Scott’s wedding

Almost 18 months after Beth’s wedding Scott picked 9/10/11 to get married. How you can get married on 9/10/11 and not do it at noon or midnight I have no idea. Thinking about it now if it was me I’d have the reception first and then have the ceremony at midnight with whoever is still around.

The wedding was at the Tides Inn in the northern neck of Virginia. I’ve never been in the northern neck before but have heard about it from boaters and locals. Basically that is the slice of Virginia that extends towards the Bay from I-95 with the Potomac River on the north and the Rappahannock River on the south. I was sharing a room with Beth and Matt. They wanted to room up with me at a place a fraction of the price a few miles away but after all kinds of finagling we ended up staying together at the Tides Inn. Scott, Jen, and my parents arrived on Thursday I believe. The rest of the family all showed up before the rehearsal on Friday. Robert and his crew got about a 30 minute head start and arrived about an hour before I because traffic got progressively worse. I-95 between DC and Richmond is the worst. Especially on a Friday or Sunday. After talking to my Dad on the phone from the road everyone at the rehearsal thought I was stuck in traffic all day. Once I got off I-95 it was my kind of ride on rural highways. I picked up some beer on the way assuming that there would be some point during the weekend where alcoholic beverages would be in need. Of course that came to be true.

The Tides Inn was quite the little resort. They had a marina with boats, a sailing school that was unfortunately closed during this weekend, a beach, a pool, a spa, nine holes of golf, bikes, and the nicest staff. I pulled in and caught up with Beth and Matt. After getting settled I met Mom and some other family in the lobby. As my father and his brother get older they look more and more alike. We did the rehearsal. The weather was perfect after tons of rain the last couple of weeks. I get to make the initial entry in to the ceremony escorting Jen’s grandmother. After being the videographer at Beth’s wedding I got the job again at Scott’s wedding. So after walking down Jen’s grandmother I taped the rehearsal and tried to pick out good points of view that complimented Robert and Tiffany’s video camera.

Before dinner Matt, Beth, Robert, and I hit Walmart to load up on beer. We each got a 12 pack. This turned out to be a smart move later in the night. The rehearsal dinner was more time to catch up with extended family and friends of Scott and Jen’s that I don’t normally see. It was nice to hang out with Mike and Steve from Pburg. It was a buffet dinner. I sat with my parents, Beth, Matt, and others but hard to remember after hanging out and talking to so many people throughout the weekend. I do remember they had some fat slabs of beef for the rehearsal dinner. Afterwards all the youngin’s (or young livin’ folk) ended up at the bridal suite partying it up all night long. This is where the beer run earlier paid out because our beer was the only beer everyone at the wedding had to drink that night. Luckily we loaded up. We were happy to share to keep the party going and let everyone have a good time. After carrying my big cooler over I ran back out to grab my stereo to provide tunes for the party (does anyone else not think of these essentials?). While running up the brick steps in the dark I slammed my foot in to the steps and broke my big toenail. Nothing a few drinks couldn’t solve. We had a decent late night party. Cousins Beverly and Adam hung out with us after showing up a little late.

The guys went golfing around 9:30 the next morning. I was passed out in bed at 9:30 in the morning. Beth got up a little later and started helping out with the wedding set up. Lots of nautical themed items to place around. I eventually got up and presented myself around 11:00. After wondering around the grounds and asking people who worked there I still couldn’t find the dinner location where everyone was setting up so I had to call Robert to lead me. My Dad, Phil, and I decided to eat lunch at the place. I wonder if my brother and I will look so similar in 25 years? Robert was trying to get us to start the afternoon activities and after all kinds of meandering around the pool we eventually took out some boats. We took off in two kayaks and a little motor boat. Robert and I explored the coves around the property. Afterwards Steven and I (UK Steve not Sponseller) took off on a bike ride to the boat yard which was close by. The yard was pretty much full of sailboats that were stored out of the water which we thought was odd for this time of year. Maybe people pulled early with Irene coming in. After the bike ride I had less than enough time to make another beer run. I barely made the 4:00 meeting time for pictures. It wasn’t the worst experience I’ve ever had but by the end I was quite warm in my suit. I had to run back to the room and clean up before the 5:15 wedding meeting time.

Because of traffic or a number of other reasons people were showing up right until the last minute. Again the weather was perfect after a forecast of some rain. The band were two of Scott and Jen’s friends playing keyboard and acoustic guitar. They were quite good. I didn’t hurt that they played music I enjoyed. I heard some Grateful Dead and other classic tunes. They learned to play the wedding song the previous day. The ceremony started pretty much on time. I opened the show so of course all eyes were initially on Jen’s grandmother and I. After seating her I picked up my stashed video camera and attempted to capture the live event. It is not easy to capture a live event without much rehearsal. I remember I kicked the camera stand at one point while trying to change locations. I did get Adam knocking over the aisle lantern and taking 10 minutes to pick it back up. The ringing of the bell was a bit awkward for the parents and new couple. Scott and Jen’s ring was the worst. Another classic shot I enjoyed taking was the family getting up from the front rows and exiting after the new couple. Matt had a drink in his hand. It reminded me of Scott drinking during the rehearsal. I like a relaxed wedding.

We took more pictures while everyone else hung out on the patio and had cocktails and snacks. I took video as well. Mostly of the youngin’s playing on the croquet field. It was quite the setting. During this time and all the others when there was an open or cash bar I was either handed beers or I grabbed them out of my cooler in the trunk of my car. I’d have to say I was a rather cheap quest at the bar that weekend.

At first I thought the dinner set up was odd as it seemed to be separated between different rooms but then as the sun went down I saw that we all had a wonderful view of the sun setting over the river. The courses seemed to take their time but dinner was good. Eating a little over a long period of time suits me well so no complaints. The cake was nice with the wedding couple in a small sail boat on top. Afterwards they had the typical DJ. It is as if all these guys had the exact same training and play the exact same playlist. A big topic of conversation was when I was getting married and my three year plan. It is anyone’s guess when that will happen. I promise that I will not have a typical wedding DJ at my wedding. I am very much a music person and there is nothing worse than the party being killed by some crappy song. A crappy song played LOUDLY. It completely turns me off. I’m planning on a live band at my wedding and I’m leaning towards a full latin ensemble. I went to a wedding with a Guatemalan bride and the latin band closed out the reception with only about a dozen of us guests long after the wedding party left and only after an encore. That is how my reception will end. We did get down to a few good songs. Everyone remembered James Brown the next day. And most of us remembered Tiffany doing the Jersey Turnpike. The Tides Inn staff and I literally were rolling on the floor laughing. She was thumpin’ it perfectly.

After a few bad songs I solicited Scott for after-hour plans. I was ready to ditch the reception and relax in a setting where friends could converse and good music was in the background. It was close to the DJ ending so Scott gave us the key and after a stop for supplies we eventually met back up with Scott at the suite. Not as many people showed up as the previous night. The party didn’t rage too hard or late.

I was told to be at brunch between 9:30 and 10:00 the next day. I was there close to 9:30 but not too conscious. I sat with the wedding party and friends. It was the final time to see the extended family and others I don’t normally run in to. There were lots of kids and they were entertainment during many of the events throughout the weekend. After packing up and checking out my parents and I had lunch at the local cafe. As we left the wind was pushing the rain on top of us even though the clouds weren’t directly above us. The weather held out for the whole weekend. I enjoyed taking the Maryland route home and saw some flooding damage.

New Belgium Beer Dinner

Even though I wasn’t so happy with my first beer dinner at Birch & Barley I kept this second reservation to hear the New Belgium brewer and take Rachel to her first beer dinner. I wasn’t surprised to see the menu set up in the same manner with a few small dishes, then the three cheese dish main course, followed by dessert. I’m not a big fan of a cheese main course but the food is excellent and they do put a lot of thought in the pairings.

Today was the first day New Belgium beers are distributed to the DC, VA, and MD markets so this was their coming put party and long time brewer Peter Boukaert was here to talk about the company and their beers. He has been with the brewery since 1996. He is originally from Belgium and has a lot of interesting stories about brewing at New Belgium in Colorado. He definitely has a passion for beer. As he said he could talk about it all night after he has a few drinks. I can relate when he says it is a big decision for him to pick out a beer when he opens his fridge. And then decide which glass to pour it in. It was nice to chat with him for a bit when he came by our table.

The menu:

apéritif

Hoptober

Toasted Farro Salad

Grilled Cucumbers, Chilled Baby Shrimp, Malt Vinaigrette

Fat Tire

Handmade Potato Gnocchi

Salt Cod, Parsley, Pecorino

1554 Enlightened Black Ale

Prosciutto-wrapped Veal Loin

Heirloom Red Potatoes, Swiss Chard, Sage

Trippel

Pleasant Ridge Reserve

Honeyed Walnuts & Micro Arugula

Ranger IPA

Grayson

Dried Sour Cherries & Almonds

Lips of Faith: La Folie

Cave Aged Marisa

Peach Chutney & Micro Celery

Lips of Faith: Clutch

Almond Pound Cake

Nectarines, Sour Cream Ice Cream

Lips of Faith: Super Cru

digestif

Lips of Faith: Kick

I’ve had their Hoptober beer a few times and it is a favorite of mine. Peter said it has 4 malts and 5 hops.

The Fat Tire, their flagship beer of course, tasted much more malty relative to the Hoptober. This was New Belgium’s first beer.

Peter gave a bit of a story on the 1554 Enlightened Black Ale which was a favorite of mine until all these other black ales sprung up. I believe he said that he found an old 1901 book about beer in Belgium in the 1800’s and there was a recipe for a black beer. No one knew that they did a black beer in Belgium in the 1800’s. I looked it up to see if I could find when New Belgium first started brewing the beer and I found this on their web site:

Born of a flood and centuries-old Belgian text, 1554 Enlightened Black Ale uses a lager yeast strain and dark chocolaty malts to redefine what dark beer can be. In 1997, a Fort Collins flood destroyed the original recipe our researcher, Phil Benstein, found in the library. So Phil and brewmaster, Peter Bouckaert, traveled to Belgium to retrieve this unique style lost to the ages. Their first challenge was deciphering antiquated script and outdated units of measurement, but trial and error (and many months of in-house sampling) culminated in 1554, a highly quaffable dark beer with a moderate body and mouthfeel.

The prosciutto wrapped veal lion was good with the Trippel (7.8%). Peter said only New Belgium spells it that way. The heirloom red potatoes were from a local farm.

The Pleasant Ridge Reserve cheese was an American cow’s milk from WI. The Grayson was a soft American wild cheese. And I think the Cave Aged Marisa was from WI and smoked. The Ranger IPA is a year round beer for them but the other two from the Lips of Faith series are more limited beers. The La Folie is a sour brown ale and went with the cheese quite well. Similar with the Clutch which is an 80% stout and 20% dark sour wood beer.

The Almond Pound Cake and Super Cru was a great pairing. I scraped off the almonds of course. Peter talked a lot about enjoying American beer culture when talking about this 20th anniversary beer. It is based on Fat Tire but with a saison yeast.

The last beer was the Lips of Faith: Kick. It is described as a “a rich and tart pumpkin cranberry ale blended with wood-aged beer”. As usual I can’t say much about the last beer. Rachel and I enjoyed it and had fun listening to Peter’s stories. Not sure I’ll be back too soon for a Birch & Barley beer dinner even though I really like the place.

DC Beer Week: Cask Night at District Chophouse

Two of the events I planned to attend during DC Beer Week were limited and required tickets. The Founders Beer dinner was the first and Cask Night at District Chophouse was the second. Originally they planned to have 10 local casks available along with food. You get a serving glass and have at it for a few hours till the casks are kicked. Before the event they said they would have 12 casks but I only counted 11 for some reason. I got tickets for Lewis and myself. It was hard to get out of work with a proposal due that day but you gotta maintain your priorities!

When we showed up they said they weren’t ready but after a minute or two we headed upstairs and started drinking anyway. They were ready. It was nice to have 12 casks sitting around the room without any lines. I think there were about 80 tickets sold. It got a little crowded in their upstairs room but I never waited for anything. It was all self serve. The beer line up:

Capital City Brewing Company, of Washington, D.C., and Arlington, VA

Peat Me Up Scotty: 5.7% abv Scottish Export Ale, primed with fermenting Kolsch wort

Du Claw Brewing, of Bel Air, MD, etc.

Bad Moon Porter: 6.5% abv, aged in a Heaven Hill Bourbon Barrel

Franklin's Restaurant & Brewery, of Hyattsville, MD

Ludicrous: 6.3% abv, sour-mashed rye saison

Gordon-Biersch Brewery & Restaurant, of Rockville, MD

Gose: 4.4% abv, wheat beer brewed with slightly salted water, and fermented with lactic bacteria

Heavy Seas Brewing, of Baltimore, MD

Loose Cannon Hop3 IPA: 7.3% abv, dry-hopped with varities of hops: Ahtanum, Cascade, Centennial, Palisade, Simcoe, and Falconers Flight (a proprietary blend from Hop Union)

Lost Rhino Brewing, of Ashburn, VA

New River Pale Ale: 5.4% abv, "extremely aromatic American-Style Pale Ale."

Mad Fox Brewing Company, of Falls Church, VA

Wee Heavy: 8.6% abv, strong Scotch Ale, primed with Virginia honey

Oliver Ales, at the Pratt Street Alehouse, in Baltimore, MD

Strongman Pale Ale: 9% abv, dry-hopped with Sorachi Ace

Rock Bottom Brewery & Restaurant, in Bethesda, MD

Atom Smasher: 9.4% abv, 'English-Style' BarleyWine

Sweetwater Tavern, of Centreville, VA, etc.

Pale Face Summer Wheat (A L'Orange): 6.1% abv, HefeWeizen primed with orange liqueur

The beers were pretty tasty. I’ve only had a few previously which is nice. Lots of local beer folks were there. I talked to a bartender and server from Mad Fox who both work in the brewhouse. The brewer Charlie was there but I didn’t talk to him. I talked to Greg Kitsock from the Washington Post for a bit. I also talked to Tom Cizauskas who is a beer blogger and wholesaler. He said he gets scooped a lot on beer stories because he can’t write about certain stuff he is involved in. A Lost Rhino rep was there, not the guys I met on Tuesday night, who said he does fabracation for all the local breweries. I also talked to the brewer for the District Chophouse who I recognized from Brickskeller events. He is a cool guy to talk to. I recognized and talked to a few other beer geeks that I commonly see at events.

My favorite beers of the night were Loose Cannon, Lost Rhino’s Pale Ale, Strongman, and the Wee Heavey. I think the Loose Cannon was my favorite as it was excellent in the cask form. They had lamb chops, meat balls, pizza, pasta salad, and hummas to eat. Lewis left around 8:30 or so and stayed for another hour or so. They had a raffle to give away growlers that you could fill at the end of the night. Lewis’s ticket was one number away from winning. I swapped info with some people. It ended up being a great event. I definitely wasn’t the only one who was rather intoxicated at the end of the night.

DC Beer Week: Founders Brewery dinner

Birch & Barley scheduled a Founders beer dinner this week and a New Belgium beer dinner next week. I preferred the Founders dinner because the founder of Founders was to be there but unfortunately it was sold out when I tried to make reservations. I put my name on the waiting list and didn’t expect much. Sure enough the night before I got a call from a last minute cancellation. After a crazy day at work Teri and I headed over for the 7:00 dinner.

When we arrived 10 minutes before 7:00 they weren’t letting people in the restaurant area downstairs so we hung outside for 15 minutes. The dinner started a little late and went slowly but it was very well put together and I’m sure it took lots of time to prepare each course. It was a great beer line up with beers formally only available at the brewery. It turned out to be an excellent dinner overall although on the light side. The menu:

Apéritif

All Day IPA

Crudo Of Spanish Mackerel

Heirloom Tomatoes & Gooseberries

Cerise

Torchon Of Foie Gras

Spiced Almond Purée, Frisee, Mâche

Blushing Monk 2011

Grilled Skirt Steak

Toasted Farro, Mustard Greens, Roasted Cauliflower

Cashew Mountain Brown

Quicke’s Cheddar

Pinenut Butter & Micro Arugula

10K IPA

Ossau-Iraty Vieille

Dried Currants & Candied Almonds

Founders Imperial Stout

Roquefort D’Argental

Port Wine-Glazed Figs & Micro Celery

Nemesis 2010

Classic Peach Shortcake

Creme Fraiche Biscuit, Bourbon Caramel, Virginia Peaches

KBS 2011

Digestif

Devil Dancer 2011

The co-founder of Founders Brewery, Dave Engbers, was in DC for his first time and on hand to talk about the brewery and beers. He was a pretty cool and straight forward guy. The dinner consisted of nine beers and five “courses”. The main course combined three of the cheese pairings which is how they came up with five. Greg Engert, the Birch & Barley beer director, first talked about how they put the dinner together and then introduced Dave from Founders. Dave talked about All Day IPA a little and gave a quick background of the brewery. Founders seemed to have a similar story to other breweries from the 1990’s that are still around. Investors thought they were crazy and it took many years of hard work to convince distributors and bar owners. Craft beer finally came around and in the last five years they have had trouble meeting capacity and have been growing tremendously each year.

The All Day IPA was an excellent beer. As the name implies it is a session beer at only 4.5%. And as Dave from Founders said they don’t do small beers. It had a great grapefruit smell and taste. A wonderful beer. A little light bodied but with all the aroma and taste. Something you could drink all day. Dave said this was going to be a regular Founders beer and should be available in March.

The mackerel, tomatoes and gooseberries were good. The mackerel was served basically uncooked. Teri is not a fan of sushi but she liked it. Of course I didn’t eat the tomatoes. But tasting the Cerise I can see how it would be an excellent pairing with tomatoes. Dave said that they used to brew a raspberry beer and when the auto industry in Michigan took a dive they decided to use local cherries instead. He said 90% of the cherries in the country come from his area in Michigan. So they made this cherry beer to help the local farmers.

I’m not a fan of foie gras but I gave it a shot. It wasn’t too bad with the salad type stuff around it. I can enjoy a lot of things when they are paired with a Blushing Monk. I visited ChurchKey for this specific beer awhile ago. Dave said they use 33,000 lbs of fresh raspberries and they do not make any money on this beer.

They served their pretzel bread at one point between courses. All their breads are wonderful.

The grilled skirt steak was the heartiest of the courses. Everyone commented on how good the roasted cauliflower was. And it was pretty good. Not sure I’ve had roasted cauliflower before. This was paired with the Cashew Mountain Brown ale. This was a favorite beer among everyone. As Dave said “nothing we release is going to be schwag”. He also called is a “stupid good beer”. Apparently he likes his own beer. This is a bourbon barrel aged beer. Roasted cashews were used in the brewing process and the beer is usually only available at the brewery tap room.

Next came three cheese dishes all as one course. And three beers to go along with each one. Each cheese and beer had a unique character and the pairings worked well together. The cheddar and the hoppy 10K IPA were good. The 10K is supposed to be an imperial west coast IPA. I’m not much of a blue cheese fan so I didn’t eat the Roquefort D’Argental. It’s supposed to be one of the best blue cheeses in the world. I did drink the Imperial Stout and Nemesis though. The Nemesis is an annual beer but they do it differently each year. Apparently they had trademark issues with this beer.

The dessert dish was nice. The bourbon caramel went well with the KBS 2011 which is aged in bourbon barrels. It used to be called Kentucky Bourbon Stout but they had to change the name for legal reasons. Same with Canadian Breakfast Stout (CBS).

We finished off the night with a Devil Dancer. A triple IPA. This beer is dry hopped with ten different types of hopes (can you taste each one?) and over 12% ABV. Dave said this was an example of “fuckery” where they take an existing style and fuck with it. He also said it smells like sweet bong water which I didn’t understand too well.

The dinner was excellent. Although for the price we felt sorta jipped that we were still hungry. It was great to hear from Dave and get a chance to talk to him. It is always nice to put a personality to a brewery.

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.

SAVOR (Saturday)

I felt a lot better Saturday morning than Friday morning. I took advantage of the day and went on a bike ride.

Beth and Matt showed up an hour or so before SAVOR. We weren’t so lucky this time with the line. The line in back was as long as the line in front. We got in before 7:30 even though we were wrapped around the block. A squirrel seemed a bit pissed that he had a line of people on the sidewalk between him and his tree near the Building Museum. He ran down the street and took a right turn at the end of the block I believe.

On this night we went to the seminar with Ken Grossman from Sierra Nevada. He talked about brewing with the monks from Santa Maria de Ovila monastery and other some of his other crazy brews. It was pretty interesting. I don’t think any of us knew there were monasteries in the US brewing beer. The session had a cool relaxed layout. We all sat around on soft furniture (although no seat backs) and it was limited to a very small group. I noticed one or two other beer celebrities there including the head brewer from Dogfish Head who I recognized from the Brewmaster TV series. I was able to chat with him for a minute which was very cool.

After the session the food and beer seemed to go quicker than the night before. The food was mostly gone when the seminar ended at 9:00 which was a disappointment. It was still a great night with a ton of great beer and beer celebrities. Teri and I saw the same funky leopard skin high heels that I took a pic of on Friday. I was shocked that not only one person thought they were wearable but two people actually wore them to this nice event. I wanted to say something to the lady on Saturday but Beth and Teri convinced me it was not the best idea.

Sam Adams was pouring their New World Tripel from their barrel ages series. I think this beer is distributed in extremely small batches because people online are rating it but I don’t think you could find it if tried. At the end of the night when we were feeling good and everyone else at SAVOR Matt and Teri noticed a bottle sitting on the Sam Adams table that no one was paying attention to. Before we knew it they had it in Beth’s huge purse. Now I have it in my beer stock. Looking forward to opening that with Beth and Matt in a year or so. Hope no one from SAVOR reads this!

It was another fun SAVOR week. Looking forward to the fifth year in 2012.

pics from SAVOR

SAVOR (Friday)

After the Lupulin Reunuless Do last night I was hating life at work on Friday. I can’t get wasted and show up work the next day like I could 10 years ago. It took awhile to feel normal. Probably about the time I got out of work to head to SAVOR was when things started looking up.

I went all out and got tickets to both nights. Last year I don’t think I had enough time/energy to hit all the breweries in one night. So this year we were able to take our time and not get too crazy the first night. We ran a little late and showed up about 10 minutes before start time. Everyone gets there about 30 minutes early and stands in line. The line was still huge so we walked around back where there was no line and went right in. Teri and I were both hungry and that is a bad thing when you are about to do three or four hours of drinking.

Thankfully SAVOR is all about pairing food with fine beer so we made a point to eat everything in sight for the first 30 minutes. SAVOR has special seminars that you can sign up for and attend a special tasting with a brewer or panel of brewers. There was a west coast/east coast collaboration between breweries. There was one that paired local beers with local foods. There was a barrel beer session where you could taste different vintages of the same barrel aged beer. There was a beer and dessert session. All of these sessions sell out before the public tickets go on sale. Being a previous attendee I was able to get tickets to the session of my choice. For this fourth year SAVOR decided to ask two attending breweries to do a special collaboration for the event. They happened to ask the two biggest breweries Sam Adams and Dogfish Head.

Teri and I went to the session with Sam Adams owner Jim Koch and Dogfish Head owner Sam Calagione talking about their collaboration called SAVOR Flowers. It was only the second collaboration for Sam Adams. The first being the Infinium which I still have a bottle of in my fridge (it’s getting old). That was quite an extraordinary collaboration. For SAVOR Flowers they messed with the one ingredient that hasn’t been messed with yet: the water. They somehow created a 1000 gallons of rose water using a distiller I believe at Dogfish Head. Then they had to ship the water, keeping it sterile, all the way to Boston to Sam Adams. As Sam of Dogfish Head says, they have some really cool tools at Sam Adams to do some really cool stuff. Sam Adams made a triple bock back in the early 90’s that was the highest alcohol beer in the world. They broke the max alcohol barrier that had existed for all of beer’s history. Since then breweries around the world have competed on brewing the highest alcohol beer. Anyway, apparently Sam Adams still uses the first barrel used to age that first batch and Jim decided to use that barrel to age SAVOR Flowers. Apparently they use barrel #1 to brew their Utopia. So along with the rose water they brewed this beer with lavender, hibiscus, and jasmine. They also used heather honey from Scotland and some lemon syrup. Finally they added Hop 369 which is a new hop never before used in a commercial beer (35 lbs to be exact). It smelled like geraniums (I think). And as you can expect the beer tasted just like flowers. I think its one of those that depends on the setting and your current palette. Later when I had it I thought it was a bit much. Looking forward to trying it again.

After the session was over we had two more hours mingling with brewers and tasting fine rare beers from all over the country. It was great to actually talk to the people who brewed the beer rather than volunteers who don’t know anything about beer. The food started getting sparse at the end of the night but most beers were still pouring. At the end of the night everyone was given their gift bottle of SAVOR Flowers. Pretty cool they gave everyone a special beer that will never be brewed again.

Tomorrow we do it again with Beth and Matt.

SAVOR pics

Rob Tod at Fire Works

Rob Tod of Allagash was at my local neighborhood beer bar for one of the many many events leading up to SAVOR. Allagash is a favorite brewery of mine. I’m sure a lot of other people are like me and discovered Allagash early in their beer geek life because Belgian beer styles are often the first beer styles people explore. Allagash has been doing wonderful stuff such as using red and white grapes as well as barrel aging. I often bring their Jim Beam barrel aged triple, Curieux, to my Friday afternoon meetings with the client.

I was going to see Rob at the Lupulin Reunuless Do on Thursday night as well as SAVOR on Friday and Saturday. So I didn’t have to go hang out with him on this night but being he is on my block it is hard to pass up. Rob was hanging out with the bartenders and beer director when Teri and I got there. We decided to sit at a table and get some dinner. Turns out they had some special Allagash beers available including their Victor and Victoria Ales which I very much enjoy. One that I had read about a while ago but haven’t heard about since was the Avancé. From the website:

Allagash Avancé is a product of patience. Aged with strawberries for three years in bourbon barrels, this strong, sour ale has the aroma of strawberry preserves and toasted oak. The oak and berries continue their presence in flavor, and compliment the sweet, warm finish. 10.8% ABV

I very much enjoyed this beer. Teri thought it was too sour but I felt it was actually very mild compared to a normal sour beer (probably because of the age). I’ll be seeking this beer out again.

Caps R1 G5, Mad Fox, Soulive

Game five seemed a long way away when Teri and I bought tickets but the week went by quick and Saturday was upon us. I was looking forward to this day all week but unfortunately I was still sick even though I've been going to work most of the week. I thought on Thursday and Friday I was starting to go in the wrong direction and felt worse than Tuesday and Wednesday. Thankfully things didn't seem too bad waking up on Saturday. It was an early 3:00 game which allowed us to hit the Soulive concert afterwards.

We got club level seats as usual. The lines on the lower level are way too long for the bathroom and food/drink. The other issue with the lower level is they serve the good beers in smaller cups than the club level for some odd reason. Preferential treatment? It was a red out as usual in the stadium. Unfortunately they gave us "cheer cards" this game unlike the red towels I got in game one. The cheer card was a half sized poster with the Caps logo and not the take home item most fans would enjoy. Not many people actually held them up during the game. It was a cheap game for me holding off from the $8 beers. The Caps put together a good game. They scored in the first period which is not usual lately. Green went down with a shot to the head but returned to the bench later. Any win in the play-offs is fun.

After the game Teri and I hit Mad Fox for dinner on our way to the State Theater. It was a 25 minute wait so we sat outside in their recent outdoor set up. It was a bit chilly but not too bad. I had some stuffed trout and Teri had a pizza. We sampled some beers of course and headed off to the show down the street.

They were supposed to have the same popular local gospel-influenced soul singer that opened last time but instead there was a DJ. The guy looked like Eric the guitarist of Soulive. Finally Soulive's suited groupie announced the band and they took the stage. I think they opened with the same song they did last time. They seemed to be enjoying their job and wanting to play well. They picked it up throughout the show. The drummer seemed to have some issue with his hand. The suited groupie brought out a towel that appeared to have ice in it and tied off with a guitar cord. It didn't seem to affect his play though. At some point he went off stage for a couple minutes while the other two diddled around. They brought out some of their Beatles songs during the second half of their show. Those seemed to be more layered and high energy then their own songs. It was a jamin' medley. I ended up having a beer or two at the end of the night since I felt so well.

Teri's game pics

Stanley Jordan at Blues Alley

If you haven't heard of Stanley Jordan he is someone you have to see to believe. Similar to Charlie Hunter, he plays two different guitar parts at the same time. While Charlie strums a seven string guitar in a somewhat typical style, Stanley plays a six string guitar by tapping rather than strumming. This allows him to play two different parts, such as the lead and rhythm, at the same time with both hands by tapping on the neck. Look him up on YouTube if you can't picture it. The guy is technically advanced and takes full advantage of his talent.

Teri and I got to Blues Alley about 35 minutes early for the 10:00 show and there was a bit of a line already. A couple drunk guys happened to get in line behind us. One was more drunk than the other. They were hanging literally on top of Teri while the people behind them stayed about 5 feet away. After denying the first option we got excellent seats at a front and center table with another couple. The guy had seen Stanley's previous show and had to come back with his girlfriend. The place was full.

Somehow Stanley was able to make it to the stage between the tables with his guitar. He played first before talking and revealing his soft-spoken self. He played some jamin' grooves, slower ballads, and some classical tunes. I believe during the last tour I saw he debuted the trick of playing the guitar and piano at the same time. This time though I was a lot closer and could see him switching hands to go up and down the keyboard while not missing a note. The drunk guy almost embarrassed himself too much with some comments. We ate the stuffed shrooms as an appetizer and then I had the gumbo while Teri had the stuffed shrimp. Teri got all of three shrimp. But they were quite stuffed. For the encore Stanley played Eleanor Rigby which is a favorite of mine by him.

birthday dinner at Birch & Barley

Teri took me to Birch & Barley for my birthday dinner. It is a favorite restaurant of ours with one of the best beer selections anywhere. The chef can put together some fine food to match. We had early reservations at 6:15 and had to boogie over after work. We started off with the Crispy Creamy Polenta that included Sauteed Mushrooms, Taleggio Fonduta, and Artichoke Hearts. It was like a delicious cakey cornbread with tasty mushrooms and some other stuff dripped on top. To accompany our appetizer I had the Great Divide Belgica on cask and Teri had the Huyghe St. Idesbald Blond. It was a great start to the rest of the dinner. We also ordered 4oz samples of the Starr Hill Cryptical for myself and the Mort Subite Kriek for Teri. The Kriek was sweet, light bodied, and pretty yummy. Their bread plate had some new items on it and was good as ever.

After some discussion we each ordered a pasta dish and agreed to share. Teri ordered the Hand-Cut Tagliatelle w/ Rabbit that included Sauteed Mushrooms, Parmesan, and Fresh Herbs. I ordered the Ricotta Cavatelli with Roasted Pork, Broccoli Rabe, Pine Nuts, and Aged Provolone. Both were excellent. Teri's had wide long noodles with a slight nutmeg or cinnamon taste to it. Mine was a dumpling like thing that tasted great just like Teri's with all the ingredients combined. Teri had a Het Anker Gouden Carolous Classic with her dinner and I had a Bell's Double Cream Stout on cask. The Double Cream Stout was nice on cask but I've been spoiled lately with some velvety chocolate stouts. Teri's Gouden Carolous Classic was really good. It's a strong dark Belgian ale that had a some tart/sourness to it similar to the 2006 Goudenband I had at Birch & Barley awhile ago. It was well balanced and one I want to note to seek out again.

We headed to the P Street Whole Foods to check out the beers distributed to the District of Columbia. Goose Island is the main one I notice that I can't get in VA. We picked up some Stone Vertical Epic 10/10/10 and some Harpoon 100 Barrel Series Catamount Maple Wheat for the beer stock. The express line was about 100 feet long; it stretched to almost the back of the store but went relatively quick.

It was a good bday dinner. Teri got me some nice wireless speakers as well.

Mad Fox Barleywine Festival

My favorite local brewpub hosted a Barleywine beer festival all day Saturday and Sunday. Bill Madden usually only sells his own beers at his brewpub but this weekend he is opening his taps to some fine beers from near and far. Teri and I got there with perfect timing. The place was full around 2:30 with a 20 minute wait for a table so while on the wait list we wandered to the bar. There were some beer geeks that I recognized. I had already seen some tweets from folks who arrived before me. Even though the place was full with people standing around Teri and I managed to get two seats at the bar. We canceled our table reservation and settled in at the bar among all the other folks there to get a taste of some new beers. Other than their normal line up of Mad Fox beers they had 11 Barleywines from all over. Then at 3:00 they switched over to 11 different Barleywines. They served 4 oz glasses for $3 and we were able to sample beers from both sessions. Beers sampled...

• Brooklyn Monster 2010 and 2007
• DuClaw Devils Milk regular and aged in Jack Daniels Barrels
• Lagunitas Olde Gnarleywine
• Sierra Nevada 30th Anniversary Jack & Ken's
• Victory Old Horizontal
• Avery Hog Heaven
• Bearded Pat's Barleywine
• Climax Barleywine-Style Ale
• Duck-Rabbit Barleywine
• Mad Fox Wheat Wacker
• Weyerbacher Insanity
• Insanity Grand Illusion
• Mad Fox slobberknocker on cask
• Mad Fox Wee Heavy on cask (half pint)

The Brooklyn Monster was my favorite. It was simple, not over powering, and for some reason hit me just right. The 2007 was a slightly fiery example of the 2010. The 2010 was almost too drinkable thinking back on it.

The DuClaw Devils Milk was hard not to like with the brewer sitting next to me. He said the barrel version was aged for about 5.5 weeks.

The Old Gnarleywine had that distinctive Lagunitas flavor which I enjoy.

Bill's Slobberknocker on cask was better than expected.

Barleywines average around 9% or 10% alcohol so we were feeling good after those tastings. Sitting next to us was the brewer from DuClaw. I asked lots of questions and we talked about getting barrels from Jack Daniels, distribution, brewery vs bottling ratio, the growing craft brewery market, and others. Teri and I had the pulled big sandwich from a whole pig they grilled up that day. It had a light vinger sauce which isn't my favorite but I really enjoyed the sandwich. I talked to the co-brewer Charlie for a bit as he was running around switching the taps. He said they were out of my favorite Orange Whip because they couldn't find any citrus hops. I could tell from what he said and from what others said that it is a popular beer. I was dissapointed that it was no longer available but still filled my growler with some of their Saison. On the way out a Girl Scout and her mom were selling cookies. After passing them we reversed, parked, and stocked up on the first round of Girl Scout cookies for the year. $4 this year! I remember when they were $2.50.

Terrapin Beer Dinner @ Fire Works

Fire Works' first real beer dinner was based around the Terrapin Brewery in Athens, GA. There were open tables in the back room and we counted only about 20 people. The Fire Works beer manager and the local Terrapin rep were on hand to discuss the food and drink. Teri brought along her brother, JR, and her mom who was in town for work. It was their first beer dinner. Teri's mom had her first beer tasting with us and we also took her cousin to his first beer dinner.

They did a pretty good job with this meal but the quantity of beer was a bit low. The menu:

Chicken in Saffron Spinach Ravioli

Ginger tomato sauce, fried leek

Rye Pale Ale

Local Butter Lettuce, Gorgonzola, Walnut Flat Bread

Greek vinaigrette

Hopsecutioner IPA

Shrimp & Tasso Risotto

Black butter

Tomfoolery Black Saison

Sticky Duck Leg

Maple sweet potatoes

Wake 'n Bake Coffee Oatmeal Stout

Wake 'n Bake Stout Cheesecake

Espresso custard sauce, coffee almond coffee

Moohoo Chocolate Milk Stout

Even though we felt the amount of beverage served with each course was light they did give us a full pint of Golden Ale before the dinner started. They served this in a Terrapin glass which we got to take home.

The Tomfoolery Black Saison was served from a cask and it was the first time served outside of the brewery.

The Sticky Duck Leg (which was quite good) came with their Wake 'n Bake Coffee Oatmeal Stout. You won't find Wake 'n Bake on the label though because the feds didn't like that name.

They served us an after dinner beer from their special Georgia Theatre series called Double Feature. It's a Belgian-style Dubbel Ale that comes in 22oz bombers.

One of the questions asked to the brewery rep was about the name and he confirmed that the owners are Grateful Dead fans.

Mad Fox Beer Dinner

Mad Fox threw together their first beer dinner as a fund raiser for a friend of the brewery with a sickness. Teri and I took Teri's cousin Oden who was in town from Montana. They caught on pretty quick that he was under 21 so no beer for him. The menu...

Butter Poached Lobster

Celery Root Puree, Micro Greens, Lemon Butter Sauce

Kolsch

Roasted Chicken Consommé

Julienne Vegetables

Saison

Smoked Duck Breast Salad

Baby Greens, Orange Cranberry Compote, Pistachio Tuile

Altbier

Spinach and Sausage Wrapped Venison Lion

Butternut Squash and Yukon Mash, Asparagus, Portor Demi-Glaze

Porter

Salted Caramel Chocolate Tart

Fresh Whipped Cream

Wee Heavy

DC Beer Week Kick-off Brunch

I think DC had two DC Beer Weeks last year. And I think that confusion rolled in to this year but there were a ton of events throughout this week but that is a good thing. Ben joined Teri and I for this brunch at Pizzeria Paradiso in Dupont. Ben had a tight schedule with a flight right after brunch. This brunch had a mix of breweries rather than featuring just one. The menu...

Hot Pepper Jelly & Peach Goat Cheese Crostini

w/ local peaches & thick cut bacon

Lagunitas Little Sumpin' Sumpin'

Coddled Egg w/ Roasted Local Summer Squash

w/ roasted local carrots, radishes & Asparagus in an ale hollandaise

Kiuchi Hitachino Nest Nipponia Ancient Ale

Local Soft Shell Crab, Heirloom Tomato, Roasted Corn Pizza

BFM La Douze

Coconut Rice Pudding w/ Toasted Coconut & Lime Shavings

Three Floyds Stay In School

Dark Chocolate Pecan Coffee Cake

w/ Maple Ice Cream

Founders Canadian Breakfast Stout

The crostini was decent. I'm a fan of Little Sumpin' Sumpin'. The Nipponia Ancient Ale was brewed with a malt that came from three seeds from some ancient seed bank. It also had that familiar sorachi ace hop taste. The La Douze was brewed with flowers of salt of Guerande from Switzerland. It had a salty aftertaste. The Three Floyds Stay In School was strong at 10%. And the Founders Canadian Breakfast Stout of course had a big coffee taste that I'm not found of. Ben had to eat the last course quick and boogie. I'm not a fan of coconut or coffee. Not a bad way to start a Sunday though.

Birch & Barley and Trombone Shorty

I got word it was going to sell out so we did like Galactic and got tix before hand then headed to 14th street for some fine food and drink. At Birch & Barley they said it was an hour wait and that fit perfect with our schedule so we put in our names and headed up to ChurckKey for some fine swill. We got called in 30 minutes. After ordering the risotto balls upstairs as an appetizer they gave it to us complementary at our table downstairs. We got the duck egg again and it was great. The bread was awesome as usual with cornbread and pretzel bread. I had the halibut. Can't go wrong with such excellent food and beer.

The show was awesome. Being sold out it was of course packed. We hung out in the back of the floor the whole time but we could see being a tall couple. Shorty would play sweet short little distinct bursts on his trombone which were cool. He could sing well too. It was another good show.

Bruery/Allagash Beer Brunch

The finale of the SAVOR events was the Bruery and Allagash Brunch at Pizzeria Paradiso. I met Sarah there at noon. Unfortunately I told her to meet me at the Georgetown location and we had to scatter to the Dupont Circle location. It was hot out and up hill but we made it before they started. The menu:

In house made Granola

Fresh Fruit

Sliced Honeydew, Grapefruit Sections, Diced Kiwi & Blueberries

served w/ Greek Yogurt and a Biscuit

Bruery Hotenroth

Toad In A Hole

Coddle Egg Baked in house made Toasted Bread

served w/ Tomato Pancetta Cream Soup w/ Garlic & Herbs

Allagash Black

Spring Vegetable Pie

Asparagus, Peas, Zucchini, Artichokes, Corn, Landuff Cheese w/ Cilantro & Thai Basil after cooking

Allagash White & Bruery Tradewinds

Sweet Potato goat Cheesecake

w/ Walnut Crust Served w/ Bourbon Sauce, Bananas & Almonds

Allagash Curieux & Bruery Coton

It was my first beer brunch and it was quite yummy. It felt odd drinking such high alcohol beer at that time on a Sunday but it all went together well.

The Toad in a Hole was basically a poached egg baked in toast served in tomato soup. It was as good as it sounds. The Allagash Black that went with it was bourbon barrel aged for a year. I've had the Black but that was my first time having it bourbon barrel aged.

I thought the vege pie was great. The veges were cooked just right. The cheese held it together perfectly without being too much. And with this course they served not one but two fine beers.

I'm not a sweet potato fan but the sweet potato goat cheesecake with the bourbon sauce went well with the bourbon barrel aged beers. It came with the Allagash Curieux and Bruery Coton. The Coton is 14.5%. This was getting nutty. Somehow both Sarah and I made it home on our bikes.

SAVOR: an american craft beer and food experience

The week's events all lead up to SAVOR. Beth, Matt, Mark, and Michelle came in town for the fun. The five of us hit up the inaugural event in 2008 and Beth and Matt came back in 2009.

We were in the doors before most people unlike the previous years. The food was different than last year. There were more types of dishes and they were all tasty. Beth, Matt, and I had tickets to one of the salons. They usually sell out within minutes during the presale but I was able to get tickets to the one by Greg Engert of ChurchKey called Tasting Menu: A Food and Beer Experience with Greg Engert.

Join Greg Engert, Beer Director of Neighborhood Restaurant Group, as he discusses the exciting craft of pairing real food and real beer. Engert will draw upon his experience presiding over the tasting menus of Rustico Restaurant & Bar, and—more recently—Birch & Barley/ChurchKey, (where he is also a Managing Partner) to pair four rare American Artisanal brews with a four course-tasting menu designed by Birch & Barley’s Executive Chef, Kyle Bailey. This is your opportunity to see how the appreciation of craft beer has been elevated to the next level in our nation’s capital, and has found itself perfectly placed at the tables of this white-hot restaurant.

Here is an audio recording of the salon. It was informative and came with some good beer and food. Afterwards we went to ChurchKey to continue the night of fine ale and food.

Pics

Three Floyds dinner

Event number two in the week leading up to SAVOR was a Three Floyds beer dinner at Pizzera Paradiso. I talked about Three Floyds and Dark Lord day in my last post after yesterday's tasting at the Brickskeller.

The menu:

Cold Cucumber Soup with

Diced Red Pepper

Gumball Head

Beet Salad with Old Chatham Ewe's Blue

Cheese and Rhubarb Balsamic Reduction

Dreadnaught

Lemon Goat Cheese Tart

with Pickled Asparagus

Drunk Monk

The Atomic Floyds

Salami, Pepperoni, Cherry Peppers, Black Olives, Red Onion,

Pride & Joy Tomato Sauce, Buffalo Mozzarella

Pride & Joy

Duck Season Pie

Duck, Sunchokes, Spring Peas, Corn, Ginger, Dutch Gouda

Blackheart

Susan's Birthday Cake

Red Velvet Cake with

Espresso Grapefruit Ganache

Alpha King

I don't have much notes from this dinner. I convinced Sonny to join me at the last minute. It wasn't my favorite dinner at Pizzeria Paradiso. They usually create some excellent dishes that pair with the selected beer very well. They put time in to each course and often use the beer as an ingredient in the dish as they did with the Atomic Floyds pizza above. I'm not a fan of beets though and when I asked Greg, the beer manager, why they were a common ingredient he said they were a favorite of his. I wasn't a fan of the cold cucumber soup either. The cake was the best part. I think Susan works at Pizzeria Paradiso and it was her birthday.

The Dark Monk is a brewery and special account only beer. At the end of the night Barnaby broke out the beer everyone was waiting for. But talk about the best scenario. It wasn't the "normal" Dark Lord. It wasn't the super special whiskey barrel aged Dark Lord I had the night before. This was the other super special Dark Lord aged with vanilla beans. It was pretty good but I'm not a fan of vanilla in my drinks. It was great to be able to taste both of these beers being that there was only about 3 kegs of each.