gone Dogfishin'

It's not quite like getting an exclusive with Lebron James but this is a big week for us. The Trusty Assistant and her gang of merry men kicked off DC's 2009 Beer Week at Brasserie Beck for the Dogfish Head Happy Hour.

The Beck is known for it's French/Belgian food and brew. Today, they made room at the bar for some of Delaware's finest. From 5:00 - 7:00p it was a first-come-first-serve attack on the brewery fast becoming known for international ingredients. Most know Dogfish Head for their IPAs and rightfully so. Raison D'Etra speaks for itself. However, the Dogfish is walking the cutting edge with ancient recipes and ancient ingredients. It's fast becoming their new niche and they do it well. Raison, Theobroma, and Fort were on tap at $5.50 per this evening.

We focused on Theobroma. The Dogfish Head Rep told us "it's not as hot as you think", which conjures up images of suicide wings and a dare we couldn't pass up. The other bonus of Theobrama is that it is based on cocoa - like all that is good in life. The flyer at the bar notes that this brew includes "Aztec cocoa powder, cocoa nibs, honey, chiles, and annatto." It's a beer and it's hot. Not suicide wings hot but it leaves the taste buds tingling.

We paired Theobrama with the lamb sandwich and some of the best fries in the District. The two make a good pairing but given the Beck's offerings you could pair just about anything with Theobrama. You might also try the Quiche Lorraine.

The only negative to report is that the Beck ran out of both Theobrama and Fort. Sure, Raison is a good brew but running out of the rarities puts a damper on the festivities. It was a two-hour event so there's no good excuse for not allowing patrons to drink and be merry.

The 5-0: Magic Hat

Our friends at Gheorge took a break from the sports scene to give us a hand with the Top 50. Today they talk Magic Hat's Lucky Kat.

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"I'm a sucker for a good IPA, and I'm predisposed to like magic hat simply because I like their attitude, and they're from vermont, the state of my birth.

That said, I'm ambivalent on the Lucky Kat. It's got an odd finish, less hoppy and a bit less crisp than I would generally expect (and want). Reminds me of something i can't exactly place - maybe one of magic hat's odd seasonals from a year or so ago. Not bad, not great."
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Many thanks, Gheorge. Keep 'em coming. Cheers!

The 5-0: ROGUE

We are regular consumers of the Newport Oregon brewers' Dead Guy Ale and we recently stumbled upon Dry Hopped St. Rogue Red. Rogue combined the two pillars of slacktivism - beer and television - when they crafted Captain Sig's Northwestern Ale in honor of the wildly cool Hansen brothers (Sig, Edgar, and Norman). You might have seen the brothers on Discovery's version of a wild west gold rush - Deadliest Catch.

This brew comes in a wonderful 22 oz. bottle that would be great for swinging about in a pub brawl (after you drink the beer). Upon pouring, the head is a thick light-nut color that starts quickly but takes its time breaking down. If you look closely you can actually see the rough waters of the Bearing Sea.

The brew itself is a semi-opaque copper color. It has a flowery hop scent with maybe a hint of citrus. Take a swig and the flavor kind of punches you in the teeth. Northwestern Ale has a good, but not overpowering bitterness, solid malty flavor, and the typical Rogue finish. This brew actually makes you cooler just by drinking it.

There's a Deadliest Catch marathon this weekend on Discovery. So, find yourself a few bottles of Northwestern Ale, turn on the tele, and pretend you're a man just like Sig.

50 Beers in 52 Weeks

On April 13, 2009, the Brewers Association announced its annual list of the top 50 Craft Brewing Company by Beer Sales Volume (2008). DBB is proposing to evaluate one brew from each of the 50 companies before the list comes around again in 2009. What are the chances we'll get a sampling from all 50? Pretty slim. But it's not entirely our fault - some are clearly brew pubs and how many different Gordon Biersch's should any beer blog be forced to visit? We promise to give it the old college try and we won't count beers previously discussed (unless we get lazy).

We are providing a copy of the list so you don't have to search for it on the Brewers Association Web site; and certainly not because we hope that somebody might stumble upon DBB while doing web searches for brewing companies. Best of luck to us.

1) Boston Beer Co., Boston, MA
2) Sierra Nevada Brewing Co., Chico, CA
3) New Belgium Brewing Co., Fort Collins, CO
4) Spoetzl Brewery, Shiner, TX
5) Pyramid Breweries Inc.,Seattle, WA
6) Deschutes Brewery, Bend, OR
7) Matt Brewing Co., Utica, NY
8) Boulevard Brewing Co., Kansas City, MO
9) Full Sail Brewing Co., Hood River, OR
10) Magic Hat Brewing Co., Burlington, VT
11) Alaskan Brewing Co., Juneau, AK
12) Harpoon Brewery, Boston, MA
13) Bell's Brewery, Inc., Galesburg, MI
14) Kona Brewing Co., Kailua-Kona, HI
15) Anchor Brewing Co.,San Francisco, CA
16) Shipyard Brewing Co., Portland, ME
17) Summit Brewing Co., Saint Paul, MN
18) Stone Brewing Co., Escondido, CA
19) Abita Brewing Co., Abita Springs, LA
20) The Brooklyn Brewery, Brooklyn, NY
21) New Glarus Brewing Co., New Glarus, WI
22) Dogfish Head Craft Brewery, Milton, DE
23) Long Trail Brewing Co., Bridgewater Corners, VT
24) Gordon Biersch Brewing Co., San Jose, CA
25) Rogue Ales/Oregon Brewing Co., Newport, OR
26) Great Lakes Brewing Co., Cleveland, OH
27) The Lagunitas Brewing Co., Petaluma, CA
28) Firestone Walker Brewing Co., Paso Robles, CA
29) SweetWater Brewing Co., Atlanta, GA
30) Flying Dog Brewing Co., Frederick, MD
31) BJ's Restaurant & Brewery, Huntington Beach, CA
32) Rock Bottom Brewery Restaurants, Louisville, CO
33) BridgePort Brewing Co., Portland, OR
34) Odell Brewing Co., Fort Collins, CO
35) Victory Brewing Co., Downingtown, PA
36) Mac and Jack's Brewery, Redmond, WA
37) Big Sky Brewing Co., Missoula, MT
38) Gordon Biersch Brewery Restaurants, Chattanooga, TN
39) Karl Strauss Brewing Co., San Diego, CA
40) Breckenridge Brewery, Denver, CO
41) Lost Coast Brewery and Cafe, Eureka, CA
42) Otter Creek Brewing Co., Middlebury, VT
43) Utah Brewers Cooperative, Salt Lake City, UT
44) North Coast Brewing Co., Fort Bragg, CA
45) Blue Point Brewing Co., Patchogue, NY
46) Boulder Beer Co., Boulder, CO
47) Pete's Brewing Co., San Antonio, TX
48) McMenamins Breweries, Portland, OR
49) Anderson Valley Brewing Co., Boonville, CA
50) The Saint Louis Brewery, Inc., St Louis, MO


Cheers!