Late Winter Beer Pulse
With the holidays and Obamauguration solidly behind us, it's time to ditch the gimmicky and focus on the delicious. Winter is typically my favorite beer season of the year, but the overspiced and generic "winter" ales can tend to wear on a beer lover after only a few weeks. Now is the time when the good stuff really comes out.
Birreria Paradiso
Pizza Paradiso is running a Valentine's Day dinner special (the entire restaurant, not just the Birreria) with a couple's menu that costs $75 for two salads, one large pizza, two desserts, and five beers. In addition, the Birreria is hosting a Tröegs dinner on February 23: four courses and six beers for $65. These tastings tend to sell out quick, so call soon to reserve a spot. The Tröegs beers are particularly awesome.
The Brickskeller
The annual "Strong Ale" tasting is going down on consecutive Wednesdays this year (February 25 and March 4), the better to allow the truly dedicated to attend both sessions. In previous years, the nights were back-to-back and only the hardiest livers were able to survive both nights. This tasting is my favorite of the annual Brickskeller tastings: the beers are often over-the-top and unrestrained, and the atmosphere frequently reflects that. No word yet on cost and specific beers.
Savor the Flavor
The biggest D.C. craft beer festival, SAVOR, is now selling tickets to the general public. SAVOR is notable because not only is it our biggest festival, but it has the unique advantages of letting you talk directly to the brewers at each beer station, and has in attendance smaller breweries from across the country. They tout the beer-and-food pairing as a major selling point, although food offerings were somewhat lackluster last year. Hopefully they'll bring the food up to speed to match the incredible beer offerings...it'll be the least they can do to offset this year's increased ticket price of $95.
Tupper's Beers
Some of you may be familiar with the Tupper's Hop Pocket line of beers, which were brewed by Dominion. Unfortunately, when Dominion was acquired by Coastal and Anheuser Busch in 2007, the Tupper's contractual agreement with Dominion went the way of the dodo. The Tuppers have been searching for another contract brewer but have had no success so far. However, they have finally gotten a beer produced with their name on it again: a one-off brew was recently created at the Devil's Backbone brewing company in Roseland, VA. Jason Oliver, formerly of D.C.'s Gordon Biersch location, opened Devil's Backbone last year and agreed to help the Tuppers brew a batch of their notoriously hoppy ale. This batch is called Deep Pockets, "because in these hard times we all need deep pockets." It is basically a supercharged Tupper's Hop Pocket Ale: targeted at 8.5 percent alcohol by volume with a twist of Amarillo hops in addition to the normal hopping scheme. The plan is to have the beer ready for the Strong Ale tasting at the Brickskeller.
Brasserie Beck
The latest news from Beck is that acclaimed Beer Specialist Bill Catron is out, and General Manager Thor Cheston is in. Thor, who came on board at Beck in late 2007, was the original beer guru and mastermind behind Birreria Paradiso's opening in the basement of the Georgetown Paradiso location. Although he hasn't assumed Bill's old title, he has taken control of the beer list. While it remains to be seen if Beck will still be able to get all of the exclusive beers that Bill brought in, Thor has already added two German beers to the list. Future plans also include adding Belgian-style American beers, and perhaps contracting some Beck-branded beers from his favorite breweries in Belgium.
Hop Slam
As we previously mentioned, Hop Slam fervor is in full swing, and you'll be lucky to find any left on tap at the usual places in town (although it's still out there). Most places only got one keg, and the stuff sells like hotcakes. Bottles might hold out a bit longer, so keep your eyes peeled.
Baltimore!
Our northern cousin has a couple good events this month. Max's on Broadway is having its annual Belgian Beer Fest this coming weekend (Feb 13-15) and the list of beers is just silly. Admission is free and you pay by the beer. Also, later in the month, Clipper City is having its "first annual" Oyster and Beer Festival on Feb 27. $45 for all you can eat/drink...I recommend bringing a designated driver.
Photo by Eric Denman