Summer is a busy time for the craft beer scene - pubs across the country haul out the picnic tables, set up umbrellas, and urban beer gardens open up for the warmer weather. Every June, DC is host to a variety of events but SAVOR stands out among them. SAVOR - styled in all capitals, with the tagline "An American Craft Beer and Food Experience" is a traveling beer festival that's all about the relationship between food and beer. Like food and wine, the proper pairing can enhance both food and drink. The was event held at the National Building Museum in Washington, DC, and featured over 80 breweries and 172 beers on tap.
I'd be remiss if I didn't send a huge note of thanks to both Matt and Lindsay at
The Rosen Group, the PR firm who managed media credentials for both CBC and SAVOR. It's thanks to them that I was able to attend both CBC and this event free of charge (no small favor; SAVOR tickets cost $135). However, as always, I do not accept anything free in exchange for a good review - all opinions are my own and completely objective.
I was credentialed media, so I was able to skip the 300-person line and get checked in before the event opened. I got my cool tag below, and was ushered over to a mini bar area where I got my commemorative tasting glass and a sample of this year's special SAVOR collaboration beer - the "SAVOR X." Each year, several breweries collaborate for a special release beer celebrating SAVOR. They had a few on display:
One caught my eye in particular - the rightmost beer on the 2011 shelf...it's the "Terra Incognita"!
I'm a big fan of the third iteration, the "Terra Incognita 3", which I reviewed a while back. I wasn't aware that the first Terra Incognita was made as a SAVOR collaboration beer.
This year, the beer is a 10.00% stout on cocoa nibs made by
Hardywood and
New Belgium. Smooth and sweet, the cocoa really came through and had quite a nice texture. I will likely do a Beer Flash down the road with a full(er) review of this beer.
They had a step-and-repeat set up, so I got this epic photo taken, beer in hand of course. Then it was off to the races! The following reviews are a select number of the ones I actually tried; I wanted to highlight new and interesting things.
First up is Kihei, Hawaii-based
Maui Brewing Co.'s "Black Pearl", a 12.00% ABV imperial coconut porter aged in rum barrels. Starting off strong, I guess. Dark and rich, it poured surprisingly thinly...gave off some alcohol aromas but nothing particularly coconut-y.
Taste-wise, it was quite sweet with strong wood flavors and a mellow, but present, showing of the toasted coconut. The biggest draw was the texture - super thick (in contrast to the pour) and really coats the mouth with some oily notes. Lots of alcohol flavors, perhaps a bit too much for me.
After that whopper of a Jack Sparrow reference, it was on to something a bit lighter - Aero Plains Brewing, out of Wichita, KS. I had their "Dove Runner", a red wheat ale paired with smoked-plum-and-rosemary olive oil cake.
Both the aroma and taste are thin and light, and not in a bad way - the malty wheat flavors are delicate and quite nice. Not a lot of fizz, but a good easy-drinking beer I wouldn't mind having a few of out on the back deck. A nice entry by Aero Plains, and perhaps my first Kansas beer.
A few tables away were the
Sierra Nevada folks, serving up the "Trip in the Woods", a rather peculiar barrel-aged, 11.40% ABV ginger version of their "Bigfoot" barleywine. I have a bottle of Bigfoot aging in my Glastonbury, CT cellar, just waiting for the right moment. They last for a long time; Scott, one of the Sierra Nevada reps, mentioned he has some Bigfoot barleywine from the 90s still cellaring. Woof.
Served with coconut custard puffed rice, this beer was VERY gingery. There's some spice on the aroma, and some alcohol sweetness on the taste typical for most barleywines, but most everything takes a backseat to the freight train of ginger root flavors headed directly for your face. In contrast to
Ballast Point's "Thai Chili Wahoo", this beer was thick and syrupy and the ginger flavors stick in the mouth for quite a long time. Quite nice, and would definitely buy a couple both to enjoy on an early spring night and to cellar.
It's exciting that
The Bruery is here! You may recall
my love affair with their "Autumn Maple", so I was very interested to see what they brought along to SAVOR...it's the "Sans Pagaie", a 5.5% ABV American wood-aged sour! This is The Bruery's take on a Belgian kriek lambic, a kind of fermented cherry beer. Originally its own beer, it's now marketed under the Bruery
Terreux series. I took 76 pictures at this event, and nowhere in my folder can I find the picture of this beer - so I'm going to use a photo I found online.
 |
| Source: https://hopgeek.wordpress.com/tag/sans-pagaie/ |
I love the color - nice reddish pink. There's a strong wave of cherry (and, interesting, I picked up some grapefruit) but I was most struck by how sour this beer was. Lots of lip-smacking occurred. I like the finish, too - rather long and sweet. Quite strong, these guys really hit this whole sour thing out of the park. This would go great as a dessert beer (or, as the reps suggest, "with a slice of chocolate cake.")
Looking for something a bit softer, I found Woburn, MA-based Lord Hobo Brewing's "Boomsauce", a 7.80% ABV double IPA paired with snapper ceviche.
Presents a nice IPA crispness, with a tiny zing of tartness, moderate sharpness, and full of soft hops. Pleasing texture, just bubbly enough. Nothing super exceptional, but nice. Due to my seafood allergy, I can't try the snapper but it looked tasty!
Back to Maui Brewing to try their second offering, an 8.20% ABV imperial golden ale called "Liquid Breadfruit". It's kind of a play on words - beer has traditionally been called "liquid bread", and this beer has infused Hawaii's native breadfruit and papaya seeds.
According to the reps at the Maui table, the yeast for this beer was found in Delaware with the help of Dogfish Head Brewing Co. I was particularly pleased at the tropical citrus notes - I don't know if it's the papaya or the breadfruit, but lots of citrus brightness here. There's not a lot of acidity or bitterness, either. If you're a fan of fruity beers, give this a spin (although it's retired, now, so you might only be able to find it in Hawaii.)
Close by was
Adroit Theory Brewing Co., based close to the West Virginia border in Purcellville, VA. They're right down the street
from Catoctin Creek Distillery. What looked most interesting in their lineup is the "All I See is Carrion", a 12.20% ABV Belgian quadrupel made with cherries. Soft on the nose without a lot of aroma, this beer pours quickly and generates a tiny layer of clear bubbles.
The obvious comparison here is to
Brewery Ommegang's "Three Philosophers". Thicker than 3P, it's similar in many ways - not oily or overflavored, presents a heavy texture with some more raisiny flavors than expected. In fact, it's perhaps closer to the
"Tetravis" than it is the Three Philosophers. Overall a tasty beer, would be great for a winter's night in front of the fire.
In my opinion, this next beer is one of the stars of SAVOR. It's Minneapolis, MN-based Fulton Brewing Co.'s "One", a 6.70% ABV red ale aged in wine barrels (and the first entry in their Culture Project series.)
According to Tucker Gerrick, director of marketing for Fulton, the "One" is intended to help introduce sour to the Minneapolis beer scene. He was the one pouring the "One" (see what I did there) and we got talking about the inspiration behind this beer as well as the manufacture itself. It's a red ale aged for 14 month in red wine barrels, and uses yeasts like
Brettanomyces and
Lactobacillus. As noted last post, Lactobacillus is often used in sour beers and provides a peculiar sour taste. In this case, the "One" isn't super sour - it's got very pleasant dryness with a strong showing of dry fruit...kinda like those dehydrated mango slices they sell at hipster supermarkets. I like that it's not TOO dry or TOO sour, just the right combination of the two. The finish is moderately-long and presents that nice Brett flavors, with a very refreshing aftertaste.
This is definitely my kind of beer - nice crisp dryness, good fruit flavors, and a slightly sour mouthfeel. Unfortunately this is not distributed here in DC, but try it if you can - it's well worth it! "Culture Two" is coming out, so those in the Minneapolis area should be on the lookout.
Right next door is Roadhouse Brewing Co. out of Jackson Hole, WY. On tap here is their "Primal Rouge", a 7.50% ABV Flanders red ale paired with rabbit rillette and apple pecan gremolata. I've been on a Flemish red kick lately so this caught my eye.
It pours a hazy red with some thin white bubbles. Tart and sour in a grape kind of way, and very interestingly, the tartness isn't at all lingering - there's just a sharp burst of sour, accompanied by fruit, then fades away. Nice continuing fruit flavors on the aftertaste. I'd suggest this perhaps for sour beer newcomers, since it's quite approachable.
Keeping on with this sour ale theme, I found
FATE Brewing Co.'s "Pinot Noir Gose", a 4.9% ABV Leipzig gose paired with charcuterie and fig. It's also known, online, as "Pinot Noir Uror."
Tart, zingy, reminds me of Deschutes' "Pinot Suave", which I had at the Craft Brewer's Conference. I like the salt in this beer, makes it quite refreshing and clean. What struck me the most was the pinot noir flavors...usually, such an inclusion in beer is just an influence, not an outright flavor. Right on! A soft a slightly sugary finish, I found this to be a fine beer worthy of trying again.
Cheese break! After all this drinking I needed a snack. On the second level of the venue, there were a variety of taps set up as well as food stations...they had a cheese area, a raw oyster bar, a chocolate station, and allegedly a charcuterie area (I say allegedly because it's marked on the event map, but when I got there - empty table.) The cheese spoke my name and so I got in line. They had cheese curds, cheddar, gouda, and pretzels:
After a few minutes of enjoying the view (and drinking lots of water) it's back to the party. I always make it a point to try beer from new breweries (and states I've never tried anything from!) so I was naturally drawn to this - the 8.60% ABV "Albus Quercus", a specialty saison from
La Cumbre Brewing Co. out of Albuquerque, NM.
It's not your usual saison - lots of bready malts and a bit musty, which was interesting. It wasn't tart or sweet at all, and had some strong carbonation (and produces a puffy white head.) I'd say this is medium-to-light bodied with an interesting set of flavors - nice to try!
I admit - I came to the following table just for the name of this beer. While I've enjoyed stuff by
Brooklyn Brewing before, it's not my favorite brewery, however I was intrigued when I saw this:
The "Cloaking Device", a 10.50% ABV strong ale made with Brettanomyces yeast (one which I suspect is not in violation of the Treaty of Algeron!) It's a porter aged on French oak for nine months, then aged with Champagne yeast. It pours a root beer color, and is reddish-purple when candled:
It's quite sweet, with heavy bourbon notes immediately upon drinking.There's delicious notes of chocolate, red wine, and toffee tossed in, too, and those flavors really hold on to you as the beer finishes. Long lingering aftertaste of bourbon and wood. Wow. If you're a big fan of darker, woodier porters, give this one a go!
By this point, I was getting pretty tired and full, but I was able to swing by one more: it's New Jersey's own
Cape May Brewing Co., serving "The Topsail", a 9.90% ABV sour blonde ale aged in used beer barrels. This is one release in a series of "Topsail" beers.
It's not terribly sour at the beginning. There's strong, upfront flavors of tart fruit and ends with a bang - nice burst of lactic sour. I can't detect the wood, but I'm sure the aging process has affected the sourness. It's also bottle conditioned, so maybe grab one and stick it in the cellar for two years and see what comes.
Well, that's it. I headed out the door, commemorative glass (and special beer bottle in hand!) What an event. Unlike the Craft Brewers Conference, which is more technical and focuses a lot on chemistry, marketing, and agriculture - SAVOR is all about food and beer pairings and is meant to be enjoyed. If you like beer or food, make sure to sign up next year!
