Of all the possible porch-based activities, listening to records and drinking beer are two of my favorites. So I was pretty eager to chip in on a National Public Radio story pairing jazz tunes with beers. There was milk stout and IPA. There was Charles Mingus and Quarteto Novo. There was also smart, newbie-friendly guidance by NPR’s Lars Gotrich, who turned me onto some great bands for summer listening.

Read More “Pairing Beer With Jazz: Beerspotter on NPR” »

I asked on Friday, “Does Congress hate small breweries?” The answer, it seems, is no.

Members of the Senate Finance Committee, who are considering changing the way alcohol is taxed to raise money for health care reform, sent out a press release this morning that indicates they haven’t forgotten about microbrewers and other small businesses. The downy-soft headline, “Lawmakers Concerned About Unfair Penalties on Small Businesses.”

Read More “Congress: No, We Don’t Hate Small Breweries” »

Boy did The Brickskeller get it wrong. They hosted a tasting Thursday with Carol Stoudt, “Queen of Hops” at Stoudt’s Brewing Company, at which they would also be selling sample pours of rare and vintage beers. The website declared:

Many of these extremely rare beers will never be offered again so if you miss the worlds (sic) sexiest Grandmother you are missing the grandmother of all extreme beer lineups too!

I’m not protesting the “sexiest grandmother” title — that’s a lose-lose argument — but the ‘Skeller’s mistake was in touting the “extreme” beers when the true star of the night was Stoudt’s lineup of quiet, balanced, even conservative offerings. With so many American microbreweries scooping up hops by the ton and barrel-aging anything that foams, a crisp pilsner or a well-executed hefeweizen can be damn refreshing.

Stoudt’s is a family-owned brewery from Adamstown, Pa., about half an hour from Lancaster, the heart of Pennsylvania Dutch country. The family opened a German restaurant in 1962, which is still open today under the name Black Angus. The brewery was born in 1987. German heritage can still be seen in many of their beers, most notably their wheat and lager offerings, both of which use yeast from the heralded Weihenstephaner brewery. (Weihenstephaner was my personal favorite from last summer’s Wheat and Lowdown taste-off.)

Of the eight beers we sampled, not all were stellar, and there were one or two I wouldn’t drink again. But without fail, every beer nailed two things: carbonation and mouthfeel. All of the brews were full on the palate — light and refreshing where appropriate, but never fizzy or watery. These are hard things to get right, especially with the lighter styles Stoudt’s specializes in, and compared to the hop bombs of late, their line-up was restrained, balanced, and almost zen. I think they helped my chi.

Read More “Cool Hand Carol: Stoudt’s Beer Flaunts Their Zenlike Balance at the Brickskeller” »

In the middle of D.C. Beer Week, a celebration of American microbrews, Special Selections of French Craft Beer seemed like an affront, a duel, an effeminate glove slap to the face. But it was hosted by Brasserie Beck. I figured if that Belgian-only haven could open its doors to not one, but five, French beers, I could swallow my xenophobia for the night, too.

Then I found out the tasting would be led by Jocelyn Cambier, not only a Frenchman but also a wine importer, who had recently ventured into frog beer. It sounded as fun as being lectured on pizza by a Kyoto’s finest sushi chef. Yet there I was, off to hear about beer from a wine-drinking surrender monkey. C’est la vie.

But surely, even in France, there must be some beer worth seeking out, if only as evangelical fodder to coax wine snobs over to our side. If nothing else, I figured I’d come away with some new additions my food vocabulary (“agrestic”?) or a tip on expressive hand gestures.

Read More “The Beerspotter Reviews His Drool List from the French Craft Beer Event” »

At its worst, attending a food or drink “tasting” means borrowing a nice jacket, thinking about my pinky placement, and committing that heinous act of criminal waste: the swish-and-spit. It begs a level of restraint that I have a hard time keeping in front of exciting beer. I’m getting better -–- I now slow my drinking when my notes devolve into emoticons –– but it’s easier to stop and smell the roses with the help of an instructor.

There are few better instructors than Garrett Oliver (pictured), Brooklyn Brewery brewmaster and cultural ambassador to a nation of enthusiastic guzzlers. He led a tasting, “The Art of Barrel-Aging Beer,” at the National Geographic Society last week, with eight beers that have enjoyed woody hibernation. (See the Drool List below.)

Oak barrels were the original beer vessel, the wood being dense enough to hold liquid but pliable enough to be bent into slats. Today’s stainless steel kegs are nonreactive, but early brewers scorched their wood with boiling water and even hydrochloric acid to get their barrels flavor-neutral. (Though as Radioactive Man can tell you, such a strong acid will leave a mark on barrels as well as protective goggles.)

Now craft brewers are finding the good in wood. Because it’s porous, wood allows for very slow oxidation, which can make darker, malty beers more complex. Wood can also host microflora, bacteria that add the sourness to wild ales and lambics.

Read More “Garrett Oliver Rolls Out the Barrel (Beers)” »

It’s been a long time coming — hell, I remember talking to Wemple about it three years ago — but we’ve finally launched the Young & Hungry newsletter. (The sign up box is to your right!) The weekly e-mail will feature the latest stories and food tips from the Y&H blog as well as the frothiest finds from Orr Shtuhl and the Beerspotter team.

Each week, we’ll also feature a Restaurant Rater of the Week, which means that your review could be blasted to the thousands of eaters already on our mailing list.

But best of all, subscribers to the newsletter will have the inside track on special restaurant discounts as well as the latest information on events and gatherings designed just for our beloved group of Restaurant Raters. So what are you waiting for? Sign up and join the Y&H Army!

“What’s the newest seasonal beer?”
“Where can I find my favorite Pilsener from study abroad?”
“Dammit Orr, you promised me a rare Belgian trippel but the restaurant was out of it when I got there!”

I hear your cries, fellow lushes, imbibers, and beer nerds! And I give you the Beerspotter Twitter feed, with live updates on rare and timely beers across the D.C. metro area. Just go to twitter.com/beerspotter (or City Paper Eats) to see the latest alerts on D.C.-area beer.

This is no one-man task. Spotters, I need your help — especially you folks in Maryland and Virginia. Beerspotter on Twitter is a group account, which means I need you all to contribute. Here’s how:

Read More “Join the Beerspotter Twitter Feed Army” »