DC Beer Week- SAVOR

SAVOR is the reason for all of the previous events. It is a once-a-year festival of craft beer and food pairings put on by the Brewers Association and various supporters (Dogfish Head is one of the main supporters).

This year, it was held in the National Building Museum, and there was only one session. Last year, there were three sessions which were held in a different venue (I can't remember off the top of my head what it is called but it is in downtown DC).

There were 68 breweries in attendance, and I didn't bring paper/pen to take notes. So, I'll list off the beers we tried. The ones we really liked get a +.

Allagash Curieux +
Avery Maharaja Imperial IPA +
Blue Point Brewing Co. Rastafar Rye
Boscos Ghost River Hefeweizen
Boscos Ghost River Golden
Boulevard Brewing Co. Boulevard Saison +
Breckenridge Brewery 471 IPA +
Breckenridge Brewery Extra ESB
Brooklyn Brewery Local 2 +
Brown's Brewing Company Oatmeal Stout
Brown's Brewing Company ESB
The Bruery Saison Rue + (and they're coming to DC soon!!)
The Bruery Trade Wind Tripel +
Captain Lawrence Xtra Gold American Tripel
Captain Lawrence Captain's Reserve Imperial IPA +
Clipper City Loose Cannon IPA
Firestone Walker DBA (Double Barrel Ale)
Florida Beer Company Hurricane Reef Pale Ale
Florida Beer Company Key West Southernmost Wheat
Foothills Hoppyum IPA
Foothills Sexual Chocolate
Full Sail Brewing Company Session Premium Lager +
Full Sail Pale Ale
Great Lakes Brewing Company Burning River
Great Lakes Brewing Company Dortmunder Gold
Harpoon Leviathan Imperial IPA +
Heiner Brau Kolsch +
Heiner Brau Maerzen +
The Lost Abbey Angel's Share (Brandy) +
The Lost Abbey Cuvee de Tomme +
Moon River Brewing Co. Wild Wacky Wit
Moon River Rosemary Swamp Fox IPA +
New Belgium Brewing Company Biere de Mars +
New Holland Brewing Co. Dragon's Milk Oak Aged Ale
New Holland Golden Cap Saison
Rock Art Brewery The Vermonster +
Rock Art Brewery Belvidere +
Russian River Pliny the Elder +
Russian River Consecration +
The Saint Louis Brewery Schlafly Oak Aged Barleywine +
The Saint Louis Brewery Schlafly Bourbon Barrel Aged Imperial Stout +
Shmaltz Brewing Co. Lenny's RIPA +
Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. Brown Saison +
Ska Brewing Co. True Blonde Ale
Ska Brewing co. Steel Toe Stout Milk Stout
Sprecher Brewing Company Black Bavarian +
Stevens Point Brewery Nude Beach Summer Wheat
Stevens Point Brewery Point Amber Classic
Stone Brewing Co. Sublimely Self-Righteous Ale +
Two Brothers Brewing Company Cane & Abel Red Rye Ale +
Two Brothers Brewing Company Domaine Dupage French Style Country Ale +
Uinta Brewing Co. Barleywine

We couldn't believe that Foothills HAD NO LINE the entire night. We got Sexual Chocolate 4 times. The Foothills representatives were awesome- so nice and pleasant, and they gave me a pint glass!

Russian River and The Lost Abbey had long lines all night... but my "hometown" brewery (ok not so much hometown, but they're pretty close to my parents' house and I adore them) Captain Lawrence ran out of beer before them. I heard Captain Lawrence getting rave reviews, which made me very happy.

Moon River's Rosemary Swamp Fox IPA was the biggest surprise of the night. It was fantastic, and I'd never heard of that brewery before. Another reason I need to check out Savannah sometime.

On the "could be better" hand... the food. They could have paired a different food to each beer.

Also the personal touch that SAVOR had last year (no lines for any of the beers, you could talk to the brewers for a long time, less of the "we're just here to get drunk" crowd) was lost this year. There was almost always someone behind us, so we couldn't take the time to talk to brewers about their beer. I hope SAVOR doesn't turn into just another beer fest with anonymous folks pouring the beers. Part of what makes SAVOR great is the opportunity to talk to the men and women behind the beers.

Overall, we had a great time. We talked to our new Beer Advocate friends, met some people who are also Rustico regulars and had a nice conversation with them, and had our fill of Sexual Chocolate. Actually that last one is not true, I was we had more of that!