RSS FeedBeer Enthusiasts Take Over Downtown DC
We got a text message from a friend Saturday morning which said “I had a GREAT $#!*%#! time last night!”
That sums up our experience as well on Friday night at Savor, which bills itself as “an American Craft Beer & Food Experience.” Savor was held Friday from 6:30 to 10 pm, and then again Saturday in two sessions at 12:30 pm & 6:30 pm. The event was held at the Mellon Auditorium at 13th & Constitution.
Roughly 700 tickets ($85 each) were sold for the Friday night event, but the auditorium was easy to navigate. You’re given a 4 oz glass (with a 2 oz pour line) a map of the brewers location, and off you go. You didn’t have to drink the entire 3.5 hours, there were two hour long Salons in which you could gain an education about beer & food pairings but they filled up fast, with no standing room available. We were really hoping to check out Garrett Oliver’s 7 pm session, but by the time we made our way to the back of the room where the sessions were held all the seats were taken.
As it turns out missing the Salons wasn’t a huge deal. Garrett Oliver made himself available to anyone who wanted to talk to him, as did all of the other brewmasters at the event. The beers were fantastic, and the food pairings with each brewer ran the gamut from excellent (mini fish tacos) to passable (beef on a stick). Food was plentiful, and only the specialty items like the fish tacos and crab cakes ran out completely.
But enough about food. Beer was the star of the show and we were not disappointed. Bigger micro-brews like Brooklyn, Troegs, & Dogfish Head were of course there, but many of the breweries were only available in their home State or general region. We talked to many of these brewers, wondering why they’d want to come to an event like Savor if their beer wasn’t available for distribution (and in many cases they were years away from that point); the answer was always the same “it’s an honor to be invited to this event.”
We learned from speaking to these brewers that there were regional lotteries and that those luck few who win come to show off their beers, and discuss beer making & distribution with the other breweries. Our favorites from these smaller brewers included the first Montana beer we’d ever tried Blackfoot River Brewing Company (Helena, Montana), and the incredibly charismatic (both owners & beer) Heiner Brau Microbrewery (Covington, Louisiana).
Surprisingly there were no buckets available for dumping your beer samples after a quick taste. There were plenty of garbage cans which we took advantage of as much as possible. Still, after 3.5 hours of beer samplings, things get a little out of hand.
Luckily the good folks at Rogue had a few fun give aways, like the above instant tattoo. 3 days later, it has almost come off our arm.
(Photos courtesy of Drew Long whose Food & Drink column debuts in the Times-News on Wednesday)
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Comments
Just a general recommendation/question–in the future can you please post information on such events BEFORE they happen, so that those of us who are uninformed might partake if we’re interested? Thanks!
#2, fair point, but not always possible. In the case of Savor, I was given a ticket last minute by a friend. I’d only briefly heard about it before, and it was written up by the Post.
I do undertand your point but if you follow our site on a regular basis I think you’ll find that we almost always do post about future events. It’s the rare exceptions when we have to post after the fact, this was one of those times.
Beer Enthusiasts Take Over Downtown DC . . . small single servings of beer . . . gratuitous swearing by your friends . . . disposal of waste issues . . . this all sounds suspiciously like the Chinatown Market crowd!
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I went on Saturday afternoon and the event was well run. just the right number of people and enough food and two ounce tastings to go around for all.
my bottled favs?
Troegs – Troegenator Double Bock
Abita – Abita Purple Haze (Jimmy Hendrix CD not included)
Dogfish Head – Palo Santo Marron
my tapped favs?
Pelican Pub & Brewery – Le Pelican Brun
Rock Bottom – Lemongrass Saison