Summer time is BBQ time here in Central California, as soon as the sun starts to fade in the sky and the scorching temps become more bearable, we fire up the BBQs and spend our time outside.

On this occasion, my family and I were celebrating the birthdays of my younger brother and 95 year old grandma. We decided to cook tri tip.

Tri-tip sirloin is almost a fucking religion in these parts. Just Google Santa Maria Tri Tip and you’ll get a sense of how important this cut of meat is to our local heritage.

The “Unofficial Santa Maria Style Barbecue Page” is a great authentic minimalist resource for anyone that is eager to learn more. Even Ronald Reagan used to serve Santa Maria style BBQ at white house lunches.

Central California BBQ is vastly different from the Southern variety that us Americans have grown to love and fuss over.

This is NOT low and slow cooking.

The key to good tri-tip is a scorching hot Red Oak fire. Red and White Oak trees dot the landscape out here in Steinbeck country and have provided fuel for outdoor cookery since the days of the Vaqueros (Spanish cowboys).

I always like the Red Oak chunks instead of chips. The chips burn too quick and we’re not smoking the meat in the traditional way. If you’re local to San Luis Obispo County you can try these guys, Nick’s Firewood, I usually buy their bags at Albertson’s in Paso Robles, although I haven’t seen any of their Red Oak Chunks anywhere else.

But the bottom line is this, if you’re going to cook great Tri Tip, it better be over Red Oak wood. I’ll admit though, sometimes I cheat and use half briquets and half oak chunks, because I’m a frugal son of a bitch.

Anyway, on to the NEAR BEER PORTION of this review.

My folks got a six pack of Beck’s Non-Alcoholic for me to drink while they (and my wife and 95 year old grandma) drank a bunch of local Pinor Noir.

It was a pretty good pair with the bbq.

My opinion of Becks Non-Alcoholic is that it is a nice malty Pilsner-style drink, but a little bit too much on the sweet side. There is an unmistakeable sweet aftertaste that really doesn’t hit the palette particularly well.

If it is anything other than ice cold….forget it. A little warmth on this beer and its ruined. I’d recommend going Hawaiian style and freezing your pint glass before you pour a Beck’s Non-Alcoholic.

Beck’s website is a trip. They don’t really have an American web page, their page is in German and features all of the available European beers, some of which are really strange…. i.e. Beck’s Green Lemon (?)

Non alcoholic beer is the fastest growing segment of the European beer market and I have a feeling it will catch on more in America as time goes on.

Anyway, here’s my honest assessment on Beck’s NA.

The price for a six pack of Beck’s near beer is around 9 bucks with tax. The flavor is good, but far too sweet. However, it does taste a lot better than the “Bottom of the Barrel” NA’s (see my Bottom of the Barrel Shootout for more info on those).

And for anyone who wants to know how I make Santa Maria Tri Tip, here it is.

Liberally rub Susie Q seasoning over tri tip. I always let my tri tip sit out of the refrigerator for an hour before cooking. Why, you might ask? Because if the meat is too cold, the outside will cook much faster and the result will be a well-done outer crust and rare center, the cardinal sin of Tri Tip BBQ.

So let the meat rest of an hour at room temp, liberally season with Susie Q, or if you must do the DIY thing (garlic, sea salt, parsley and black pepper), and cook over super hot Red Oak wood (or 1/2 briquets and 1/2 oak wood). Basically you need to sear both sides and then cook over medium heat until the internal temp is like 135F to 140F. Use a cheap meat thermometer. Digital is ok, but for god sake’s don’t use a Bluetooth wireless meat thermometer, you’ll look like a pretentious idiot.

Most of the old cowboys around here use a meat fork called a pigtail flipper. They look pretty cool, but I just use a regular BBQ fork.

Now the most important part, let the Tri Tip REST for at least 10 minutes. It is a juicy, succulent cut of meat and it takes time to let the meat absorb all that flavor, so please don’t dive in right away.