Intro

In the US, Labor Day is behind us, and with it, summer begins to fade behind as coals after a day of BBQing. In the Bay Area, we usually get a spurt of heat as the final goodbye. Then, the year is gone before we know it, as Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and ultimately New Years falls in quickening succession like dominoes.

For raw seafood lovers, fall and winter brings things to look forward to. It's often said oysters should be eaten in months with an "R", so September is the first month of that. For sushi, maguro and hamachi are coming into season, as the waters cool, and they fatten up for the winter. If you like aji, it's your last chance.

Why when going to sushi restaurants, it's great to get omakase. Since seasonality is only one variable, there's benefits to putting your meal in the hands of a capable chef.

This issue we'll continue from last week's "How to Pair Food and Drinks," with a discussion of sushi pairing, and follow with some random thoughts for the week.

About Beer

Sushi Pairing

Ever wonder why light lagers are so prominent in Japanese restaurants? Partly it is a fluke of history, given the early breweries were German trained brewers. However, it persists because it worked.

Sushi tends to have very complex, yet subtle flavors. The flavors can be quite varied depending on the specific dish, but if we go with a nigiri which is just fish, and seasoned rice, with some companying flavors, for instance soy sauce and wasabi (though not always the case), we have some basic things at play. From the rice, we have faintly starchy floral notes from the rice itself, and a light sweet and sour from the mirin in the rice. The fish itself is high with umami, and depending on the fish could be mild, strong, light, or rich. Then there's the salt from the soy sauce or possibly other sauces, and the radish-like heat from the wasabi.

A lager works because, it matches the intensity of sushi quite well. It's not bursting with IPA-level hops which would blow out your tastebuds from picking up the delicate flavors. It is light bodied, and uses lightly-kilned malts, which darker malts might overshadow. The yeast character is "clean", meaning it's imparting very little of the fruity spicy notes that might veer the flavor in an off direction.

This allows the sushi to shine. The slight malt sweetness of the beer enhances the flavors of the sushi, providing some light breadiness that rounds out any sharp flavors. The light tartness also compliments seafood (think how lemon is often squeezed on seafood), and the herbal hop bitterness is present enough to contrast and balance the umami and salty flavors. The carbonation, and crisp body helps cut through any oils, and refreshes the palate to continue to enjoy subsequent helpings.

When it comes to common beers, such as Asahi, and Sapporo, they all work fine. But, if you want to take it another level, a Pilsner style lager works even better, especially with fish having stronger flavors. With a bit more hop presence that harmonizes even better with the more flavorful sushi, and can have an amazing interaction with wasabi, and a malt aroma with increased complexity that can blunt any fishiness, letting the other flavors shine further.

However, I'd experiment with what works for you. I personally prefer continental Pilsner (German/Czech style). Many craft brewers in California, raised on the taste IPAs, make Pilsners with prominent New World hop flavors, which I'm less a fan of in Pilsners, and can overpower sushi much like IPAs. So, I'd look for those that specifically call out a European style, rather than a West Coast style.

Another style that is often overlooked is witbier. These are represented by the Alagash White, Blue Moon, Hoegaarden, and Hitachino Nest White Ale among others. Witbiers are Belgian style, which usually means more prominent yeast flavors of spice and fruit flavors, though in witbiers it is much less pronounced of the Belgian styles, it's just enough. The body is light and bready, due to a large percentage of wheat. It's traditionally made with orange peel, and coriander, to boost the fruit and spice profile, and has low hop bitterness. The beer is cloudy, so you can think of it as the original "hazy." Works super well with sushi, so try it out next time you see it on the menu.

All this being said, everyone has their own tastes. This is from my personal perspective, and there's no right or wrong when it comes to what you like. There's a joy to exploring, and eating "mindfully." (to use an over-used word) Where do you agree or disagree from what I said above? I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Business Update

I'm curious about the length of this newsletter. I'm trying to keep to about 1000 words. Googling says, I should keep to 200 words. Nonetheless, I'm hitting 75% open rates, which seems ok. Thoughts?

Random Tidbits

I was reading an interview with Laurie Anderson, a musician who's work is often described as experimental, and something struck me:

It's somewhat comforting to hear she's been at it for decades, yet still struggles. She says it's the "beginner's mindset" of Buddhism. It's how she creates new things. I think it's similar with any kind of entrepreneurship. It's easy to look at successes, and under-appreciate the hard work, smart decisions, and dumb luck that combine to make it a success. It's easy to think, just do what so-and-so did, or do what experts say. Most analysis of success consist of post-hoc rationalizations. You don't know how to do something until you start, and then you realize, you knew even less than you thought. It's the discomfort that becomes a driving force, an itch to scratch, like a puzzle that one is compelled to solve, or trail blazing a path to a destination in the wilderness. Even when others have done it before, it's different each time. As with many things in life, to avoid being overwhelmed by the unknown, you must learn how to embrace it.

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