Merola Opera Program Blog

Some Puccini with that pilsner?

By Michelle M. Andre

SAN FRANCISCO - I met my twin sister in the confessional at the Irish Bank bar yesterday, where she and her Deschutes Brewery of Bend, Oregon, clients were meeting with beer-interested Bay area press. I snuck away from the Opera to be regaled by Larry the Brewmaster with tales of hops, brewery waste processes, Alaskan fishing, and anticipation of a late fall stout. As I slowly slid down the hard wooden bench (packing five or six people in a space originally meant for only a priest and a guilty parishioner isn’t recommended) the question of pairing beers with wild mushrooms came up—this apparently being a peak year for wild mushrooms. I began to wonder about beer pairings with a higher form of culture (and my place of employment). Could beer and opera form a match made in heaven?

As we peeled ourselves out of the dark wooden booth, we headed to the next stop to talk shop—this brew, that brew, what brew, which brew. On our way back to the car, Larry the Brewmaster inquired as to whether I liked being in the City.

What a question! I, along with many of my fellow Bay area residents, imagine that every visitor to our fair City is going over plans in their mind of how they could immediately move here since it is so unbelievably fabulous. Live San Francisco Opera rehearsals are piped into a speaker above my desk. For lunch, I can choose Ethopian, Vietnamiese, Turkish, Indian, or actually any kind of food from any part of the world, and I can go to more than one good place to get it. Every day I drive over the most breathtaking bridge with the most amazing view, ever. Even on Monday nights, the choice of activities is endless—see an independent film at a quaint restored theater, catch a comedy show in the Mission, attend a drop-in meditation session at an old church on Gough, take salsa lessons, go to a drag show in the theater district, anything you like. Do I like living here? Of course.

“Ah, culture. I myself need to be closer to nature,” claims Larry.

Interesting. But couldn’t there be a way to merge my love of culture and Larry’s love of nature? My opera and his ale?

I imagine Larry as the quintessential beer drinker with his taste for fresh-caught salmon and penchant for traveling by small watercraft in remote areas where it is light 23 hours a day in midsummer. He is probably thinking true beer drinkers need more than the open space behind my neighborhood in Marin or the mushrooms growing wild in my front yard. Do beer and the untamed outdoors unavoidably go together in the beer drinker’s mind? Or could the brew connoisseur perhaps also love some good City culture, perhaps in the form of a particularly rousing aria? Could an energetic Mozart ensemble cause one to crave a late summer blond ale? Is there more than even common ground here?

It seems there may already be an underlying commonality among beer fans and opera fans—their complete inability to understand how someone could be a non-fan. Beer fans nod with comprehension when fellow advocates relate news of a frustrating camping trip on the upper peninsula of Michigan, a trip nearly ruined by being unable to buy (or homebrew) a rich enough porter to make their campfire fare complete. My mind goes blank. First at the word “camping”, then the idea of being disappointed by brew quality. This sounds crazy to someone like me. However, I would imagine that a non-opera fan (or rather “the uninitiated”, since how could anyone not like opera?) may not understand the level of disappointment when the understudy has to fill in for Plácido Domingo or the conductor misses the proper tempo.

However, Larry the Brewmaster ends up surprising me. He DOES see beer as something more than a refreshing drink after a long day searching for wild mushrooms, hiking with grizzlies or camping in Michigan. He reaches beyond my perception of the beer drinker, he seems to understand the natural qualities of brew are intrinsically merged with a certain level of sophistication. Right after conversationally explaining sewage treatment planning for beer-making waste, he delicately holds up the oversize wine glass from which he is sipping a deep golden brew. He hopes the day will come when beer is served only in goblets, not the traditional and unwieldy pint glass. He reaches over to flick the offending glass, his face a perfect replica of the Wagner fan disappointed by a weak mezzo better suited to opera buffa. Ah, we are coming closer to common ground, I feel we possibly could be of the same ilk in our respective passions. His goblet hopes are making me think of the jeweled cups on display at the Legion of Honor, and of mead in ancient Europe, imbibed in front of a premiere of an opera set to a libretto by Shakespeare. This may be a good step toward pairing beer with the more sophisticated things in life, like Rossini and Handel.

Here are my ideas for opera composer/Deschutes Brewery pairings:
• Richard Wagner & Black Butte Porter (Rich, distinctive, evoking loyalty and passion from fans)
• Giacomo Puccini & Mirror Pond Pale Ale (Elegant, sweet and refreshing with a little bit of bite)
• Richard Strauss & Jubelale (Exciting, evocative and unique)
• Alban Berg & Obsidian Stout (Sharp, dry and bitter)
• Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart & Twilight Ale (Magical and harmonious)

Perhaps we could consider serving an elegant Deschutes Brewery beer at the upcoming Merola Opera Program gala in May. After all, the event will be held at the iconic, culture-rich San Francisco Fairmont on Nob Hill. I can picture it now—tuxedos and evening gowns gliding about the gilded rooms sipping limited release Jubel 2010 Reserve ale from goblets while listening to Donde lieta usci from La Boheme, nibbling at a wild mushroom salad, waiting for some fresh-caught salmon…