Holiday Beer Tasting at RFD
The Holidays are quickly approaching. This is supposed to be a season of giving. What better gift for a beer drinker than a beer event! On Wednesday December 19, RFD will be hosting a holiday beer tasting. Now this isn’t just any olde beer tasting; this is: Happy Holidaze! The Multiple Guest Brewmaster Winter Holidaze Extravaganzee.
This year will be amazingly enough the 25th, yes 25th, anniversary of this event. It is more than merely a tasting though. You’ll be able to gain some insight on the brews from the many local area brewmasters who will speak.
Doors will open at 6PM for the “7PM” start (like a beer event ever starts on time). Tickets are $45 and can be purchased on the RFD website.
I hope to see you there!
-Pyzocha
EDIT: I now have a list of the breweries which will be attending and it’s a great list: Lost Rhino, Sweetwater, Devils Backbone, Chophouse, Brewers Alley, White Marsh, Union Craft, Vintage 50, Rock Bottom, Gordon Biersch, Baying Hound, Dog Brewing, DuClaw, Heavy Seas, 3 Stars, and DC Brau!
2012: The Year of 366 New Beers — 1 June 2012 Update
Some of our readers might remember that at the beginning of the year, Tonzi talked me into trying 365 (then Leap Day happened) 366 new brews this year. I’ve been doing pretty well (a full month ahead of schedule) but thought that as I try new beers, some of y’all may be interested in knowing where I found them. Consequently, I’m going to try to update our readers on Friday/Saturday with my weekly beers. Why Friday/Saturday? Well, those are the days that most people drink, and I get most of my new beers on Thursday. That said, if I do find some awesome stash of new beers, I’ll do my best to get those up the day after. Just trying to do my best to help y’all find new beers to try.
On to this past week, 25 May – 2 June 2012
5/25/2012 Independence Pale Ale — Austin, TX
5/25/2012 Real Ale Full Moon Pale Rye Ale — Austin, TX
5/25/2012 Real Ale Devil’s Backbone — Austin, TX
5/26/2012 “(512)” IPA — Austin, TX
5/26/2012 Thirsty Planet Thirsty Goat Amber — Austin, TX
5/26/2012 Thirsty Planet Buckethead IPA — Austin, TX
5/26/2012 Live Oak Liberation Ale — Austin, TX
5/27/2012 Spotzel Shiner Blonde Light — Guadalupe River, TX
5/30/2012 Redhook Pilsner — Bought at Wagner’s on Wisconsin, Washington, DC
5/31/2012 Aying Franz Ayinger Celebrator — RFD, Washington, DC
5/31/2012 Firestone Walker Robust Porter — RFD, Washington, DC
6/1/2012 Long Trail Long Trail Ale — Justin’s Cafe, Washington, DC
6/2/2012 Half Acre Cipher — Santa Tonzi’s Care Package, Washington, DC
6/2/2012 Boston Beer Infinium — Pzyocha’s beer fridge, Washington, DC
6/2/2012 Half Acre Double Daisy Cutter — Santa Tonzi’s Care Package, Washington, DC
So, yea, I spent some time last weekend in Austin, and the beers reflect that; however, there are some good ones that were found here in DC. I would recommend trying to find the Firestone Walker Robust Porter.
This next week should provide a nice boost to my numbers with all the Savor events, in particular, the Schlafly take-over at District of Pi, Sierra Nevada at Churchkey, or the Savor Our Suds at Scion. We’ll just have to see how it turns out. Hopefully my liver survives.
— Shintern1909
SAVOR Beer Week Event Preview: The Lupulin Reunulin
June in DC. What a great time of year. Well, assuming you love hot humid days and enjoy sweating instantly upon walking outside. Weather aside, it really is a good time to be in DC.
SAVOR is coming up soon and the event gets bigger and bigger each year. Heck, it’s 2 nights this year instead of 1. And with this expansion comes the growth of a week-long pre-party that’s been dubbed SAVOR Week.
Being a new father, my ability to attend every nightly event of SAVOR Week is impossible. Besides, having a buzz and trying to change diapers can be detrimental to everyone’s health. With that in mind, I’ve decided to save my time for one event this week: The Lupulin Reunulin.
Each year some of the biggest names in the craft beer industry gather at The Brickskeller (R.I.P.) or RFD and bring out some of their special libations for an event of tasting and enjoyable conversation. This year’s panel:
Ken Grossman of Sierra Nevada
Kim Jordan of New Belgium
Tomme Arthur of Port Brewing/LostAbbey
Sam Calagione of Dogfish Head
Rob Tod of Allagash
Bill Madden of MadFox
Nick Funnel of Sweetwater
In years past, this event has been phenomenal. It always starts out very calm and collected.
- Samples are passed out to all of the attendees.
- The brewer explains what everyone is about to taste.
- The panel discusses the beer.
- Rinse and repeat for the first few samples.
Once everyone starts to get a little liquored up (which usually doesn’t take long since these are usually very big beers), the conversation slides into something reminiscent of a camping trip with old friends.
- Jokes are made.
- beers are swigged.
- Sam gets loud.
- Everyone laughs.
It becomes a frat party with fantastic beer.
If you were lucky enough to get tickets (I’m pretty sure it’s sold out by now), prepare for an evening you won’t soon forget!
-Tonzi
P.S. – If you’re wondering what Lupulin is… it’s the yellow stuff in hop cones that provide the hops with the resins and oils to provide those “hoppy” flavors and aromas.
Roundtable Discussion: Your DC Bar of Choice
With the announcement this week that Brickskeller will be closing its doors in the next couple weeks, it seemed fitting to take inventory of what we still have in DC. J Street Beer has had a day or two to think it over and we added a bit of a twist. The question is not just what our favorite DC bar is, but what we would change about it if given the chance. Enjoy our thoughts and throw in your own picks, disagreement, or soul-crushing criticism in the comments section:
drboozenstein
jtonzi
Jesse
X
pyzocha
samdinning
shintern1909
The J Street Beer Review 