The myriad beer tastings and new beer launches that have cropped up for this and next week have turned January into an unofficial beer month of sorts in D.C. Great Lakes beers are being sold in D.C. for the first time. Brewmaster Jérôme Rebetez is serving up La Meule, a Swiss blond ale with sage, along with other wacky beers from Brasserie des Franches-Montagnes at Birreria Paradiso next week.
Five O'Clock Meeting: Belgian Bargain
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.
Belgian Independence Day: Beer, Food, and Did We Mention Beer?
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.
Coalition of the Swilling: Winter Beer Roundup
This is a great time of the year for beer lovers. Winter, more than any other season, is when craft brewers get a chance to flex their creativity and brew some unusual beers that satisfy the palate and warm the heart. Although many have traditionally been called Christmas beers, most brewers these days are going with some variation on the "winter" theme, in a large part because of the stigma of seeing a "Christmas" beer...
The Weekly Feed: Musical Chairs Edition
Disoriented and Seeing Stars WaPo reviewer Tom Sietsema has released his 2007 Washington Post Dining Guide online. You can catch it on newsstands this weekend. At the top, Cathal Armstrong's Restaurant Eve has broken through to the four-star category, and his revamped Majestic also made the list. Newcomers Central Michel Richard (3 stars), Proof (2.5), Farrah Olivia (2.5), and Hook (2.5) also made it onto the list. A surprising omission was Brasserie Beck, which Sietsema...
Coalition of the Swilling: Belgian Brews
Written by DCist contributor Eric Denman As summer lingers on, the average D.C. resident may be tempted to stay indoors, limit excursions, and camp out in front of the A/C unit with a tongue-numbingly cold, mass-produced lager. There is a better option! A nice Belgian beer can quench your thirst while also satisfying your palate. Although some Belgian styles may be a bit heavy for summer, many of them fit the bill perfectly (Witbier and...
First Look: Brasserie Beck
For the last few weeks you couldn't read any D.C.-area food publication without seeing something about Robert Wiedmaier's Brasserie Beck. And all before it even opened. From Wiedmaier guest hosting Todd Kliman's chog, two pre-opening mentions in DCist's Weekly Feed, and frequent but casual mentions by The Washington Post and the blogosphere. And here Beck's is being written about yet again. Whoever the restaurant's publicist is, she's sure earning her keep. The best way to...
The Weekly Feed: Bend it Like -ham Edition
To Beck With It The buzz is all over the place about Brasserie Beck, Robert Wiedmaier of Marcel's new Belgian gastropub on 11th and K, NW. Though not open quite yet (scheduled for an opening in the next couple of weeks), the Brasserie scored two articles in this week's Post, and a post full of restaurant eye candy over at the Washingtonian. The Post used Beck as the latest example in the growing trend of...
The Weekly Feed: Taking the Grill in for Ripert Edition
By DCist contributor Analiese Bendorf The Big Apple's Harvest Export Attention, all ye who still doubt whether one may dine seriously in DC (and we hope there aren't many of you left), you may soon be tempted to cancel that weekend jaunt to Manhattan. Washingtonian's Todd Kliman reports in this week's online chat that high-profile chef Eric Ripert, of N.Y.C.'s famed Le Bernardin, plans to bring his four-star culinary talent to D.C., where he will...

