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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
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Bill (and staff) always treated us great at Beck's and introduced us to many beers (and some jenever) that we otherwise would never have had. I hope another establishment will quickly take advantage of his departure.
Or maybe Tuppers could just brew a beer that doesn't taste like a gym sock full of pennies.
Why has no one developed an instant hop suicide pill? Just add it to your favorite beer and instantly turn it into big, mouth puckering glass of hoppy bitterness? Oh, yeah. Because HOPS ARE TOO DAMNED EXPENSIVE. At what point did beer stop being about flavor and start being an I-can-out-bitter-you contest?
1) you can buy hop extract to use for this purpose
2) "What's with these arrogant cheesemakers in Europe making all this stinky rotten cheese? Why can't we get back to mild cheeses? I mean, all that time in the caves is so wasteful, and it's not like anybody likes all that funk in their cheese anyway!"
Has there been a rush by artisinal cheesemakers to out-stink eachother with toxic levels of roquefort-ness? I was not aware of this. If you can organize a campaign to Save Wide-Open-Ass-Scented Cheeses, you may put me down for a contribution of $100.
One man's trash is another man's Triple IPA heaven. Beer is almost always about the flavor. Unfortunately for some of the other bath-taking, underpants-wearing, lily-huggers out there IPAs and belgians are the flavor of the month in the US and especially on the East Coast. And until we get some other new over-hyped style that has been around forever but the sheep havent been told to flock to yet, it will continue to soak up the majority of beer taps and bum out the people who don't like the IBUs.
monkey, I take it you're not a fan of Franklin's in Hyattsville. Their beers are okay, but I'm pretty sure they dry hop all of them, so drinking them leaves you thirstier.
In a completely unrelated story - I think you'll be pleased to know that a band called "Monkey Junk" placed third at the International Blues Challenge this weekend.
Even more apropos of nothing, Baltimore band "Monkeyspank" actually wrote a song about my dad.
That photo is making me so thirsty. Why can't I drink beer during work hours??
So with the deal at Birreria Paradiso you get enough food to share but then you have to fight over who gets the fifth beer?
You "split" the beer that comes with dessert.
you forgot to mention another thing about SAVOR - not only is it more expensive than last year, but now each Salon is an extra 20 bucks!!!! last year they were included in the price!
So what's next on the brewing gravy train? They've done toxic levels of hoppiness. They've done cranberry-wheat-pina-colada flavored beers. They've done beer that doesn't taste like beer (Zima). What's left?
I recall a documentary on an isolated tribe of hunter-gatherers in the Brazilian jungle. Really limited contact with the outside world, but the slash/burn lumber industry was rapidly encroaching on their hunting grounds. Anyway, the crew followed the men while the went on a three-day hunting expendition. They bagged some birds. They found an owl that they kept as a pet. And they shot monkeys with poison dipped blowguns. Anyway, since it was such a long haul back to their village and the meat would have spoiled, they eviscerated the monkey, burned the hairs off, smoked/dried them over a brush fire, and assembled intricately woven vine "backpacks" around their meals. Meanwhile, back at the village, the womenfolk were "brewing" a fermented beverage out of masticated sweet potatos which they spat into an enormous bowl. The enzymes in the saliva broke down the sugars in the potatoes and started the fermentation process. By the time the menfolk arrived with the chimp jerkey backpacks, they were ready to party, and proceeded to guzzle down the spitpotato beer with much aplomb.
Long story short: America needs a smoked monkey spit beer brewpub post haste. Otherwise, the terrorists have won. And it should have a clever "theme" restaurant name, like "Seamus von Leningrad Standing Horse's Omni-ethnic Sub Pub and Saliva Beertique."
I was actually going to say meat flavored beer. There are already some smoked beers that taste like bacon. I want some beers that taste like a pastrami on rye, extra 1000 island and a side of scrapple...on top.
Finally, molecular gastronomy put to some good use.
I'll take a six pack of the lager that tastes like horny teen. Make that a case.
The monks make those for use in the monestaries. You may have to pay imported prices.
The monks make those for use in the monestaries. You may have to pay imported prices.
To hell with that. . . I say bacon flavored beer! It's like the two best things in the world combined!
Make it so!
~EEE~
Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier Marzen
Its around a couple places in the city.
You can buy it at Total Wine on Little River Turnpike and the Brick has it sometimes.
If you don't like the extra-hoppy beers, don't drink them. Some people crave them, just like some people crave hot sauce on everything.
It's not for everyone.
I enjoy both sides of the beer universe. I can't get enough hops. Bells makes incredible beers, but their Two-Hearted just doesn't do it for me. Not enough hop presence. But as far as their milder beers go, their porter is one of the best I've ever had.
Enjoy the beer. Enjoy people enjoying beer.
Well, yeah, I don't drink the extra-hoppy stuff. But the extra hoppy stuff is crowding out the mildly hoppy stuff that I want to drink. It's all either piss-poor corporate swill or XXX Hop-icide IPA. I'll have to try Two-Hearted; my go-to ESB is Redhook, but I'm getting kinda tired of it.
Well, yeah, I don't drink the extra-hoppy stuff. But the extra hoppy stuff is crowding out the mildly hoppy stuff that I drink. It's all either piss-poor corporate swill or XXX Hop-icide IPA. I'll have to try Two-Hearted; my go-to ESB is Redhook, but I'm getting kinda tired of it.
Give the Bear Republic Red Rocket a try. As far as I'm concerned, Bear Republic doesn't make a bad beer, but this one is tamer than the HopRod Rye or the Racer 5. Still amazing, though.
DEFINITELY stay away from Green Flash (personal fave of mine).
completely agree new guy. Bear republic can do no wrong...yet. Racer 5 has been my standard for years.
90$ for Savor huh... hm. OK. First things first among beer drinkers: first page of the website doesnt indicate whether or not its all you can drink. For 90$ i better leave hammered. Anyone know the score?
Yes, it's all you can drink/eat. And yes, the salons cost $20 a pop this year. I didn't get in to any last year so I can't say if they're worth the extra cost or not.
Congrats to Thor!! Guess he's happy he came back from Philly ... now cue the DA rants on DCBeer!
Whoa...what happened to Bill??? Where'd he go?
Whoa...what happened to Bill??? Where'd he go?
I would like to know that, also.