(savor) the Fun More than Once

SAVOR: An American Craft Beer & Food Experience is playing a double heard this year.  The The Brewers Association announced this year's event will take place over two nights - June 3-4, 2011.  Tickets go on sale to the general public on March 3, 2011.  A special few (probably everybody on the BA E-mail list) can purchase tickets on March 1, 2011. Once again the event will be held at Washington, DC's National Building Museum.

According to the announcement a full 60 percent of breweries at this year's event were not present in 2010.  Of course, we weren't at the 2010 event so it doesn't much matter to us.  See the list of participating breweries here.  If you're more of a foodie you're probably not reading this blog but here you go.

(SAVOR) Fast Approaching

We have two very good reasons for not attending the SAVOR event this year.  While it pains us to regularly remind our loyal readers of the event we feel obligated to highlight some of the events leading up to SAVOR.  The nation's capital is making a strong attempt to become a solid beer drinking town and we're supporting that effort.  So, if you're in town for SAVOR or to play tourist here are some fun evens:

June 2, 2010
Anchor Brewing will introduce Humming Ale at the Churchkey in Washington, DC at a special release party prior to SAVOR.  Also available brews from Harpoon, Dogfish, Heavy Seas, Peak Organic and Flying Dog.

June 3, 2010
A Toast to Savor at RFD from 6:30-10:30p.  Samples from 10 breweries - "extremely limited release offerings."  Call RFD at 202.289.2030 for ducats.

Dinner at the Brickskeller Inn with Doug Odell, owner of Odell Brewing Company.  At least eight beers served.  More info here.

As more events are announced we will post them.  Despite the pain it causes us.

(SAVOR) Tickets Sold Out!

The ultimate craft beer and food experience in Washington, DC, SAVOR, returns to the National Building Museum on June 5, 2010. Tickets went on sale to the general public at 10:00 a.m. this morning and the event is already sold out.

So, if you haven't already purchased your tickets you're going to miss out on the likes of Deschutes Brewery, Lost Abbey, and Stone Brewing Company. The beer menu is not up yet so at least you can't see what you won't be drinking.

Hey, there's always Craigslist - that's how we found tickets to the first SAVOR event.

SAVOR Recap

Sixty eight craft breweries offered their swill to a sold out crowd last night at the National Building Museum in Washington, DC. Given a program and a two ounce tasting glass we were on a mission to sip as many of the 136 flavors as possible. We hit almost 30 (28 to be exact), which is pathetic but we look forward to doing better next year.

Savor: An American Craft Beer & Food Experience was everything promised and much improved over last year. The 2008 version had three events over 1.5 days in a smaller venue. While there were significantly more people this year the Building Museum is built for these types of shows. There were 15 of four brewers each and the Supporters Circle in the middle of the room. Oh, there was food too.

From the 28 we tried below are the highlights.

The Good
Ulinta, XVI Barley Wine - we don't appreciate this specialty enough
Ska, Milk Stout - reminds us of the Mighty Mighty Bosstones
Boulevard, Saison - mmm mmm good
Odell, Woodcut No. 2 - would travel to find this brew

The Bad
Schmaltz, Coney Island Albino Python - brewed with fennel, gross
Coronado, Orange Pale Ale - no orange flavor at all

The Forgettable
Star Hill, The Love - there is no love
Hwiner Brau, Kolsch - Miller Lite?
Arcadia, Cocoa-Loco Triple Chocolate Milk Stout - eh

Cheers!

Pre-SAVOR Party at Cap City

If you can't wait for the SAVOR event this Saturday we have a little something that might ease your pain.

Take your SAVOR ticket to Cap City Brewing's downtown location for a pre-party on the 29th. From 7:00-10:00p you will enjoy appetizers and 10 different Cap City brews including Capitol Kolsch, Amber Waves Ale, Pale Rider Ale, and Organic Saison.

All this for flashing your SAVOR ticket. That's right, no additional cost. Don't believe us? Check it out for yourself at the Cap City Brewsletter.


Brewsletter.....that's awful.

DC Beer Week, Sort of

May 26, 2009 - June 1, 2009, is unofficially beer week in Washington, DC. We say "unofficially" because the Mayor and DC Council are too busy negotiating the use of baseball tickets to focus on important things like beer or crime (but not because the Washington Post declared it the unofficial beer week). So, what's going on in DC this week? Below are the highlights.

May 26, 2009 - Brasserie Beck is serving a four-course meal featuring various French micro brews.

May 27, 2009 - Hawk 'n Dove is hosting a Capitol Hill Craft Beer Bar Tour

May 28, 2009 - Sierra Nevada Artisan Ale Experience at Stoney's Bar and Grill

May 29, 2009 - Lupulin Slam at RFD

May 30, 2009 - One word: SAVOR

June 1, 2009 - Finish the week with Greg Koch of Stone Brewing Company at the Brickskeller.

A more complete list of events can be found here.

68 Reasons to Attend SAVOR

If you're still on the fence about attending SAVOR in Washington, DC on May 30, 2009, you might want to think about the 68 breweries that will be there - each bringing 2 brews. That's 136 samples, people.

Breweries scheduled to attend (subject to change):
Abita Brewing Company
Allagash Brewing Company
Anchor Brewing Co.
Arcadia Brewing Company
Avery Brewing Company
Blackfoot River Brewing Co, LLC
Blue Point Brewing Company
Boscos Brewing Company
The Boston Beer Company
Boulevard Brewing Company
Breckenridge Brewery
Brewery Ommegang
The Brooklyn Brewery
Brown's Brewing Company
The Bruery
Capitol City Brewing Co.
Captain Lawrence Brewing Co
Clipper City Brewing Co
Coronado Brewing Company
Deschutes Brewery
Dogfish Head Craft Brewery
Firestone Walker Brewing Company
Florida Beer Company
Flying Dog Brewery
Flying Fish Brewing Co.
Foothills Brewing
Full Sail Brewing Company
Gordon Biersch Brewery Restaurant Group, Inc.
Great Divide Brewing Company
Great Lakes Brewing Company
Harpoon Brewery
Heiner Brau
Hook & Ladder Brewing Company
Hoppy Brewing Company
Karl Strauss Brewing Company
Lagunitas Brewing Co
Left Hand Brewing Company
Legend Brewing Co.
The Lost Abbey
Magic Hat Brewing Company
Moon River Brewing Company
New Belgium Brewing Company
New Holland Brewing Co
Odell Brewing Company
Oskar Blues Brewery
Rock Art Brewery
Rock Bottom Brewing
Rogue Ales
Russian River Brewing Company
The Saint Louis Brewery, Inc
Saranac/ The F.X. Matt Brewing Company
Shmaltz Brewing Company
Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.
Ska Brewing Co.
Smuttynose Brewing Company
Southampton Publick House
Sprecher Brewing Company
St. George Brewing Co.
Starr Hill
Steamworks Brewing Co.
Stevens Point Brewery
Stone Brewing Co.
Stoudt Brewing Co
Troegs Brewing Company
Two Brothers Brewing Company
Uinta Brewing Co & The Four + Brewing Co
Upland Brewing Company
Weyerbacher Brewing Company

Savor Returns to Washington, DC

Savor, An American Craft Beer & Food Experience comes back to Washington, DC on May 30, 2009. There are a couple of changes to this event - it's a one-night only gig (7:30 - 11:00p) and this year will be held at the National Building Museum. This event is uniquely designed for microbrew junkies and food aficionados. It's a reception-style event featuring more than 120 beers from 65 microbreweries all paired with an array of appetizers.

If you're on the fence about attending you should consider your access to microbrew legends. We were lucky enough to attend Savor 2007. We tasted as many of the brews we could and also sampled some of the food. What we didn't expect was to shake hands with the living homebrew legend Charlie P., a brief talk with Dogfish Head's Sam Calagione and Brooklyn Beer's Brewmaster Garrett Oliver, and to be within shouting distance of Samuel Adams' Jim Koch.

You are also going to have access to beer that is otherwise difficult to find. Maybe it's not an easy find in your area or maybe the brewery only brings it out for special occassions but you'll find it at Savor. While we saw some old favorites, Savor is the easiest way to open your tastes to new brews. Get tickets fast though - the educational salons are already sold out. $95 per ticket may seem steep but you won't feel that way come 11:30 Saturday night. We hope to see you there. Cheers!