On Food: The best beers and bites at the 2019 Sabroso Craft Beer, Taco and Music Festival

The sun was shining and the music was blaring last weekend at the annual Sabroso Craft Beer, Taco and Music Festival at Doheny State Beach in Dana Point. This food writer took one for the team and decided to cover the best of the best at this basically perfect event.

I can’t address the wrestling or the music, but I know beer, and I know a good bite.

Here is a roundup of my Top 3 brews and some notable bites sampled at Sabroso. May it guide you toward well-played future beer and food choices at these awesome establishments.

Top 3 Brews

1. Docent Brewing Co.’s Canteen

It was sunny. I was sweaty and sunburned.

But the moment some cold Canteen hit my lips, all things became right with the world.

This bright ale by San Juan Capistrano-based Docent Brewing Co. exemplified the perfect drink for that Doheny weekend: unpretentious and smooth — a cold respite on the hot sand.

Canteen (4.5% alcohol by volume, or ABV) gets its flavor profile from German pilsner malt, honey, almond, spicy Magnum Saaz hops and rice. Pour one next time you check out Docent’s digs down in SJC.

2. Ace’s Space

After handing out hundreds of beer samples, the guy with a long ponytail behind the taps somehow still maintained a huge smile

He handed me a sampler of Space, an unfiltered blood orange craft cider by Sebastopol-based Ace. This Sonoma County business calls itself America’s first family-owned cider pub.

The guy noted Space’s 6.9% ABV and sweet kick.

“Space ale?” I remarked.

“Not a bad space to be in,” he replied.

True that.

3. Mother Earth Brew Co.’s Guava Kettle Sour

Sabroso attendees were treated to this special drink from Mother Earth Brew Co., a Vista-based brewery. The technical details of how guava and kettle — two words I have never associated with one another — came together are still hazy.

But in Sabroso’s scene, where IPAs started to taste the same, taster after taster, this one, with a 4.5% ABV, stood out.

Notable bites

1. The veggie taco from GoodFellas Taco Catering

I’m not a vegetarian. Veggie anything isn’t something I would order.

But this Paramount-based catering company has one heck of a veggie taco: two tortillas carrying a load of mushrooms, crunchy tortilla strips, purple onions, pepitas and a slathering of honey mustard sauce.

Order a few hundred plates of these from GoodFellas for your next vegetarian wedding.

2. The nachos from Memphis Tacos

At Sabroso, you want something that hits the spot the moment you need it to. That’s when Memphis Taco’s pulled pork and nacho cheese comes to the rescue.

The meat tasted sweet and savory, the chips offered a remarkably perfect crunch. At least one passerby noticed our impressively high meaty nacho stack and had to know where to get some.

3. “Soyrizo” tacos from Kitchen Culture Catering

These sweet and spicy tacos were a fun find from Anthony Plascencia’s small business.

After the event, I learned the wonderful chorizo comes from Aurora’s Chorizo in downtown Santa Ana. Kitchen Culture Catering adds sautéed onions and garlic before cooking it in a Monterey and Oaxaca cheese mix. Next comes salsa de aguacate (avocado salsa), cilantro, onion and sides of limes and radishes.

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A fan crowd surfs during Lagwagon’s punk rock concert during the 2019 Sabroso Craft Beer, Taco and Music Festival at Doheny State Beach on April 6.

  (Don Leach / Staff Photographer)

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Lagwagon vocalist Joey Cape and guitarists Chris Flippin and Chris Rest perform at the 2019 Sabroso Craft Beer, Taco and Music Festival at Doheny State Beach on April 6.

  (Don Leach / Staff Photographer)

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The crowd settles in during Lagwagon’s set at the 2019 Sabroso Craft Beer, Taco and Music Festival at Doheny State Beach on April 6.

  (Don Leach / Staff Photographer)

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Lagwagon drummer Dave Raun performs at the 2019 Sabroso Craft Beer, Taco and Music Festival at Doheny State Beach on April 6.

  (Don Leach / Staff Photographer)

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The Offspring vocalist Dexter Holland steps onstage as the headlining act of the Sabroso Craft Beer, Taco and Music Festival on April 7.

  (Don Leach / Staff Photographer)

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A group of punk rock fans take in the vibe of the 2019 Sabroso Craft Beer, Taco, and Music Festival at Doheny State Beach at sunset on April 7.

  (Don Leach / Staff Photographer)

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Bad Religion’s Mike Dimkich and Jay Bentley begin their set with a sonic boom at the 2019 Sabroso Craft Beer, Taco, and Music Festival at Doheny State Beach on April 6.

  (Don Leach / Staff Photographer)

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Bad Religion vocalist Greg Graffin performs at the 2019 Sabroso Craft Beer, Taco and Music Festival at Doheny State Beach on April 6.

  (Don Leach / Staff Photographer)

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The Adolescents’ Tony Reflex performs during the 2019 Sabroso Craft Beer, Taco and Music Festival at Doheny State Beach on April 6.

  (Don Leach / Staff Photographer)

Bradley Zint writes about food for TimesOC. Follow him on Twitter at @bradleyzint and follow @timesocofficial for more news and features about Orange County.