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Drink of the Week: Bell's Brewery beers
Where: Bourbon, Rustico, The Big Hunt
Illinois is a funny place. That their weirdly coiffed (former) governor was impeached this week is only the beginning of the story. They also have some rather complicated alcohol distribution laws that give distributors a ton of power. How does that relate to us? Bell’s Brewery founder Larry Bell decided to get out of the Illinois distribution game. As a result, he started sending his beers down to us, and apparently we like them enough that even after he decided to distribute in Illinois again, the beers still kept coming. And that just so happens to be a very, very good thing.
The beers from Bell's are incredibly consistent. They run the gamut of styles and seasons: summery Oberon Ale, Winter White, Expedition Stout, a solid Porter, and the sure-to-age-well Third Coast Old Ale. Even their strongly hopped beers are beautifully balanced, and not overwhelming. The Two-Hearted Ale pours a pale gold, usually well-carbonated with a pale creamy-white head. The nose is all hops: oranges, earth, grass, a little pine. The flavor balances the same hoppy flavors (more citrus here) against a hint of caramel. The finish, unlike many IPAs, is not very bitter, just a nice dry herbal taper.
But the hoppy beer to keep an eye out for is Hopslam. It has a very short distribution period that runs from mid-January to mid-February. Similar to the Two-Hearted, it is more bitter, with even more hop aroma, and brewed with honey. It'll also booze you up a little faster, with an ABV of 10 percent compared to Two-Hearted's 7 percent. For some more notes about Hopslam and places to pick up six-packs, you can check out DC Foodies. For those of you who are looking for it on tap, you can catch it at Bourbon, Rustico, and The Big Hunt.
Small Bites
Waiting for March Madness
March 5 is the Dining Out for Life fundraiser from Food & Friends, which provides freshly-prepared meals, groceries and nutritional education for individuals in the D.C. area living with HIV/AIDS, cancer or other life-challenging diseases. Participating restaurants will donate between 25 and 100 percent of their revenue from meals sold that day. The restaurants run the gamut from the inexpensive, like Hard Times Cafe, to the pricier CommonWealth. So if you were already planning on going out that Thursday, see if you like one of the establishments on their list.
Sweets for the sweet
The National Museum of the American Indian will be hosting "The Power of Chocolate" on February 14-15 from 10:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. The event will feature Peruvian scissor dancers, demonstrations with artisans like Guatemalan gourd artists, and one-on-one interactions with Bolivian cacao growers. And of course, right around Valentine's Day.
Openings and Changes
Ceviche in Glover Park is now Kitchen - celebrating the food of the South.
Aioli of P St. is now Saigon Bistro, so now you can get a pho fix without heading out to Virginia or up to Cleveland Park.
Inox by Jonathan Krinn and Jon Mathieson of 2941 will be opening the week of February 9.
The owners of Zola will be opening Potenza with (shocker!) a 6,000 pound pizza oven.
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Bells beer is the worlds greatest. Tons of other bars in DC carry it as well.
Try Dogfish Head when you want to run with the big boys.
Been there/done that. Dogfish is a great beer when the bells is sold out.
Hear, hear. I like DH 60/90 Minute as much as anybody, but I think Two Hearted blows them away. And Bell's Oberon is amazing. In terms of summer enjoyment, it's as crucial as grilled meats, sunblock, and Gold Bond powder.
As a transplanted midwesterner who's lived here for about 8 years, I'd say the best beers of both are pretty damn solid. DFH does better on their experimental and out there stuff, whereas Bell's tends more towards "normal", but in a consistently well done way. That said, I get a bit of a stiffy when thinking about Oberon.
On a side note, I'm all about Stone beers lately. I'm not just talking all the variations of Arrogant Bastard either, but their truly hardcore stuff like the Bitter Chocolate Oatmeal Stout. It sounds like dessert, but is really a black hole in a glass. A tasty, tasty, black hole. . .
~EEE~
Stone's Smoked Porter is amazing. It's become one of my favorite beers over the past few months.
That Bitter Chocolate Oatmeal Stout was so good I bought a t-shirt and glass bearing the beers likeness. One of the best stouts I've ever had, easy.
I'm pretty sure I've had Bells at Matchbox.
Matchbox has it, as does Ugly Mug on Barrack's Row.
Bell's beer is fantastic. I also feel compelled to note another West Mich. brewery of distinction - Founders: http://www.foundersbrewing.com/home.php - although, unfortunately, I have yet to locate their beers in these parts...
I drank 2.5 Hopslams last night; they pack quite a punch alongside the delicious hops + honey. I'd put the hoppiness close to Hop Devil.
where did you end up seeing Hopslam. I like it way more than hopdevil.
Ahhh, Bells is even better straight from the source. I was so excited when DC started to get it; except for the fact that it costs twice as much as it does in the zoo. I still buy it of course. I cant wait until we start getting the mini kegs of Oberon to enjoy in the summer!
Ahhh, Bells is even better straight from the source. I was so excited when DC started to get it; except for the fact that it costs twice as much as it does in the zoo. I still buy it of course. I cant wait until we start getting the mini kegs of Oberon to enjoy in the summer!
*
Bells makes some really nice beers. Big fan.
oberon is on tap at Bourbon now :)
Woohoo!!! Oberon is my favorite of the Bells. So much so that I'm always a little saddened by the TwoHearted. I'll try the Hopslam, nevertheless...
Never met a beer I couldn't drink.
Breckenridge Brewery Small Batch 471 is also delicious. thedon: Cleveland Park carries Bell's products and if they dont have it they can order it. Ask for Santos
I actually have hopslam and consistently buy other Bell's beers. I was just hoping to get it on tap. Nothing beats a frosty pint of hopslam
I am sure they could get you a keg ;)
Anybody else f**king sick of painfully overhopped beers? When did it become a contest to see who could swallow the most goddamned pennies and not pass out? It's like single malts; they blend that $h!t for a reason. Every where I turn it's IPA this and 120 minute that. I know, tolerance and moderation coming from me is pretty ridiculous, but I really hope the rising price of hops makes brewers think about offering something besides "XXX HardXXXore Hop Hitlermageddon IPA."
YES. I just didn't want to be the first one to say it...
I agree that in a lot of cases, the hops arms race has gotten out of hand, and a lot of those beers smell/taste like bong water passed thru a bum's a$$4ole.
Bell's Two Hearted is something else though. It's kicky but it's not too bitter, it's fragrant but not too fruity. Worth a try.
I like Bell's Two Hearted once in a while. It's kinda at the high-end of what I really like, which are domestic ESBs and some of the milder English bitters. But it seems like EVERYTHING I've tried from Dogfish and Rogue are just a bottle full of hops with some food dye in it.
And in case you haven't noticed, I'm bitter enough as it is. I don't need any help.
Anybody who doesn't want HopSlam can go follow this instead, and I'll happily drink their share.
Sure, hoppy beers are an acquired taste for some, but once you acquire it, watch out. I used to love doppelbock, but now the IPAs rule my drinking days.
Does anyone know where you can buy it for home consumption? Anywhere to pick up a 6 pack?
try Chevy Chase Wine and Liquor. They have it in, as well as the whole foods in Reston
P St. and Glover Park Whole Foods locations both carry Bell's, as well as Cleveland Park Liquor, as mentioned above.
If you're around Shaw, Timor Bodega carries Bell's and Stone (usually).
Anyone know if anyone carries Terrapin? Their Big Hoppy Monster is gr-er-eat!
I dont believe you can get Terrapin around here. Tried before and failed
yep, if you're around shaw, you can come over to bloomingdale and get your stuff at timor... :)
I was thinking in broad strokes, Goph.
Apologies for stepping on your blooming toes.
no worries, mustachioed! thanks for looking out for my toes.
Terrapin? Really? I used to live in Atlanta and that stuff was everywhere, but I've never drank one without having a horrendous headache the next day. It's like charcoal-filtered vodka to me. Yuk.
The liquor store on Connecticut in Cleveland Park has bells 6ers and occasionally mini-kegs.
i thought it was interesting that you mention bell's illinois distribution follies, but don't mention where the beer is actually from (michigan).
anyway, windows market at 1st and rhode island in bloomingdale carries a few varieties of bell's as well.
Modern Liquors next to the Convention Center also carries Bell's!
If I was a Christian, I'd baptize my children in Bell's Two Hearted...it's god's beer.
Bedrock Billiards in Adams Morgan has the Two Hearted on tap as well.
um.. why was there no mention of the fact that Bell's beer comes from Michigan! Kalamazoo in fact. I was disappointed with the misleading representation of Bell's and Chicago.
As a Michigan transplant, I grasp at straws here in DC trying to explain how my state is pretty cool (..and private jet flying auto execs don't help my case). Just because there's no cool Detroitist blog to link to in the post, doesn't mean MI shouldn't get some love.
GO LIONS!