Pineapple Jack BBQ Sandwiches
[Vegan]

Samuel Smith's Imperial Stout states on the label that it is fermented in stone Yorkshire squares, and has received medals as far back as 1896. Badass. I love old breweries and wineries; maybe because in the US, nothing is all that old and secure. I think Yuengling markets itself as America's oldest brewery, and those guys pale in comparison (literally and figuratively) to the fine old Tadcaster brewery of Samuel Smith. I'm a fan of dark beer, not of the over-hopped rice beers (that meet quantity not quality standards) sold in the U.S. One of the great US movements in beer are quality microbeweries; Magic Hat of Burlington, Vermont, Great Lakes of Cleveland, Ohio, and Allagash of Portland, Maine are some of my favorites. But we copy those guys we originally tea partied, before that term got rinsed and washed with just-say-no rhetoric and solutionless bickering, and in many ways we trail Great Britain's finest beer makers. They've been getting it right for a long, long time. Sam Smith's Imperial Stout is thick and deep, malty and complex. It tastes like browns and grains and home and has a thick top end that finesses in far more detail than Guiness (Note: not all Guiness are vegan). And against the barbecued seitan with pineapple jack sauce, the beer followed each bite like a chaser with heart and soul. For me, its like going to Burlington, Vermont or Asheville, NC (my two favorite environments) with my best friend. This combo should be on everyone's once-in-a-lifetime to do list, and I consider myself fortunate that I will have many more opportunities to match these two perfect companions.