Beer HQ

Tom Nolte, affable beer dude at the Davis Food Co-op, has quietly assembled the most comprehensive craft-beer selection in the greater Sacramento area. I asked him about what’s selling and some of his favorite brews.

“As far as what’s selling well, there are always the old standbys in this area: Sudwerk, Sierra Nevada, Bear Republic, Lagunitas, Mendocino Brewing. … That being said, however, a good amount of our more high-end beers, both pricewise and qualitywise, are almost impossible to keep on the shelf. In particular: Pliny the Elder, various Cantillons, Lost Abbey Angel’s Share. The people who know their beer know how good these are, and they know that they’re not going to be on the shelf long, so they frequently sell out in a matter of days—or hours.

“If I’m going to specifically pair beer with food, as opposed to just using it to wash down a meal, I’ve been finding cheese to be extremely rewarding. … [My] favorite recent pairing was Humboldt Fog and Saison Dupont.”