CONTACT
INFORMATION
 Greg Koch
CEO & Co-Founder
Stone Brewing Co.
760-471-4999 x 1102
greg.koch@stonebrewing.com
 Jacob McKean
Social Media Coordinator
760-471-4999 x 1555
jacob.mckean@stonebrewing.com
 

  Beer Defeats Wine in an Epic
Three Year Pairing Competition

"Beer vs. Wine" was a three-part challenge pitting Wine against Beer in a food-pairing showdown. The multi-course fine-dining dinners were held over three consecutive years (2007-2009) at the Rancho Bernardo Inn's critically acclaimed El Bizcocho restaurant. Each course was paired with a specially selected wine and a specially selected beer, and guests voted on their preference.
The Wine pairings were hand selected each year by Barry Wiss of Napa's Trinchero Family Estates, and the Beer pairings were determined by Greg Koch, CEO & Co-Founder of Stone Brewing Co. Neither Barry nor Greg had any say in the creation of the food menu.
In October 2007, "Beer" won. However, it was very close. Beer took three of the courses and wine won three, yet Beer edged out Wine with more total votes during the evening. In October 2008, "Wine" won. Again, it was very close with three courses to three courses, with Wine winning more total votes in the evening. Friday, October 16th, 2009's dinner was the tie-breaker to determine the "best two out of three" winner.
Beer emerged victorious in the October 16, 2009 Beer vs. Wine Dinner. The competition was so fierce that the ballots had to be recounted twice, but it was eventually determined that Beer won by one single vote.
 

 
"The premise of the dinner–the motivation for me to do it–was to prove a point. I intentionally picked a wine-centric, fine dining, chef-driven restaurant for the Beer vs. Wine Dinner. I wanted to show that even in this ‘hostile territory' the ability of great craft beer to pair amazingly with great food was equal, or better, to that of fine wine." - Greg Koch, CEO & Co-Founder, Stone Brewing Co.
"The results are in: Beer is better than wine. At least that's how the voting went at the third annual Beer vs. Wine dinner held recently at Rancho Bernardo Inn." – SanDiego.com
 
 

LOGOS & PHOTOS



Beer vs. Wine winner Greg Koch (left) with El Bizcocho Executive Chef Judd Canepari and Barry Wiss of Napa's Trinchero Family Estates

Photo Credit: Colleen Rugg, www.newpointpr.com
JPEG (Web)

TIFF (Print)

Stone Brewing Co. Co-founder & CEO, Greg Koch atop the Stone Brewhouse.

Photo Credit: www.studioschulz.com
JPEG (Web)
TIFF (Print)




Beer vs. Wine 2009 menu
JPEG (Web)
TIFF (Print)


El Bizcocho Interior

Photo courtesy of Rancho Bernardo Inn
JPEG (Web)
TIFF (Print)

Stone Brewing Co. Logo

EPS (Print)

VIDEO

Beer vs. Wine | A Brief History from Redtail Media on Vimeo.

 
 

Beer vs. Wine 2007 | Chef de Cuisine Gavin Kaysen from Redtail Media on Vimeo.

 

Beer vs. Wine 2008 | Pre-tasting Part I from Redtail Media on Vimeo.

 
 

Beer vs. Wine 2008 | pre-tasting part II from Redtail Media on Vimeo.

 

Beer vs. Wine 2008 | Trailer from Redtail Media on Vimeo.


WHAT THE PRESS IS SAYING ABOUT STONE

"All-Time Top Brewery on Planet Earth. The most popular and highest-rated brewery...ever."
- BeerAdvocate Magazine
"Not for the faint of heart, [Stone's] bold brews have a strong and fast-growing fan base."
- Bon Appetit
"Stone Brewing Company from San Diego is arguably the most notorious player on America's exhilarating craft brewing scene..."
- The Publican (United Kingdom)

"Stone Brewing makes aggressive beer – good news for those tired of the fizzy yellow stuff."
- Los Angeles Times

"Stone Brewing's 'extreme' beers are like standard ales in overdrive."
- Food & Wine

"[Stone] has no interest in going mainstream if that means watering down the product."
- Inc. Magazine
"San Diego [is] the new beer capital of the U.S. Stone exemplifies the local
approach, with aggressively hopped but completely drinkable brews."
- Men's Journal


LINKS

Beer vs. Wine on Vimeo
El Bizcocho Restaurant
Stone In the News
Stone Media Art
Stone Facts & Figures
Stone Proper Names
Facebook
Twitter
Flickr
The Stone Blog



WHAT THE PRESS IS SAYING ABOUT GREG KOCH

"[Stone CEO Greg Koch] pushed the phrase 'fizzy yellow beer' into the beer lexicon, made sure the term 'Arrogant Bastard' became endearing to beer lovers and launched the 'I Am a Craft Brewer' campaign last year that urged beer drinkers to support their local breweries."
– Ohio.com, Akron Beacon
Journal

"As bold as his company's beers, Greg Koch is one colorful character in the craft brewing industry."
- Beverage Business Magazine
"The many faces of Greg Koch were on display during his keynote address at the recent Craft Brewers Conference in Boston, MA. In a bravura performance, the brash Stone Brewing Co. co-founder expounded, sang, and twittered for nearly an hour. 'It was the best speech I have ever seen,' said Harry Schumacher, publisher of Beer Business Daily."
- Modern Brewery Age

"(Greg Koch) said big brewers have all the money and advertising, but craft brewers have something more important: 'We get to make really great beer,' he said. 'They have to make fizzy yellow beers. We get to be creative. They have to be creative with their commercials. We can double our capacity by
growing organically. They have to buy up their competitors.'"
- The MetroWest Daily News

"Go to a beer festival, and the biggest crowd isn't necessarily circling a keg; more likely, they're autograph-seekers hounding Stone Brewing's Greg
Koch..."
- Philadelphia Daily News