Results tagged “beer”

The title of this event, "Chimay Vintage Beer and Cheese Tasting," was only partially misleading. There was some "vintage" Chimay to be had - one six-liter bottle of 2007 Chimay Grand Reserve (the blue label). And there was Chimay cheese to taste, if you ordered the special pizza with Chimay cheese. Good thing I read the full description on the DC Beer Week Facebook page, and ended up getting what I expected - a night of great beer and pizza at Birreria Paradiso with some extra Chimay options.

Call up your favorite designated driver and break out your iCal - DC Beer Week is only a week away. With at least two events per night, a determined beer geek could fill every evening with multiple tastings across the city. But why run around when you’re trying to enjoy some good beer and stay out of the heat? The most in-depth calendar for Beer Week lives on their Facebook page, but here are some highlights for those who aren’t going to be squeezing in every last event:

According to CNN's politicalticker blog, President Obama will meet this week with Officer James Crowley and Henry Louis Gates, Jr. over a beer to discuss the false home invasion arrest fiasco in Boston from last week. The beers chosen by each man? Budweiser for Obama, Blue Moon for Crowley, and undetermined for Gates (Gates may not even drink beer, as it turns out). Maybe Bud is Obama’s beer of choice, but being the president, it's probably safe to say that he had to pick 1) an American beer and 2) something most people have tried. Remember what happened when he told Iowa voters what arugula cost at the store? Right.

There are two new big bottle standouts on beer shelves across D.C. this summer. The Lagunitas is a seasonal, but that doesn’t mean it’ll be the same batch this time next year. Track them down before they’re gone:

    

Is it wrong to expect an innovative brewery to have equally forward thinking alehouses? Because heading to the Dogfish Head Alehouse in Gaithersburg, MD, I was trying to think what kind of otherworldly experience it would be, coming from folks who turn out great beer like the 60-Minute IPA as well as interesting mixes like the Midas Touch. Would the menu continue fusions where the beer left off? Would the atmosphere push together styles that have never met?

Think for a second about that scene in Willy Wonka when they first get inside the candy factory. But instead, substitute all of those amazing sweets with 68 small and independent brewers showing off their company’s best with food pairings selected for each. Oh no, you’re no Charlie - you’d be seconds behind Augustus Gloop, into the pool and up the tube. And damn would you be happy.

Written by DCist contributor Matt Billings

Sure, the Wizards beat the Chicago Bulls on Friday night 113-90 (only to follow it up with a stinker last night in Milwaukee), but this post is less about a twenty-three point victory by a 14-45 team over another sub-.500 team, and more about President Obama, who made the trek over from the White House to catch some Friday night hoops.

Breweries in this area are becoming more and more scarce. With Old Dominion Brewery moving to Delaware, we're left with our local brewpubs and not much else. Baltimore is one option, but for a more scenic beer getaway, heading down into the area around Charlottesville is the way to go. In the last couple years, some new breweries have sprouted up and others have expanded. The result is a vibrant beer community that emphasizes local ingredients and fresh, tasty beer. It's a roughly 2.5 hour drive out to Charlottesville, but if you want to break up the drive, a detour to Sperryville to visit Copper Fox adds only 20 minutes to your driving time.

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.

Where: Bourbon, Rustico, The Big Hunt

Regardless of where you'll be when Inauguration fever sets in, you'll need an appropriate beverage to toast our new President. Some folks may tout the celebratory bottle of Champagne, and there are no shortage of Obama-themed cocktails around. However, I plan on focusing on the man himself in my Inaugural drinking, and he has stated his preference for a nice beer. With this focus, you can take one of two approaches: Drink beers that are brewed in Obama's home state(s), or drink beers that were brewed for Inauguration.

In the D.C. alcoholic beverage scene, the phrase, "Where there's a will, there's a way" has been proven time and time again. Legend has it that in the early days of the Brickskeller, Dave Alexander drove cross-country to purchase beer from breweries on the West Coast. More recently, Ledroit Brands (a D.C.-based distributor) started bringing in barrel-strength whiskey from Kentucky under the Willett brand. Even in the last few weeks, the Dolin brand of vermouth entered the D.C. market, a product that was unavailable in the States until D.C.'s own Derek Brown prodded an importer to look into it.

This week as you enjoy your poison of choice at your favorite watering hole, raise your glass to the 75th anniversary of the repeal of Prohibition. This Friday, December 5, celebrates the end of 13 years of mandated teetotaling. And it has become increasingly apparent that the products of artisanal distilling and brewing that were squelched by the introduction of Prohibition are starting to make a return. Liquors that have not seen these shores in years - genever gin, sloe gin, and absinthe - are making their way into stores or being produced domestically.

According to alarmists from both sides of the aisle, all hell is going to break loose depending on which candidate emerges from the ashes of tomorrow's presidential election. Pestilence, Famine, War, Death -- think your typical Adams Morgan Saturday night minus the jumbo slice.

In these tumultuous times, it's hard to know where best to invest. Americans seem to be equally disillusioned about the prospects of leaving their money to banks, the stock market, or to a retirement fund. While these options are failing all around us, it's nice to know that there is an alternative: invest in beer. I'm not talking about pouring money into a new brewery (although that's not a bad idea) or buying case after case of PBR to get drunk and forget your financial worries (this is a bad idea), I'm talking about aging beers. The idea of having a beer cellar is one that takes some getting used to for most of us who are sick of hearing rich wine snobs flaunt their extensive cellar of Bordeaux from the 1970s. As with many things beer-related, aging beer is a less pretentious proposition than aging wine, but still there are guidelines that must be followed.

Making bread at home can be daunting, even for the experienced home cook. Kneading and rising take time and muscle (or an expensive standing mixer), and the science of yeast can seem puzzling, to say the least. If this all seems like too much work, fear not. Delicious, homemade bread is within easy reach, thanks to one of the greatest baking discoveries of our time: beer bread.

In a followup to our Oktoberfest Roundup, due to the inclement weather expected for this weekend, Rustico's Oktobeerfest has been rescheduled for October 18. Barracks Row is taking a "pray for sun" approach and hoping the event will still go off without a hitch. The Das Best Oktoberfest at National Harbor is completely covered and thus is on regardless of weather. No immediate reply from the Maryland Microbrewery Festival, although it looks like it's an outdoor event as well. Bring a raincoat. And galoshes.

For most, the arrival of autumn signifies an excuse to go see the falling leaves in rural Maryland, pick apples at an idyllic orchard in Virginia, or simply enjoy a respite from the humid heat of a D.C. summer. For beer lovers, the beginning of September is just a reminder that Oktoberfest is coming soon. Although many of the events in the area are styled after the original Oktoberfest in Munich, other beer events in the next several weeks are not even German-themed and just happen to be crowding an already crowded schedule. It's a busy, exciting time to be a beer geek in D.C.

France isn't the only country celebrating a revolution in July. On July 21, 1831 the first king of Belgium was crowned following the Belgian Revolution and the country's split from The Netherlands. For those of you unable to celebrate in Brussels, D.C. has plenty of great places to enjoy Belgian food and, more importantly, Belgian beer. Check out the list below to find out what area bars and restaurants are offering up food and drink specials to celebrate Belgium's independence.

Over the last few years a number of ANCs and Wards -- including a stretch of H Street NE, part of Logan Circle, and wards 4, 7 and 8 -- have banned the sale of single cans and bottles of beer, citing their tendency to cause their drinkers to pee on sidewalks, litter, and generally make trouble.

When The Black Squirrel opened in late February, it seemed at first glance that the new dining spot would be a standout among the restaurants and bars along Adams Morgan's 18th Street strip. An early review by the Washington Post was positive and it appeared that diners in the area had a place that would provide food as enticing as their extensive beer list.

Spring is in the air, and that means it's time for innumerable happy hours, barbecues, and various other events that involve drinking beer. Brasserie Beck was scheduled to open it's outdoor patio tonight, but it seems the rain may spoil the fun. They should be open tomorrow night if tonight is rained out. The setup is a brand new 4-draught system imported from Belgium, and as such, there will undoubtedly be some kinks that still need working out. However, if you want to drink some great Belgian beers in the gorgeous spring weather, Brasserie Beck is a very good option. While there, you can go inside and sample any of the other excellent beers that they're pouring at the moment (try the Cantillon Cuvée des Champions if it's still available, the $14 price is worth it).

Just when people thought the Target in Columbia Heights had everything, there's talk of it getting even more.

I count 29 different cans of beer. Yes, 29. No beer bottles, no tap handles, just cans. Sure, The Red Derby has a fully stocked liquor selection, and six wines at $6/glass, but really, the comfort beverage of choice here is the canned beer. Understanding this unusual approach to beer selection requires a quick detour through the history of beer in America.

Which stories did DCist readers think merited the most attention this year?

You didn't think we could get through the last few days of 2007 without one more Smithsonian scandal, did you? The Post has a lengthy report today on National Museum of the American Indian's retiring director Rick West and the whopping $250,000 of Institution funds he spent on travel and luxuries.

FRIDAY: >> Do the right thing and head to 9:30 Club for a show hosted by the strange gathering of the likes of Gypsy Eyes Records, The Federal Reserve and haberdasherie Propper Topper for a benefit for the DC Public Library Foundation. Kitty Hawk, Vandaveer, Revival, These United States and many more make up the crowded bill. 7:30 p.m., $20. >> The Brunettes (pictured right) perform sickly sweet but addictive pop duets, and they'll be...

There seems to be no end to the drama playing out at the Smithsonian Institution. The story so far: Former Secretary Lawrence M. Small resigned back in March amidst allegations of gross financial expenditures and poor management decisions. He was replaced by acting Secretary Cristián Samper, and the Board then began an overhaul of the Institution based on a scathing report on the state of museums issued earlier this year. Deputy Secretary and Chief Operating...

>> "The Smithsonian Institution today replaced Gary M. Beer as chief executive of the museum complex's embattled business unit after an inspector general's report found that he had abused his institution-issued credit card and billed $95,000 in expenditures that were unauthorized or lacked evidence of a business purpose." [WaPo] >> Video of Marion Barry getting measured for his wax statue at the new Madame Tussauds wax museum. [Reliable Source] >> Some Orange Red line...