ADVENTURES IN BREWING - The Sugoi Brewing Blog

Sushi and Beer Pairing

BY BORIS CHEN
NOV 15, 2025

Join Us for Sushi and Beer

We have our first Sushi and Beer pairing event on Wednesday November 19th, which will be held at the Rake Tap Room at Admiral Maltings in Alameda. Eventbrite link is here https://www.eventbrite.com/e/beer-and-sushi-pairing-the-rake-at-admiral-maltings-tickets-1957201064069

"This isn't just a tasting—it's a journey through flavors, textures, and the art of pairing. Each beer has been thoughtfully matched with a dish that highlights its unique characteristics..."

The seats are running out fast, so it'll be good to get tickets soon. (no, really, not just saying it) If you can't make it to this one, given the high level of interest, there's a good chance that we'll be doing it again soon, and will love to see you there.

Luna Más with Hamachi Carpaccio on Tortilla

The Concept: Beer and Sushi Pairing

The idea behind the event is straightforward, let's pair Japanese dishes with beers from Sugoi Brewing. Pairing is much more art than science. There's concepts and principles, but aside from what is being paired, the biggest factor is who is tasting the pairing. You. So we're excited to invite to experience what we've created and see how we've done.

The dishes, like our beers, seek to draw from tradition, but not be limited by it, and to embrace creativity, even if it means, taking some risks.

We worked with Chef Kaz Matsune of Breakthrough Sushi to collaborate and develop a pairing menu that we think you'll love, hosted by the fine folks at the Rake by Admiral Maltings. (we are privileged to be able to use their malts to make our beers as part of our commitment to highlighting terroir)

We will feature all the beers released so far:

Chimeko Kôlsch
Nagoya Nights Pilsner
Biru 101 Rice Lager
Luna Más Cerveza Negra Asiática
Indochine Kumquat Saison 2025

Chimeko is a beer I designed to go well with Chicken, but since we're on the theme of seafood, we're featuring the "Chicken of the Sea", tuna! In the form of Hawaiian Poke and Avocado in a handroll, the floral hops and bright malts from the beer, should play well with the taste of Pacific islands.

Nagoya Nights is the first Sugoi Beer, and a result of the original inspiration of a craft beer for sushi. The inspiration of the beer itself came to me while on a trip to Nagoya where I had been enjoying both local beers, and genmaicha tea. One of the dishes Nagoya is famous for is unagi, so, I think it's fitting to pair the two for the second course. The crisp beer is the yin to the eel's savory yang, a demonstration of balance.

I put a lot of myself in all the beers, but Biru 101 holds a special place in my heart. My trips to Taiwan are always packed with eating, and enjoying Taiwanese beer both day and night. For this we are pairing with sea trout, and for a twist, have it on flatbread, rather than rice. The flatbread providing a contrasting texture, and playing well with the malts of the beer, while the hops and oolong highlight the fish, the pairing is a demonstration of the versatility of the beer to level up dishes.

For Luna Más, we of course have a Mexican fusion by taking Hamachi Carpaccio made famous by Nobu, and serving on a corn tortilla chip. The dark malts of the beer, the light character of corn and forbidden rice, and the orangy hops and ginger snap made a medley of flavors around the hamachi's spice, citrus, and kiss of smoke.

And finally, last but not least: Indochine, the 2025 vintage fragrant and bursting with whole kumquats, really shines with umami rich foods. Being a bold beer, it can match the bold flavors of miso black cod, with intricate bready character to compliment the bed of soba noodles. There are many layers to savor, so we saved this for last.

In summary, we're quite excited about this event. This is our first time, so there are undoubtedly things that can be improved upon, and we're thrilled to have you be a part of this journey.

In the beginning...

For some backstory, the original concept of Sugoi Brewing Company came from a simple observation: you can spend hundreds on a fine sushi dinner, yet the best beer available is Sapporo or Asahi. Now, don't get me wrong, both are good beers, as is Kirin Ichiban, and others. They all have their place, but for something special, wouldn't it be nice to have some local craft choices?

Then when I thought of what local craft beer scene is like, it's dominated by IPA's and Hazies. That doesn't sound fitting either.

Then when I thought of other Asian cuisines, it's the same situation, landscape dominated by macro imports. Wouldn't it be nice to have more choices?

Thus started the journey that is Sugoi Brewing.

Now to be fair, there are great craft beers that can work with Asian foods, and indeed Sugoi Brewing is not the first nor last craft brewery with Asian inspiration as its focus. But, I felt it nonetheless is an underserved segment of the market where there is an ocean of opportunity for further innovation.

Continued growth of sales, and in speaking to people bears this out. This is also inline with market trends where the Asian food market in the US is huge and continues to grow rapidly, currently 37 billion, going to 51 billion in 2031 according to some estimates. Even recently, we can see revitalization of shopping being led by Asian food being the drivers in examples such as Stonestown Mall in San Francisco, and Serramonte Center in Daly City. So despite news of beer's decline, there's plenty of reasons to be optimistic.