Meeting your food (and brews) a matter of course (or two)

“It’s one of the red-winiest beers I’ve ever had — really voluptuous, with a full-bodied finish,’’ Ewing said as he swished his glass. Ewing’s selection of Belgian ales was the focus of the evening’s event, a monthly “producer dinner’’ that paired beer with a four-course meal prepared by Morgan Maki, the chef at 18 Reasons and the butcher and charcuterie-maker for beloved local grocery Bi-Rite Market.

A nonprofit sister organization to Bi-Rite Market and Bi-Rite Creamery, 18 Reasons hosts classes and hands-on educational evenings as a way to make community food knowledge more accessible to visitors. It’s part of a trend of businesses here going beyond restaurants and markets to make food experiences local, with workshops on raising chickens, cheesemaking and cheese appreciation classes, DIY food craft events, cookbook potlucks, themed dinners, and beer, wine, and chocolate tastings.

The producer dinners are 18 Reasons’ signature experience. Bruce Frazer, a computer programmer who lives in the neighborhood, chatted with Ewing about his favorite US producers of Belgian-style beers and came away with a recommendation. “I’ll make it my homework assignment to go get some Lost Abbey,’’ Frazer said. “It’s nice to be able to ask someone who does this for a living for an expert opinion.’’

The events put on by 18 Reasons are intended to be social experiences, and they don’t attract just locals. “We get out-of-town people looking for a unique experience in San Francisco,’’ said Dabney Gough, a former employee of Bi-Rite Market and now an 18 Reasons board member. She is coauthor of “Bi-Rite’s Market Manual,’’ a cookbook-meets-grocery guide to making better food choices. “This connection to the people who put food in our mouths — it’s not something you can just get by taking a cooking class or going to a restaurant. It’s actually an experience that’s really hard to find.’’