This all really started when I fell head over heels in love with DSCT from Curio Wellness. This broad-leaf cultivar is a cross between Dark Star x Chemdawg x Tangie. The THCa is 30.9% and, notably, β-Myrcene is 1.03%. When I took my first sniff, it immediately reminded me of my favorite wine, Nebbiolo, an Italian red known for it’s unique flavor profile. The flowers’ pungent earthy aromas of moss & wood present first, but distant floral and herbaceous aromas creep in and leave you with a slightly sweet, yet tangy finish. After a glass of Nebbiolo, I realized it wasn’t clicking on my palate like I wanted it to. Frustrated and hungry, I decided to call it quits for the night. I ate an edible, ordered Chinese food, and watched a few episodes of ‘You’ on Netflix.

The next morning I started to think outside of the box. What if the perfect pairing wasn’t a wine at all? With the β-Myrcene reigning over all the other terpenes, I decided to play off the earthiness in this cultivar and pair it with a hoppy beer, ideally one with bright citrus notes. For my brewery I wanted to stay local, and immediately found a few things I wanted to try at Cushwa Brewing Company in Williamsport, MD. I decided on a flight of six. I really enjoyed the ‘Karmic Event’- an IPA with tons of citrus notes and the ‘Apple Thief’, a cider/grain blend. In the end, I decided to take home a can of ‘Fog at Daybreak’, a pale ale with hoppy & herby notes. When I drink this beer, I imagine myself standing in the Redwood National Park- breathing in the organic petrichor of the forest air- rich with terpenes from the mushrooms, decaying wood, and pine needles. It’s earthy- It’s herby- It’s citrusy. This was, in fact, the perfect pairing.