Archive for the ‘DC Events’ Category
The Craft Brewer’s Conference Beer & Food Experience
The Craft Brewer’s Conference Beer & Food Experience..
So what happens when a couple thousand or so Brewer’s and their beer-loving cohorts come to DC to partake in a 3 day Conference around Beer? Total Chaos! OK, it wasn’t that crazy (I skipped alot of the Shenanigans..), but it started off for me with a serious beer dinner at Birch & Barley on Monday, March 25th, 2013 – Charlie Bravo Charlie (which stands for Craft Brewer’s Conference..get it??) Rare Beer Dinner: Volume #1
Let’s take you through the menu and beers..
Aperitif: Share the Rainbow a Collaboration by Bluejacket, Allagash and Peekskill Breweries.
Ahi Tartare & Maui Ginger Saison
Dish #1: Ahi Poke Tartare (Soy-Mirin, Tobiko, Wasabi Peas, Wonton, Sesame)
Beer Pairing: Maui Ginger Saison by Maui Brewing Co., Hawaii
Dish #2: Seared Shad Roe (Lemon Puree, Braised Escarole, Sherry-Bacon Sauce, Arugula)
Beer Pairing: Surly Smoke Lager by Surly Brewing Co., Minnesota
Shad Roe w/ Surly Smoke Lager
Dish #3: Handcut Fettucine (Littleneck Clams, Chili Flake, Toasted Garlic, Crispy Pancetta)
Beer Pairing: Black Stallion by Flying Dog Brewery, Frederick, Maryland
Dish #4: Roasted Squab (Toasted Farro-Marcona Almond, Fresh Radish, Roasted Sunchokes)
Beer Pairing: Barrel-Aged Ghouls Night Out by DC Brau, Washington, D.C.
Dish #5: Fourme D’Ambert (Cream Sherry-Plumped Dark Raisins, Rosemary, Hazelnut Butter)
Beer paired – Firestone Walker (CA) XV
Dessert: Vanilla Bean Cheesecake (Citrus Segments, Blood Orange Sorbet, Ginger-Cardamom Pound Cake, Basil)
Beer Paired – Hunahpu’s Imperical Stout (FL), Cigar City
Roasted Squab – Yumm!
DC Brau Barrel-Aged Ghouls Night Out
Digestif: Odic Equum (Co) Avery Brewing
Brandon Skall of DC Brau!
Meg Parisi – Head Brewer at Bluejacket Brewery, Washington, D.C.
It’s All About the Pie – Makes Me Wanna Shout Pie Competition in DC
This one takes the cake..I mean pie!
This was my “judging” (attendees got to judge – so VERY unofficial!) of an entertaining fundraiser for Martha’s Table called “Make Me Wanna Shout Pie Challenge” held on Saturday, March 23rd, 2013.
First a confession – I’m not much of a dessert eater, and I probably eat less than a dozen pieces of pie in the average year. Pies to me are SO filling and full of sugar normally, that they make me feel stuffed. Still, having been a wine judge, a chocolate judge and who knows what else, I felt I could do this..I mean, taste is personal, and I’m in tune with my own palate. I may not be able to detect every nuance in wine or for that matter pies, but I do cook and bake, and I know how ingredients taste when they come together well.
But I also have a slight bias – I prefer foods with a balance of ingredients and decent acidity – if you gave me a chocolate covered piece of chocolate cake smothered in chocolate sauce, that would score VERY LOW to me – and I would call that a “heavy” cake..The same with pie – things that are truly delicious on their own – chocolate sauce, fudge, peanut butter, gooey sauces – can overwhelm my palate when combined. When I was a kid, I LOVED Chocolate Reeses Peanut Butter Cup Cookies, but today I could probably only eat 2 bites – that is simply too heavy for my palate..now if you add a citrus or sour flavored sauce to that, different story!
SPOILER ALERT – Here are the Actual Winners (5 Total)
Pie #6 – Triple-Crust Cast-Iron Skillet Apple Pie This was heavy – heavy/doughy crust, heavy filling and the apples were chewy and didn’t seem acidic enough. This was a “heavy” pie – but of course, made in a Cast-Iron – so you might call this a “country pie”.
Pie # 4 – Old-Fashioned Vinegar Pie My favorite pie or a tie with my other favorite pie which was #3 – Raspberry Rhubarb. I’m not sure if this was the first Vinegar Pie I ever had, but it had a wonderful tartness of cider vinegar against the weight of the eggy filling..ohh, and the crust had tons of butter – Gooood!
Pie #3 – Raspberry Rhubarb – This pie was one of my favorites – both tart and sweet and even rich – according to the pie baker, they use tapioca pudding which acts like a gelatin to give the ingredients some weight..Yummm! Excellent pie crust too, lots o butter..
Pie #2 – Peach Cobbler This was very sweet and on the heavy side..needed some acidity – maybe work on presentation too – but all-in-all very authentic and homey..
Pie #1 – Fruits of the Forest Pie VERY tart, but I tasted it right after a really sweet dessert and it just seemed a bit too tart/acidic..which normally just means add some sugar! Beautiful presentation..
Pie #10 – Chocolate Chess Pie These were mini-pies and I was pretty full at this point. They tasted like pecan pies without the pecans..but I couldn’t detect any chocolate. Not bad, enjoyable, the crust was good too.
Pie #12 – German Chocolate Pie This came in 3rd in my tasting (tie for 1st mentioned above) – it had pecans on top, but was not a pecan pie. I would call this one of the “rich” pies – dessert as a meal in my book – but it had a few real positives which included texture, crunch and a very good crust – this was the only of the “heavy” pies that I gave a top vote..
Pie #9 – P-Chocobana Pie Visually, over the top – and the
The Next Food Network Star?presenter was so Bubbly! It was about 6 inches thick and Rich, rich, RICH! A “heavy” pie with a peanut butter custard filling. Great looking, decent crust, this would go over GREAT for a kids party.
Pie #8 – Dottie Sweet Potato Pie Traditional – this was a very steady original version of this – the maker actually said this was a “slavery recipe” from the 19th century..I would have given this a winning vote, but it is a very simple delicious pie with a very good crust – give it 4th place or 5th place – having said this, there was nothing wrong with this pie – solid!
Pie #7 – Cheryl’s Nice and Naughty Sweet Potato Pie This was good, but very modernized version of Sweet Potato Pie – it was almost a cheesecake with cream cheese added..I liked it, but I wanted whipped cream on top of it – shame on me!
So You Wanna Throw a Beer Festival?
Things don’t always go right when you plan a Big Event – especially in Washington, D.C..
Packed and Chilly..
So I had an “interesting” conversation with the organizer of the inaugural DC Beer Festival a few months before the event. The Organizer was frankly quite cocky about his ability to fill up the event (which he did – pretty unbelievable for a first year event without using Groupon/LivingSocial!) and when I mentioned that he “might not be the first and only beer festival ever”
Lots of Characters Pouring!
Oliver’s Cherry Blossom Ale..it was quite good!
Doing Events in DC is Difficult – I spent 14 years organizing events here and I can tell you that it’s very tricky, especially pertaining to weather: rain, snow, hurricanes, you name it..oh, and let’s not forget post 9-11 Security..tough! I’ve been snowed out of a few events – the Israeli Embassy wine tasting comes to mind – and how do you cover your catering costs? I mean, I ordered $3,500 in food from a kosher caterer, do I expect them to keep the food? At the last second we both compromised and I paid them 50% – which probably covered their food costs and gave them a little extra. How about cancellation and refunds? Oh, and forgot to mention, that the freak snow storm that cancelled the Israeli Embassy event made it very difficult to confirm all the refunds..some people literally came to the event even though we tried every way to tell them it was cancelled..they ignored the blizzard, howling winds and impossible conditions!
Deciding when to limit ticket sales is the balance between profit and insanely crowded..As a promoter, I know how it is – you need to maximize profitability, but you need to consider the attendees experience. Overall, crowding is less desirable to attendees as they get older – they don’t want to be hassled, pushed, shoved or wait in line. The younger crowd actually desires “some” lines – just as in clubs/lounges, this suggests its the place to be!
Choosing the Right Beers Can Make a Statement-Everyone’s into local – Locavore, local beers, local chickens, on and on! DC Beer Festival had a very good mix of beers – Beer List DC Beer Festival. Unfortunately, I don’t have the Beer List, but there was a good selection of many craft beers – even Burley Oak, a relatively new craft beer from Maryland’s Eastern Shore. The trick with Beer Festivals is to promote the local craft beers like DC Brau, Chocolate City and 3 Stars with some of the nationals like Sam Adams and Harpoon..the trick is to include the bigger names without making the event seem like a pure marketing play for Big Beer – it’s really a “craft” beer festival an organizer should go for..
Make sure there is sufficient food Not a problem for this event – many of the Concessions like Ben’s Chili Bowl were open and serving the perfect food for the conditions – chili cheese fries and dogs! Food Costs usually aren’t an issue for Beer Festivals – they simply don’t include them in the price – but normally beer is unlimited or significant amount of tastings. Each jurisdiction has different laws (for example, Virginia does NOT allow unlimited beer tastings at festivals for a fixed price, so people are normally purchasing sampling tickets). Of course, unlimited beer samplings can create drunkenness issues – especially with today’s high alcohol craft beers – so having a small sample glass, and actually some wait for each beer is a good thing. I will say this – drinking beer in excess is somewhat easier to control than spirits – whiskey festivals can tricky to manage crowd control!
Hope this gives an overview of “some” of the issues pertaining to organizing beer festivals and events in general in the DC Area – Cheers!
Charlie “I Drink on the Job” Adler
Upcoming Festivals:
– Taste of Japan, Thursday April 4th, 801 K Street, NW , Washington DC
– Washington City Paper’s Best Of 2013 Fete Presented by Verizon Wireless, Wednesday April 10th, 801 K Street, NW, Washington DC
– Decanter: A Celebration of Maryland Wine and Racing, Saturday April 20th, Pimlico Race Course 5201 Park Heights Avenue , Baltimore MD
Jancis Comes to the Smithsonian
From Jancis Robinson…”the thing I hate is limiting the mouthfuls”….of wine that is 😉
It was a fascinating evening of back and forth banter on Thursday, March 21st, 2013 when Jancis Robinson “performed” at the event “Jancis Robinson Toasts American Wines at the Smithsonian”
Jancis Robinson
Dave McIntyre of both the Washington Post and his own Wine Line Blog interviewed and cajoled Jancis on a comfortable stage setting – the two seated in “comfy chairs” (OK – bad Monty Python reference! )
Jim Law, Linden Vineyards, Virginia
The discussion related to wine, specificially American, and Jancis’ latest book (with the fellow authorship of Linda Murphy) American Wine: The Ultimate Companion to the Wines and Wineries of the United StatesJancis has a very British speaking style and a dry wit that is best appreciated with a glass of wine. She mentioned that there are now 8,000 wineries in the US – the majority outside of California – and this is part of why America has become a great wine producing region on the international scene. I haven’t read the book, but she mentioned that it was primarily written by Linda Murphy who is a sports writer – and there is very little technical information about wine, the book was designed to be a fun read. I want to say – it is VERY difficult to make talking about wine interesting..Dave McIntyre did a very good job by broadening the topic from just American wine into lifestyle (mentions of wine tourism and also Dave’s own organization DrinkLocalWine ) as well as an interesting word association back-and-forth at the end:
Dave: “Natural Wines” ?
Jancis: “Very trendy right now..They have to be good!” (approximation of a quote!)
The Lovely Rachel Martin, Boxwood Estate Winery, VA
American Wines take a BITE out of Europe’s Dominance!
Charlie “I Drink on the Job” Adler
Wine from Idaho!
Wine Events Coming Up Over at TasteDC:
–DrinkLocalWine Conference, Saturday April 13th, Tremont Suites Hotel, Baltimore MD
–Local Wines from Local Vines, Thursday April 25th – Anne Arundel Community College
–Wines of Portugal 2013 Annual Grand Tasting (Special Discount..) National Tour comes to Washington, D.C., Thursday May 2nd, “W” Hotel Washington D.C.
DC Whiskey Walk – No Green Beer Here!
I expanded my Irish Whisky tasting experience by 111%..
Whiskey #1: Tyrconnell Whiskey at James Hobans
The DC Whiskey Walk came to Washington, D.C. on Saturday, March 9th, 2013 as a first time event. The concept was developed by the original promoters of the Beerathon which began in New York City, but has since been launched in many cities including Washington, D.C. – The DC Beerathon.
I actually hadn’t really intended to go on the tour, but when I stopped to say “Hi” to Daniel (the DC Based Organizer), he told it would be fun..so I signed up and went for my first shot!
Overview of the event-this was essentially a crawl: each bar had a set whiskey shot pour of about 1 oz. (sometimes they were larger!) and 1 Irish Whiskey to choose from. Each attendee wears a laminated card with a list of bars and shots on it (so it’s hard to get lost) and each establishment punches a hole in the card so that no one can return and sneak an extra shot. There were also beer specials for people on the Walk at each stop..sometimes a beer settles the tummy a bit!
Shot #2: Powers Special Reserve 12 Year at Science Club
Shot #3: Jameson’s at Mackey’s
The Audience – As you would expect, this was mostly a 20 Something crowd and many were in groups. There are two kinds of people on this tour: Sippers and Shooters. I was just enjoying sipping, hanging and walking, the tour took me about 5 hours to complete, no rush. The Shooters were quicker at both drinking their shot and travelling to the destination bars. Overall, this event is really for younger people in groups – I would call it a more upscale crawl then many of the Irish pub tours in town, but all in all, it is still an excuse to get a bit tipsy as a St. Patrick’s celebration!
Shot #4: Red Breast at Irish Whisky House
I’m also the Administrator of DC Whiskey Drinkers on Facebook, so I felt a need to give this event, well, uhh, a shot! Overall, I really enjoyed the Irish Whiskies and I would say that there is value to aging them like Scotches. Because 8 shots
Shot #5: Jameson 12 Year Special Reserve at Madhatter
is a wee bit of a challenge (but it took me almost 5 hours..so that’s reasonable!) I would say my palate was slightly challenged near the end. There is little or no peat in any of these whiskies, so you get the whiskey caramel, bite and finish..overall, Irish whiskies are pretty “clean” – direct flavors and easy smooth finish.
Shot #6: Kilbeggan at the Board Room
Hey, you can even see this event reviewed on Yelp!
Conclusion:The quality of whiskies was very good, but maybe the time was a bit spread out – the first few hours had few people and then around 3 pm I began to see larger numbers of people. I’m sure the Organizers are concerned about people rushing their drinking, so I understand the fact that the event goes from Noon to 2 AM. Some bars were more accomodating than others (one of my favorite bars Maddys ran out of glasses and served us our shot in a plastic condiment cup!)
Cheers!
Charlie “I Drink on the Job” Adler
Buy the Book on Amazon – I Drink on the Job
Upcoming Whiskey and Spirits Events at TasteDC:
Shot #7: Jameson 12 Year Special Reserve at Maddy’s – C’mon Maddy’s, what’s with the plastic cups??
-April 10th, Wednesday – DC Whisky Guild Cruise 2013
-April 11th, Thursday – 1.5-Hour Scotch Whisky Tasting (LivingSocial)
-April 25th, Thursday – The Rum Diaries: An Introduction to Rum
Shot #8: Powers Gold Label at Buffalo Billiards