Tocobaga is a damn good red ale.

I’m not for posting recipes but since this is simple and manly, I got you covered.  Pairing food and drink is as old as time.  Pairing the right drink with the right food is heavenly.  So, my wife and I paired Cigar City Tocobaga red ale and hot Italian sausage this past weekend.  We wanted to keep it local as much as possible, hence Tampa’s Cigar City Brewery. 

• First, cube or slice an onion and put it into your frying pan.  Secondly pour about half the 12oz bottle of Tocobaga into that pan. 
• Turn your fire on med (enough to get your ale boiling).  Let your liquid reduce a little.  This will allow the onions to soak up a the red ale more; and the ale will thicken too.
• Then put your hot Italian sausage into the pan.  Remember: The reason this pairing works is because spicy food pairs well with India Pale Ales (IPA).  Once the sausage casing turns white, pull it out of the pan and place it on a grill for a 2-4 minutes.

 (Keep your fire going on the ale and onion mixture even after you pull the sausages out.  This will continue to get the mixture to thicken and sweeter.)

You’re on your own after this.  I’m not going to presume how to tell a dude how to dress his hotdog bun.  But definitely put the sausage and onions on it. 

Let us know at The Florida Blogger how this turns out.  Also if you have any other Florida spirits and food pairings send that along as well.