Bacon Week: Low and Slow Rauchbier

Sept. 4, 2015 2 PM PT

OK, so it’s not technically a “bacon drink,” but there is perhaps no beer in San Diego that pairs better with bacon and smoked meats than Monkey Paw’s Low and Slow Rauchbier. With smoky, meaty flavors all its own, it’s a heavenly match with porcine products. (Hey wine drinkers, this is like the beer version of Côte-Rôtie, so put down that Riedel for a second and try this.) A gold medal winner at the San Diego International Beer Festival, the Low and Slow uses American cherrywood smoke, which according to Monkey Paw, “creates a slightly sweeter smoke profile that is more like bacon than campfire.” Perfect! Digging that unique profile? Also look for its brother, the Big Smoke, which uses a dizzying combination of smoked malts, including cherrywood, beechwood, mesquite, peat and oak.

Monkey Paw: 805 16th St., East Village, monkeypawbrewing.com