SAVOR: an american craft beer and food experience

The big SAVOR event finally came. My sister, her fiancé, and two friends came in town again. We all very much enjoyed the first event last year and we were looking forward to the second iteration this year. 

There was only one large session as opposed to three different sessions last year. They improved the educational seminars this year and had probably twice as many to offer. Unfortunately all the seminars were full by the time the tickets went on sale to the public. Thankfully I had pre-sale rights due to attending last year. Still by the time I got tix almost all of the seminars were sold out except for Jim Koch of Sam Adams talking about extreme beer. He does brew the beer with the highest alcohol content in the world and one of the most expensive. 

Before the doors opened the line was already around the parking lot. We got in relatively fast though. We walked in and immediately started tasting fine brew and food. The place was full but it didn’t take long to refill our sample glass and pick up new bites. We started to tackle the booths on the floor in a sorta systematic manner. Two big advantages of this event over normal beer festivals is that the beer is served by actual members of the brewery and many had special not-very-distributed beers to taste. Although I did notice a few of the famous brewers I know were busy with seminars or other mingling. The food was a tad bit better than last year. And they didn’t run out. There were some fine bites, but only a few really complemented the beer they were paired with I thought. They also had a cheese table and oyster bar. 

The Sam Adams seminar was the last hour of the event. I got tix for Robin, my sister, and her fiancé. Somehow Robin convinced me to skip it. At the time I didn’t mind so much because I had yet to taste all the brews on the event floor and I knew I wasn’t a fan of insanely high alcohol beers. I passed the tix on to Mark and Michelle. My sister was looking out for me and brought out a sample of the Utopia and I think it was a 1993 version of the Double Bock. The Utopia wasn’t as strong as I thought it would be and had that velvety taste of mature beers. Of course I wasn’t exactly sober when I tasted it. It was a good night and we were all full and feeling good. Robin didn’t exactly make it home with us but that is another story.

A few pics from my sister

another Lupulin Reunulin

This year the big event before SAVOR was at RFD (sister to the Brickskeller). I went last year and it was the most entertaining beer event I’d ever been to. It is a panel of the top craft brewers in the country, who all brought fine special beers, always have a good time with each other, and didn’t disappoint tonight. This year was the original line-up. Last year Vinnie couldn’t make it and Greg Koch took his place. Bill Madden joined this year as well. 

• Tomme Arthur – Lost Abbey & Port Brewing
  
• Adam Avery – Avery Brewing Company
  
• Sam Calagione – Dogfish Head
  
• Vinnie Cilurzo – Russian River
  
• Rob Tod – Allagash Brewing
  
• Bill Madden – Vintage 50
  

Julie Johnson from All About Beer magazine was the moderator. It was a highly popular event and everyone in the craft beer scene was there. We drank no less than 16 glorious beers:

• Dogfish Head – Festina Peche
  
• Lost Abbey – Hot Rocks Stein Lager
  
• Avery – Brabant Barrel Aged 100% Brett
  
• Vintage 50 – Malakoff Hoptail
  
• Allagash – Confluence
  
• Russian River – Blind Pig IPA
  
• Dogfish Head – Hoppy Onion
  
• Lost Abbey – Carnevale Bretted Saison
  
• Avery – The Maharaja Imperial IPA
  
• Allagash – Hugh Malone
  
• Vintage 50 – Headknocker
  
• Port Brewing – 3rd Anniversary Pale Strong Ale
  
• Russian River – Consecration
  
• Dogfish Head – Palo Santo Marron
  
• Avery – Mephistopheles Stout
  
• Vintage 50 – Wee Heavy 2002

Holy scheiße is this a dream line up!  Before I get in to my beer notes let me describe the scene. This was the night before SAVOR which all the big brewers were in town for and what else would they do but join us at RFD. The brewer from Old Dominion gave us an update on their status after a question from Sam on the panel. Greg Koch of Stone made his presence known. And Ken Grossman from Sierra Nevada was even there. All the brewers forced him to come up and talk for a bit about brewing craft beer back in the mid-80’s. They couldn’t say enough about him. Of course with all these hefty brews we were all feeling quite good; brewers and patrons alike. There were great stories, jokes, and comradery by all. 

My notes on most of the brews:

Lost Abbey Hot Rocks Stein Lager – This was a collaboration with some other brewery and is their spring seasonal. They used an old style of brewing with super hot rocks for the boil. Apparently that has an effect on the sugars. It did have a slightly unique taste to it and came in at 6.5%

Avery Brabant Barrel Aged 100% Brett – I found this beer at Whole Foods not too long ago. As mentioned I bought two and realized they cost $8.99 for the 12oz bottle once I got home. That just means its da bomb right? Well Adam told us there were only 690 cases brewed. About 25 – 30 cases came to the DC area. So far I’ve bought 3 bottles. It is a brett beer which gives it that wild yeast taste. I’m not over the top on this brew but hope it ages a bit in my fridge.

Vintage 50 Malakoff Hoptail – This was one of many interesting surprises. This is a big double IPA. But not a super bitter double IPA, it’s a super fresh hop IPA at 9%. Bill said he put hops in this beer about every way possible. It is a huge beer that doesn’t taste huge. Bill says he serves it at the brewpub but its not listed anywhere, you gotta know to ask. It’s a most excellent brew. 

Allagash Confluence – I bought this the same time I bought the Avery Brabant. This is another of the wild yeast beers of the night. It is the same yeast as their Interlude. It is a hoppy beer for Allagash (dry hopped) but of course not that hoppy for American beers. Rob said they will do a sporadic production of this beer. 

Russian River Blind Pig IPA – This was my first time tasting the famous Blind Pig IPA. It was very enjoyable. A very nice fresh hop taste. This came in at 6.1%.

Dogfish Head Hoppy Onion – This is a new special Dogfish Head beer that I haven’t had. Sam likes to put funky things in his beer and this one as six different Indian spices. My palate isn’t all that and I didn’t taste that much onion.

Lost Abbey Carnevale Bretted Saison – This is another spring seasonal for Tomme. And another wild yeast beer. This had some citrus hops. It was a tasty. 6.5% 

Avery The Maharaja Imperial IPA – This isn’t hard to get around town and I’ve had it once before but enjoyed it more than I remembered. It is another big hoppy beer. Adam says they try to make it dryer each year. They use 8lbs of hops per barrel. Apparently that is a ton load. This came in at 10.3%.

Allagash Hugh Malone – This is another bitter beer for Allagash. Dry hopped. 

Vintage 50 Headknocker – This was on cask and pretty good with an English yeast.

Port Brewing 3rd Anniversary Pale Strong Ale – No notes on this one.  The alcohol was definitely being felt by this point.

Russian River Consecration – This was another fine offering from the God of craft brewing: Vinnie Cilurzo. This was super hoppy but very different. “It’s a strong dark ale aged for 6 months inside used cabernet sauvignon barrels with currants added.” Try about 30lbs per barrel of currants.

Dogfish Head Palo Santo Marron – No notes on this one. I’ve purchased a few of these. A very unique beer. Read about it here.

Avery Mephistopheles Stout – Getting late in the night here and as usual the notes get more and more scarce. “stout but light factor” was about all I had to say about this.

Vintage 50 Wee Heavy 2002 – Bill brought out a keg of his Wee Heavy brewed back in 2002. This beer earned him two gold medals and a silver. I believe this was the last keg ever of the beer. It has a velvet mature taste that I had the previous night with the 1988 Thomas Hardy.

A night to remember.  Hung out with the top people in the craft brew scene. Good times were had by all.  And one more great night to go.

Carol Stoudt @ the Brickskeller

The second event of unofficial DC craft beer week was Carol Stoudt at the Brickskeller. Carol and her husband decided to start a brewery over 20 years ago but her husband owned their restaurant and because of PA laws that meant Carol had to open the brewery. Apparently she has been quite an influence on the craft beer scene since. They are from Germany and decided to brew German style beers. I haven’t had much if any Stoudt beer but enjoyed what they had to offer. The line up for the night:

• Kolsch (Brewmasters Reserve)
  
• Gold Lager
  
• Heifer in Wheat
  
• Pils
  
• American Pale Ale
  
• Scarlet Lady ESB
  
• Double IPA
  
• Fat Dog Imperial Oatmeal Stout

It was interesting to hear Carol and their philosophy on beer. They must be doing something right to be in business all these years. Robin and I enjoyed the Fat Dog Stout. Carol commented on a couple occasions about how they had to come up with some funky names to compete and as soon as they threw a dog or a cow on the label the sales took off.

One of the highlights of the night was that Dave of the Brickskeller busted out some of his rare stash. I ordered the Bourbon Barrel Aged Black Ops from the Brooklyn Brewery and a Thomas Hardy brewed in 1988. The Black Ops was very nice. I'm not a fan of Bourbon Barrel aged beers but this was very balanced. Robin liked it as well. The Thomas Hardy from 1988 was just unique. It has a very velvet taste from the aging. Definitely something to sip. I don't know much about it but found this...

Hardy's Ale was first brewed in 1968 at the request of the Thomas Hardy Society to mark the 40th anniversary of the author's death. Each vintage was blended from as many as six different brews and underwent three fermentations. Collector's have been known to pay outrageous amounts for bottles from the 1960s and in the hundreds of dollars for those from the 1980s.

Looking forward to tonight and Saturday.

Flying Dog / Wild Goose tasting

The first of a series of four tastings put on by the Brickskeller during Savor week was last night and Robin and I were there. Flying Dog and Wild Goose is owned by the same brewery. They moved the Flying Dog line from Colorado to join Wild Goose in Frederick, MD. The event was hosted by Bob Tupper as usual and Bob, the head brewer from Flying Dog / Wild Goose, was on hand. He was an interesting guy who has been brewing professionally for 16 years. He lived and brewed in Japan for many years. 

The lineup:

• Wild Goose Wild Goose XPA
  
• Flying Dog Kerberos Triple
  
• Wild Dog Belgian Style IPA
  
• Wild Dog Dog Schwarz
  
• Flying Dog Gonzo Imperial Porter
  
• Flying Dog Dry Hopped Gonzo (cask)
  
• Flying Dog Barrel Aged Gonzo
  
• Flying Dog Horn Dog Barleywine
  
• Flying Dog Double Dog IPA
  

The Wild Goose XPA is their session beer at 4 something %. It was very light and crisp. This was one of two beers served from a 12oz bottle during the evening.

The Kerberos Triple was a pretty good Belgium style with a strong yeast flavor. It hid its alcohol well and weighed in at about 9%.

The Wild Dog Belgian Style IPA was the most popular of the night. Their Wild Dog line is for special or one-off beers. They only brewed 6 barrels of this; that is 186 gallons. It had a very fresh hop smell. And was very well balanced in taste between the hops and Belgian yeast. It was 8.x% and was mmm good. We are supposed to email the brewery and tell them to brew more.

The Wild Dog Dog Schwarz was next. This was the start of the dark beers. It had a coffee aroma and a smoked coffee taste. Bob said he has been brewing smoked beers for years. This was 8%.

The Gonzo Imperial Porter was dry hopped. I thought it was a pretty tasty porter. It rang up at 7.8%.

The Dry Hopped Gonzo was apparently extra dry hopped. It was also served from a cask. This made it may favorite of this line of dark beers. I think the cask mellowed out the porter flavors I’m not fond of and brought out flavors I do like. Maybe someday I can tell you what those are. I liked the less-carbonated cask feel as well. This Gonzo was the same as the last Gonzo at 7.8%.

The Barrel Aged Gonzo had that bourbon taste I’m not fond of. My memory starts fading here, I do remember a conversation on bourbon barrels so I’m pretty sure I’m accurate on the liquor. This was served from 750ml bottles. You get an extra tenth of alcohol at 7.9%.

Next was the Horn Dog Barleywine. I don’t remember tasting the alcohol but that doesn’t mean anything. I also didn’t write down the alcohol content. This was served from 12oz bottles.

The Double Dog was last. I really don’t remember this one at all. The previous 10 beers had quite a high average alcohol content. This Double Dog weighed in at 11% which probably didn’t do any of us any good. There is a good possibility this was also served from a cask. I’ll have to remember next time to increase the quality of my notes instead of getting lazy at the end of the night.

Tomorrow is Carol Stoudt from the Stoudt brewery and Dave from the Brickskeller says he is going to bust out some of his rarest beers for the event.

Friday is the popular Lupulin Reunulin. I’m very much looking forward to this after last year.

Monday is a Stone tasting with Greg Koch but I won’t be in town unfortunately. 

The Infamous Stringdusters …finally

After a couple years I finally saw The Infamous Stringdusters again. And it was a good show. 

They were playing at Jammin Java. I’ve never been to Jammin Java and wasn’t going to go but Lee offered to drive so I couldn’t say no. Jammin Java is sorta like a jazz club in a strip mall that serves coffee and alcohol and has all kinds of bands. I saw the Stringdusters years ago with Lee and have tried and failed to see them since. I was happy to finally see them again.

There were only about 20 or 30 people when we showed up after 8:00. We ordered some food and they started playing soon afterwards. I stayed away from the alcohol and enjoyed the meds prescribed for my shoulder. They played two sets and really threw down. There are six guys and six instruments: guitar, banjo, fiddle, mandolin, upright bass, and dobro (slide guitar played horizontal). The banjo player had a CD being released the day of the show. They were all good and traded off licks. I always enjoy a good fiddle furry. And it was interesting to see the dobro which was played most excellently. Lee thought they were a bit traditional. They did sing a lot; but there were a lot of slick group dynamics and back and forth solos. By the end of the show there were more like 50 - 60 people. I enjoyed it. 

broken collar update

I saw the orthopaedic surgeon today; six days after the fall. He said it was a typical break and the bone was overlapping a bit at the break. The bruising is from the bleeding bone. Saturday was not a fun day. Things seem a bit better today. He gave me a refill for the Vicodin which was much appreciated. I'm supposed to go back in two weeks.

Two new brews

I was at Whole Foods today to pick up some food while I’m incapacitated. I haven’t had a drink since I fell but I can’t go to a store with a decent beer selection and not check it out. Thankfully I did as I discovered two new brews. First I picked up two 12 oz bottles of Avery Brewing’s Barbant. This is a new beer for them so far only bottled once in February. I didn’t notice the price until after I got home: $8.99 per 12 oz bottle! A little description from their website…

Beer Style: Barrel-Aged Wild Ale

Alcohol By Volume: 8.7% 

No. 1 Brabant is a luscious dark ale fermented with two strains of wild yeast (brettanomyces) then aged for 8 months in Zinfandel barrels. We hope you enjoy sifting through the vast layers of complexity in this mysterious ale. 

Serve at 45 to 55 degrees F

A dark ale aged in Zinfandel barrels. That should be yummy.

I also spied a new 750ml bottle from Allagash. Interestingly enough it’s also made with a brettanomyces yeast strain.  From their website…

Allagash Confluence Ale is created with a mixed fermentation; utilizing our house primary Belgian style yeast in combination with our proprietary Brettanomyces strain. The two yeast strains work in tandem creating a marriage between spice and fruit flavors that ultimately leave a lingering silky mouth feel. 

Confluence is brewed with a blend of both imported pilsner and domestic pale malts as well as a portion of caramel malt, resulting in a complex malty profile. Tettnang and East Kent Golding hops are added in the brew process to balance the intricate malty profile while adding a sweet and spicy citrus aroma. 

After fermentation, Confluence undergoes a lengthy aging process in stainless steel tanks to enhance the flavors. Prior to bottling, it is dry hopped with a Glacier hops, providing a pleasant balance of aromas. Confluence is then bottle conditioned and aged in our cellar prior to release. 

ABV: 7.5%

Original Gravity: 1064

Recommended Cellaring Temp: 50°F

Recommended Serving Temp: 40-50°F

Looking forward to both these beauties soon.

1st time for everything

It was a nice night up until the end. Kirby was back in town and we planned to hang out Tuesday evening. It was a nice day so we met up in Georgetown and went for a canoe ride for the last hour the rental place was open. We’ve been downriver before so we went up river this time. We hung out with some ducks and geese and checked out some old stone culverts. Along the way we saw some small mammal swimming by the shore. Only the top of his head was visible so we couldn’t tell what it was. Once we got close out came the big flat tail with two smacks to the water before he disappeared. I didn’t realize beavers hung out in fast flowing water like that. I’ve seen them do unbelievable things in the hills of Appalachia. That was typical beaver I thought damming up small streams to impressive ponds with huge stick dams. Our guy in the Potomac popped up downstream so we floated down to check him out again. He let us get within a good 10ft before he threw down one big smack and disappeared. On the way back we saw a bald eagle. He made two swoops down to the water but didn’t see anything he wanted. I wonder if he was from the nest I saw on the Mt Vernon trail.

After the canoe ride we ate at Pizzeria Paradiso. A known favorite of mine. Good food and beers were had. It was the bike ride back from dinner that caused the problem. Coming off a 4” or 5” curb I landed at the slightest angle. Growing up on a mt bike I didn’t even register this as an issue. On my road bike my tire rolled over on my rim and I went straight to the pavement. I hit very hard. I wasn’t in pain but I was a bit stunned and could tell something was wrong right away. I don’t know if I tried to get up and nothing happened or if I knew my shoulder was the issue when I felt my right shoulder with my left hand and verified a break to the collar bone. After many thrills and spills I finally broke my first bone.

Pain didn’t set in right away and I pulled myself up out of the street half on the sidewalk. Thankfully Kirby was there and I could just zone out for a minute. A few people stopped in the cars; the first guy got out and made sure our bikes were locked up and we were on our way to the hospital. My guess is we got to the hospital around 11:30. The pain started setting in. I’d be OK for a bit while I didn’t move and then I’d get a lot of pain for a few minutes. Sitting in one place for hours didn’t help at all either. I don’t know how much longer than an hour we waited but it wasn’t more than two hours. Getting in a soft(er) bed and in a different position was nice. Kirby was lacking sleep and passing out in the chair next to me after taking care of me the previous few hours. I got sent off to X-ray after a decent wait with the pain coming and going. With all the flexibility of the x-ray machine and the x-ray table I still was asked to shimmy around on my back which was not at all fun. The doc came in shortly after and did the routine lungs, ears, eyes, and throat thing. I knew they couldn’t do much for it but I expected more than a sling. He said the sling was it and to follow up with the surgeon within a week. I got prescriptions for ibuprofen and vicodin. I walked out of there around 3am. 

Going to sleep the first night was painful but things were much better in the morning. I slept with a pack of frozen vegetables on it. I guess I’ll be sleeping on my back in one position for awhile. Learning to brush my teeth, wash my face, eat, and do everything else with my left hand is a new experience. No biking for awhile.

I guess we’ll see how long it takes to heal. 

Obama hits up Hell Burger

Obama decided to have lunch at my favorite local burger joint yesterday. Ray’s Hell Burger is the third restaurant of Michael Landrum; originally known for Ray’s the Steaks. Just as Mike has the best slabs o beef I’ve ever tasted he also has the best burgers of all time. They drip more grease than a pepperoni pizza but it is tasty bloody flavor-giving juice. It's basically $7 for a 10oz burger with free toppings such as sherry sautéed mushrooms in addition to all kinds of fine cheeses to choose from. No fries available which the Prez seemed a bit disappointed about. Although they do have a mean draft root beer. Obama and Biden made the mistake of ordering it medium-well. Medium-rare is the way it is to be served.

Robie and I were walking to lunch, contemplating Hell Burger, when the cops shut down the intersection next to our office. We hung out to watch the show and sure enough after some racing motorcycle cops the Presidential motorcade came through. I took a video of it but it’s a crappy resolution from my phone. I counted about 16 vehicles not including the cops and the ambulance. The limousine was about number three in line followed by communications SUVs with all kinds of antennas and a SWAT-like reactionary force.  They shut down the area around Hell Burger. No one was allowed in or out. Those lucky enough to be on the inside had free reign to hang and talk with the Prez. 

So now us locals are screwed for months.  Michael doesn’t do any advertising; there isn’t even a sign outside the place. Yet there is always a steady stream of people no matter the hour. Within an hour of Obama’s visit the news was on hundreds of local and political blogs. Within hours it was on national news sites such as the Drudge Report and the front page of Foxnews.com and the NYPost.com. Tomorrow there will be tour buses dropping off tourists. The line will be out the door for weeks. This is predictable because this is what happened to Ben’s Chili Bowl when Obama stopped by there last January. 

Well I guess it will taste good in a few months.

WashPost account

video

World Beer Festival

Has it been six months already? The semi-annual World Beer Festival was this weekend. As has been customary I drove down to Mark and Michelle’s in Fredericksburg and Mark drove us all to Beth’s. Beth moved to a new house so Google Maps and GPS navigation on my phone came in handy. Beth and Matt have a nice place there just outside of Raleigh. They’ve got a backyard, second bedroom, office, deck, and even their own beer pong table.

The Flying Saucer is usually the place to go because they have 50 or 100 beers on tap but as we remembered when we drove by they host a brewers party the night before beerfest and the place was packed. So off to Magic Mushroom for some pizza we went. We stopped by a beer store on the way home and I was quite impressed with the selection in Raleigh. I picked up some New Belgium 1554. Mmmm tasty.

In the past we have met up with all Beth’s friends for breakfast and started with screwdrivers and mimosas at 10am. We skipped that this year and headed to the Waffle House for pre-drinkfest nourishment. That turned out to be a bad idea because the cook walked out 30 minutes before we walked in and the place was full. Somehow we actually arrived at beerfest on time.

As usual right when things start the event is a madhouse. The Raleigh location is in a nice park right downtown. The band was starting as we were walking in and the rain held off. The brewers are in two very large tents and the line at each booth is long during the first hour. You basically get a sample and then go stand in the next line. It is not as bad as it sounds; especially after a few beers. The event is four hours long so there is plenty of time to hit all the booths if you can drink that much beer without falling over. Many try and fail. After an hour or so the lines and the space under the tents becomes more manageable. I saw Devin from Dogfish Head. He had brought that slab of the Paraguayan Palo Santo wood that their wood tanks are made from. He passes that around at beer dinners so people can see how heavy it is (it sinks in water) and feel/smell the resin in the wood. We managed to maintain our group of about 8 people surprisingly during the whole event.

Afterwards we headed to Flying Saucer for food and…  more beer. They’ve got quite the row of taps. The fact that I can’t remember a few of the pictures I took at this location should tell you how much fun we were having at the time. We made it home safely and continued the party at Beth’s. I do recall lots more beer and some flip cup. We eventually passed out and suffered a painfully hung-over Sunday. Beth in particular didn’t move from the couch all day but I was feeling a bit crappier than usual too. This year I lasted over 12 hours without passing out. Next year the goal is to remember passing out.

We passed the time on the trip home by watching old SNL skits online. I had my laptop tethered to my phone for internet access and we were streaming videos no problem. Mark even had a power inverter so I was all hooked in. I-95 always sucks on weekends but Matt Foley was there to help.

pics from beerfest