Photo by Eddie Arrossi.

The whirlwind surrounding Savor Week has finally died down, and all the photos, tasting notes and conversations can finally be digested and reflected upon. Many of us in the beer community were telling what day it was by which events we were going to (now I know how Bon Jovi felt while writing “Dead or Alive”) and in the complete decadence known as Savor. And in the end, it was very different things to different people. The beer fans loved the rarities that came into town for the week. The foodies had amazing beer dinners that were all about pairing and utilizing all the senses. The community enthusiasts loved the level of camaraderie that the whole city had in a weeklong celebration of the delicious things in life.

The actual Savor event was touted as a success to many, including myself — I thought it was the best one yet. In the past, the quality of food had paled in comparison to the world class beers. So the Brewer’s Association brought in Adam Dulye from The Monk’s Kettle in San Francisco, and hometown hero Teddy Folkman, executive chef and co-owner of Granville Moore’s to make sure this didn’t happen again. While they left the actual cooking to Federal City caterers, these two well-known chefs were consulted to make sure the pairings and quality could compete with everything the breweries presented.

And it showed. Some of the pairings were literally made to be together.
Schafly’s Hop Toddy — which is based on the drink containing whiskey, lemon and honey, was masterfully paired with cherry peppers stuffed with goat cheese and pine nuts. The sweetness of the beer blended with the richness of the cheese and had a slight kick at the end from the pepper giving a wonderfully gratifying sensory experience.

Avery’s Dihos Dactylion tartness leading in to cabernet tannins was a showstopper when paired with “Devils on Horseback”– smoked bacon-wrapped dates, stuffed with Coach Farm Goat Cheese. (N.B.: These devils can be found on the new Jack Rose menu, so go get them while you can.)

In all, it was finally the event that the Brewers Association has always wanted. With summer marking the onslaught of beer festivals all over, it fills me with a bit of pride that once a year, the country comes to D.C. for a beer-centric weekend of education, experiences and an appreciation of where this city is headed as both beer and culinary destinations.

For those unable to attend Savor, the MidAtlantic Craft Brew Festival will feature a similar pairing of craft beer and food, but will focus on local breweries including Chocolate City, DC Brau, Baying Hound, Capitol City, Port City, Franklin’s, Lost Rhino, Star Hill, Stillwater Artisanal Ales and Mad Fox. While Savor allowed us to try rare beers usually unavailable here, MAC is giving us the opportunity to try pairs with some of our hometown beers.

And speaking of hometown beer: yesterday, the Neighborhood Restaurant Group, which stellar beer bars Rustico and Churchkey are a part of, announced that they will be venturing into brewing later next year. A spokesperson for NRG said they will be starting a “full[y] operational brewery in that we intend to sell beer off-premise as well as at the brewery.”

While details are still be worked out, it leaves us pondering many questions. Who will they hire as brewmaster? What styles will they be brewing — will they stick to classics that most people enjoy or will they be one of the breweries in D.C. who will push limits on what we consider to be beer? Lastly, how much will our city’s evangelist of the beer gospels (and beer director for Churchkey) Greg Engert be involved in this?

This is certainly shaping up to be an exciting year for beer in D.C., indeed.