomegranate made for an interesting flavor contrast with the pork belly.

I have to admit, by this point I was starting to wonder if I was going to be able to participate in the third course; I don’t eat a lot, and these portions were pretty big. But the third course was Alaskan Halibut served with a confit sweet potato, lobster roe, prawn chip and charred asparagus; that should be light enough, right? Let me say, yes, the halibut was light and flaky, but they gave us a huge piece. I admit, I didn’t eat all my veggies. This was appropriately paired with their Grunion Pale Ale, which is just hoppy enough to compliment the halibut without overpowering it.

Our fourth and final course was dessert, a Yuzu Lemon Tart consisting of toasted Swiss meringue, with a rhubarb crust, with a blood orange sorbet on the side, which was paired their Tequila Barrel Aged Barmy which is an apricot honey strong ale aged in Asombroso tequila barrels for 15 months. It made for a fine end to a lovely meal.

I would like to thank Ballast Point Long Beach GM, Mario Parapini, for the invitation, R&D Brewer Chris Takeuchi and his wife for the entertaining conversation, and Alexis for the company.

Ballast Point Long Beach is located at 110 N. Marina Drive in Long Beach. They are open daily and have many to-go options available. Cheers!

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