Favorite Beers at SAVOR 2011

[jrichstar]

Wanted to share highlights with those who attended SAVOR this weekend and others who might be interested. There were certainly too many good ones to mention. Here a few that I thought were really great and unique as well. What were your favorites?

Harpoon Munich Dark: a really drinkable dark. Looks like a stout but sessionable like a pale.

Yazoo Rye Saison: a number of good saisons....the rye in this one added an extra dimension that I thought was great.

New Holland Envious: listed as a raspberry fruit beer but really more of a touch that really added a lot to the whole package.

Rogue Creamery 75th Anniversary: I asked the guy from the brewery what the style was. He said it was a mixture of everything. What do you think? It seemed to be a sweetish brown or black IPA.

[Pizzaandbrew]

Wanted to share highlights with those who attended SAVOR this weekend and others who might be interested. There were certainly too many good ones to mention. Here a few that I thought were really great and unique as well. What were your favorites?

Harpoon Munich Dark: a really drinkable dark. Looks like a stout but sessionable like a pale.

Yazoo Rye Saison: a number of good saisons....the rye in this one added an extra dimension that I thought was great.

New Holland Envious: listed as a raspberry fruit beer but really more of a touch that really added a lot to the whole package.

Rogue Creamery 75th Anniversary: I asked the guy from the brewery what the style was. He said it was a mixture of everything. What do you think? It seemed to be a sweetish brown or black IPA.

Avery Dios - brewed with bacon wrapped dates (I believe) and aged in Cabernet Sauvignon barrels. Insane goodness

The folks behind the event truly stepped up the food this year (kudos Teddy Folkman and anyone else involved).

The parting gift of Jim Koch and Sam Calagione's Savor Flowers Beer awesome.

[petercarrjones]

Not Savor, per se.. but Jack Rose's Alaskan Brewery tasting on Friday was fantastic. A very intimate and informative talk with the head brewer/owner, their top beers, and really great food pairings from the roofdeck kitchen. Obviously the Smoked Porter (really wished for some vertical tastings) and Alaskan Amber were great, but the kolsch with smoked salmon was a pleasant surprise. The food/beer format and meeting the actual brewer made me pine for the real Savor experience. Going to have to try extra hard for tix next year.

[jrichstar]

Avery Dios - brewed with bacon wrapped dates (I believe) and aged in Cabernet Sauvignon barrels. Insane goodness

The folks behind the event truly stepped up the food this year (kudos Teddy Folkman and anyone else involved).

The parting gift of Jim Koch and Sam Calagione's Savor Flowers Beer awesome.

I agree that the food was a step-up in quality. But I'd also say that most of the food that was meant to be hot was either cold or barely warm. This definitely lessened the overall food experience. I understand that when serving massive quantities of food it's a challenge to keep food warm. Is it possible to have warming trays at every station, especially given the great financial success of the event?

The Savor Flowers beer was an excellent and unexpected nice touch.

[SeanMike]

Not Savor, per se.. but Jack Rose's Alaskan Brewery tasting on Friday was fantastic. A very intimate and informative talk with the head brewer/owner, their top beers, and really great food pairings from the roofdeck kitchen. Obviously the Smoked Porter (really wished for some vertical tastings) and Alaskan Amber were great, but the kolsch with smoked salmon was a pleasant surprise. The food/beer format and meeting the actual brewer made me pine for the real Savor experience. Going to have to try extra hard for tix next year.

I ended up at the 8 PM one. Loved the beers and the food it was paired with.

Their owner/brewer was clearly quite passionate and I loved some of the historical parts he brought up - it was too bad as the night went on he had to get a bit loud to be heard...

[Pizzaandbrew]

I agree that the food was a step-up in quality. But I'd also say that most of the food that was meant to be hot was either cold or barely warm. This definitely lessened the overall food experience. I understand that when serving massive quantities of food it's a challenge to keep food warm. Is it possible to have warming trays at every station, especially given the great financial success of the event?

The Savor Flowers beer was an excellent and unexpected nice touch.

I have encouraged anyone who's ear I can bend to find a way to involve DC chefs inspired by beer. The encouragement isn't falling on deaf ears but the reality of the logistics is proving to be quite the challenge. The improvements this year I believe are testament to the desire to make this a killer event. The peripheral events are getting better and better though, truly making this a notable celebration. Flying Dog had an amazing thing on Thursday with Bryan Voltagio's involvement with speakers ranging from a local farmer and AU professor speaking to hop sustainability to the brewery owners, brewers and even a European importer. Additionally, while this week is Utopia for many of us, its pre-season for many of the folks involved (Philly Beer Week next week is the true season opener followed by a relentless stream of like-minded events all over the country all summer and fall long).

[Choirgirl21]

Rogue Creamery 75th Anniversary: I asked the guy from the brewery what the style was. He said it was a mixture of everything. What do you think? It seemed to be a sweetish brown or black IPA.

Thanks for sharing. I am pretty enamored with Rogue so will have to seek this out.