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Paired, a beer and food pairing festival, is coming to Los Angeles

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Paired, a beer festival that features beer and food pairings, is coming to Los Angeles on Oct. 18 and 19. Not only will Paired offer a wide array of breweries from across the country, each beer will be partnered with a small bite made by a beer-loving chef.

For the past 10 years the Brewers Assn. has organized the event in the midst of the country’s biggest beer festival — the Great American Beer Festival held in Denver every autumn. Later this year the Brewers Assn. is taking Paired out of Denver and bringing it to Los Angeles.

“When we decided to take Paired on the road, Los Angeles was the first to come up as a destination,” says Adam Dulye, the executive chef of the Brewers Assn. Apart from the thriving beer community and reputation as a great food town (and all that great produce), L.A. offers the opportunity to organize an outdoor festival and showcase cooking over live fire. “We’re excited to bring the concept to L.A. and showcase what is happening around the country,” he says.

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The format of the Paired event is different from the average beer festival, a little different even from a food-forward event such as the L.A. Beer and Food Festival organized by the Los Angeles Brewers Guild. Instead of lots of beer and an array of small bites, the Paired event specifically matches chefs with brewers who then collaborate on a pairing designed to elevate both the beer and the food. Dulye curates a group of 21 chefs from around the country, and 42 breweries are selected via a lottery system. The selected brewers decide on what beer to bring, and then the Brewers Assn. events team matches brewers with chefs to work together on the specific beer and food combinations.

The end result is two beers offered by each brewery and two dishes designed by each chef.

The two-day event will take place at the L.A. Center Studios and feature the following chefs: Kyle Mendenhall of Arcana (Boulder, Colo.), Sean Clark of El Moro Spirits and Tavern (Durango, Colo.), Marc Vetri of Vetri Cucina (Philadelphia), Kelly Whitaker of Basta (Boulder, Colo.), Mike Friedman of Red Hen and All Purpose (Washington, D.C.), Nathan Miller of Nathan Miller Chocolate (Chambersburg, Pa.), Nathan Anda of Red Apron Charcuterie (Washington, D.C.), Alex Seidel of Mercantile Dining and Provision (Denver, Colo.) and Kevin Nashan of Sidney Street Café (St. Louis).

The brewer lottery will be held in July just before the $85 tickets go on sale. There are also limited number of $200 VIP tickets, which include early entrance to the event, a lounge seating area, and access to some special dishes and other perks. 450 S. Bixel St., Los Angeles, PairedLA.com.

food@latimes.com

@latimesfood

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