DC Beer Week: Summertime in Allagashington

DC has become a decent beer town. We have gotten a few nice beer bars that have excellent rotating selections and bring in new and unique beers from across the country and world. In the last year we have about four or five new breweries that have started brewing. SAVOR brings the whole craft beer industry to DC and we celebrate with a week’s worth of events. And we also have DC Beer Week (DC Beer Week origins). I don’t mind how it came about I’m just happy to take advantage of the fun. This year there are dozens of events going on during the week with brewers from all over the county and rare beer that isn’t distributed to the area. I only have one or two events planned but I hope to show up to a few more.

On this first day of DC Beer Week Teri and I rode bikes down to Pizzeria Paradiso in Georgetown for our favorite pizza. They had an event called Summertime in Allagashington in which they had five Allagash beers on tab. We had a hop flight that included an Oliver’s Ironman on cask and two Mikkeller Hop Series beers. We also had an Allagash flight with Victor, Victoria, and Fluxus. I've talked up their Victor and Victoria for years with their grape wine characteristics but I liked the Fluxus the best on this occasion out of the Allagash beers. I think my favorite was the Pratt St. Ale House Oliver’s Ironman Pale Ale on cask dry hopped with citra hops. We also ate their special pizza for the week which we both loved. It had sausage, roasted corn, fresh mozzarella, and something else I’ve forgotten.

It was a good start to DC Beer Week. I thought the Victor and Victoria would be the highlight of the day but it turned out that I enjoyed the Ironman on cask and special pizza the best. Teri rode back to Rosslyn and got her car and I rode back home. Tomorrow’s event may be the highlight of the week.

Oktoberfest just out of July

I happened to be in Ted’s Montana Grill getting a burger. The Sam Adams seasonal on tap was Octoberfest. The last few years many of us have complained about how early the seasonal beers come out. Each year they seem to come out earlier and earlier. I’ve heard the brewers talking about brewing fall beers this year but I haven’t heard about any fall beers actually being on the market yet. The shelves will be full of fall beers next week I’m sure. Season creep. It is like scope creep on my projects at work.

sailboat transport

Scott’s friend, Lars, has a 28 foot Tartan that he wanted to move from the Washington Sailing Marina near Regan Airport out to Deale, MD. Someone called it a pseudo bachelor party for Scott and there ended up being six of us total. It would be an overnight trip around 155 miles (135 nm) sailing the whole way. Matt was the only person without sailing experienced. I think the rest of us had all done long overnight trips before. A lot would depend on the weather.

Robert and his wife had us over for dinner and to stay the night on Friday so we could leave early Saturday morning. Scott and Robert had dropped Scott’s car off at the destination marina. We ate chili and spicy enchiladas for dinner. Everyone passed out pretty early and by 11:30 I found I was the only one awake. I wasn’t ready for bed on this Friday just yet so I drove the 10 minutes home and eventually passed out in my own bed. The next morning I showed up for breakfast. We had breakfast tacos with farm raised pork I believe. It was a good way to start the day.

The plan was to leave the dock around 9:00 and we got there 15 or 20 minutes beforehand to pack. Lars and Steve’s wives and kids were there to see us off. Once the boat was loaded and all the hugs and kisses were given we left around 9:30. In for the long haul.

We had lots of food, water, beer, and music. The GPS guided us the whole way. Lars had all the way points in for the whole trip so we just followed the route and rounded a buoy on every turn. The GPS map included depth and it was surprisingly shallow in many areas of the Potomac. We had to motor most of the way down the Potomac because of a southern breeze. We used the jib or main as much as we could. The weather wasn’t perfect but not too bad on Saturday. The overcast kept the sun away mostly. It rained around us a lot and on us a bit. We passed the Woodrow Wilson Bridge, Fort Washington, Mt Vernon, and a ton of other landmarks. A fire boat passed us with its lights on but we didn’t spot any boats on fire ahead of us. I’ve driven over the RT-301 bridge a lot going from Annapolis to Richmond but had never been under it. We were able to use the auto pilot often and just set the course that the GPS told us to go. After the 301 bridge the river really opened up. Once night settled in we just followed the route on the GPS and watched out for other boats.

Around midnight I think everyone passed out but Steve and Lars who sailed all night in the rain.

I slept in the back berth which was nice because I had walls. Matt and Scott slept in the cabin benches so when we heeled over or came about they would tend to roll off their bench. Around daybreak everyone woke up but Scott. I sailed for a bit on a nice easy beam reach. We had a nice wind coming from the west that kept us on a reach up the Bay until it died. Then we sat in the hot sun with no wind while we motored the rest of the way. The last leg was brutal in the sun and humidity. I managed to protect myself mostly but it wasn’t easy with as much as you sweat in 100 degree heat index. We also managed to drink all the beer but one of the 10% ABV Gubna’s.

The wives and kids met us at the destination marina in Deale, MD. It looked like a nice marina. There was a wedding going on and people hanging out at the beach. We saw two crabs mating in the water at the dock. Once the boat was unloaded and the cars packed we were off. It was a long trip for only being 36 miles away by car. After leaving at 9:30am on Saturday we arrived around 1:30pm on Sunday (28 hours). Our route was 166 miles (144 nm).

GPS map and data

pictures and videos

biking and beers

Teri and I got out of work early on Friday being that the office was about empty anyway. We headed to Mad Fox for some good food and beer. My first beer was their Defender APA on cask which is one of my favorites. I also brought home another growler of Orange Whip IPA.

Then on Saturday Teri and I rode bikes to ChurchKey for a few beers. It was a nice ride there and not too overwhelmingly hot. Here are the beers I sampled at the bar:

Oliver's Cask Punk (dry-hopped w/ Amarillo and Citra Hops in the Cask)

Pratt st. Ale House - English IPA - 7% - full glass

Snake Dog on cask

Flying Dog - American IPA - 7.1%

The Public

DC Brau - American Pale Ale - 6%

Face Plant IPA

Lost Rhino - American IPA - 6.2%

Blanda Drops (blend of 4 different Haandbryggeriet ales)

Haandbryggeriet - Belgian Dark Ale - 5%

Aphrodite (Brett beer w/ raspberries and pears added in fermentation)

Ommegang - saison - 8.9%

120 Minute IPA (hopped for 2 hours, dry-hopped in fermenter for 1 month then aged one month on flower hops)

Dogfish Head - Imperial IPA - 18%

I believe I'm missing one of the beers I tried because their menu is out of date. Teri had a nice saison flight and a belgian blonde flight. We split the 18% 120 Minute so we could still bike home.

Lots of great tastes. We tried the cheese board for the first time. The bartender did a good job pairing the three cheeses with three beers. A smoked beer was paired with the cheddar. The Aphrodite was paired with a creamy cheese. And the last mild blue cheese was paired with some beer I can't remember. We watched the first half of the Manchester United vs Barcelona soccer game that was going on here in DC. Then we rode back to my place to watch the second half.

I think the Aphrodite was our favorite beer of the day.

Smuttynose tasting

Rustico in Ballston had a Smuttynose event with beers previously unavailable in the area and the brewer in attendance. Five minutes before 5:00 I escaped from the office and ran home so I could get a decent seat for this lineup. After a bike ride home and a refreshing shower I was able to get a seat at the bar not much after 5:45.

My first round I got a full serving of the Smuttynose A'muttonator '08. It is a dunkles doppelbock at 9.6% ABV. I’m a fan of dunkle beers which is a big reason why I started with this one. Then I noticed a dunkles doppelbock from Duck-Rabbit so I ordered a sample of the Duck-Rabbitor which comes in at 8.5% for a comparison.

For the next round I got three sample size tastings of strong ales. There was the New Holland Beethoven Triple at 9%. And the Epic Brainless on Cherries which is a Belgian strong ale with cherries at 10.8%. And the third one was the Smuttynose Homuculus '11. It is a Belgian strong blonde at 9% and is the debut of this beer in Virginia.

The third round was another mix of samples. First was the Smuttynose Wheat Wine at 12% ABV. It was a great beer, quite mellow; I didn’t taste any alcohol at all. The Smuttynose Gravitation '09 was another good one. There are 200 lbs of raisin puree added to each batch which provided that grape taste. I thought the raisins and aging brought out a very wine like character. The third was the Smuttynose Imperial Stout at 10.1%. It was dry hopped with Cascade pellets then matured with Cascade & Columbus whole flowers. It was very good, hard to say why, maybe because it is a dark beer without the roasted aftertaste?

The last round was an Oskar Blues G'Knight Imperial Red/Double IPA at 8.7% ABV. It was on cask which made it that much better. The Oskar Blues beers are full of favor and I assume they all would taste great from a cask.

Before I left I noticed Tom hanging out at the bar who used to hook me up at my local Whole Foods. I haven’t seen him for awhile and it sounds like he is inbetween jobs. He said if he hooks up the job he is lining up I’ll get 30% off my beer in the future. I’m crossing my figures for him!

Tuesday Tapping

On some Tuesdays Mad Fox will tap a new beer that isn’t currently on their rotation. Often its either a new beer or one they haven’t had in awhile. Previously Teri and I have hit up the Tuesday Tapping of their Strawberry Blonde. On this Tuesday they were tapping their very popular Orange Whip IPA. From what Bill and his bartenders tell me this is by far their customer favorite. The citrus hops give it that very citrus taste. As has been mentioned before on this blog I believe the reason he doesn’t brew it more often is the lack of citrus hops on the market.

I did the metro/bike combo a few weeks ago during the Mad Fox 1st Anniversary. They had some special food, some special beer, and a band playing that weekend. They had 250 1st Anniversary glasses that they gave out and went quick. It was a hot day but I took the metro to Falls Church and rode my bike the rest of the way. It was a short metro and bike ride. That day I hung out with a home brewer and ran in to Teri who was there to pick up a growler.

I did the metro/bike combo again today. It only takes about 35 minutes or less to metro or bike the whole way. It was crowded and there wasn’t any room at the bar. I asked to share a bar table and met an F1 fan and biker. The best part of the night was getting a growler of Orange Whip IPA for less than my pint. Their Tuesday Tapping special is half price on growler fills. The 2 liters of Orange Whip I took home only cost $5. Not bad for one of my favorite beers.

I was tempted to ride all the way home but I did jump on the metro. Now I’m enjoying an Orange Whip IPA at home in my Mad Fox 1st Anniversary glass. Having access to such great beer is a wonderful thing.

riding free

I wish I was a kid again...

Take Away The Worry