As one year ends and another begins, the Lagerheads are taking a moment to glance back at the year in beer and reflect. First up, a look at the local front,  in two tomes. Below we give you five of the most influential local happenings in the beer scene in 2009 and what they mean for an up-and-coming beer city like DC. Take a look and tell us what you think.

1. SAVOR (and SAVOR Week) - This May, DC enjoyed the second wildly successful SAVOR food and beer pairing event. It gets our Number 1 spot because of the sheer number of excellent American brewers and breweries it brings to our city. Sure, it’s a fairly expensive and exclusive night of eating, drinking, and schmoozing, but SAVOR also results in an entire week of opportunities to meet and learn from American craft beer celebrities (and more important, DRINK THEIR BEER). Mark your calendars for SAVOR #3, which returns to the National Building Museum on June 5, 2010.
2. First Official DC Beer Week – SAVOR’s success undoubtedly paved the way for our Number 2 item, last August’s inaugural DC Beer Week. Most events sold out, which speaks to the number of locals out there who are interested in learning about and enjoying great beer. Since August, there have been a few just as busy weeks of beer events (remember late October?!), and we expect our DC Beer Events calendar to continue to fill up. So take advantage because there are sure to be DC Beer Weeks, official or not, throughout 2010.

Read More “2009: Looking Back at a Growing Beer City Part 1″ »

Two exciting beer events are coming to D.C. this month — both on the same day. Both parties involved assured me that neither knew the about other, which seems unlikely in a small town with so much tweeting, but I made them all cross their hearts.

Brasserie Beck will host Brooklyn Brewmaster Garrett Oliver, who will pour five of his beers alongside a four-course dinner. The lineup includes two new treats: Reinschweinsgebot, described as “a bacon-infused beer, aged in Rittenhouse rye barrels, fat-washed and then infused with botanicals used in vermouth and bitters.” (Fat-washing is when you pour a flavorful fat into a liquid, let infuse, and then strain out the fat by freezing the liquid and letting the fat coagulate.) Also featured is the beer Manhattan Project, which sounds like an porkless version of the former.

Meanwhile, The Brickskeller hosts a roster of five D.C. beer folk, each of which will present two of their favorite beers and spin stories about each. The speaker list includes Bob Tupper, schoolteacher, beer historian, and the man behind the defunct (but soon returning) Tuppers Hop Pocket Ale. Also on the mic will be Bill Catron, a Belgian brewery rep who was Brasserie Beck’s first beer manager.

So which event to choose? Tough choice, right? Full menus and prices after the jump.

Read More “Two Beer Events on Oct. 27: Bacon Beer and Story Time” »

This Friday in Brussels, at an enthronement ceremony that will kick off a weekend-long celebration of Belgian beer, two of our local heroes will have the honor of being knighted by the Chevalerie du Fourquet des Brasseurs, or Knighthood of the Brewers’ Mashstaff. Thor Cheston, formerly at Birreria Paradiso and now general manager at Brasserie Beck, and Bart Vandaele, owner and executive chef at Belga Cafe are the third and fourth DC-area beer visionaries to be recognized for their efforts to promote Belgian beer.

This weekend’s festivities will double the number of Beer Knights in DC, bestowing on our fair city bragging rights for having more “Sir Beer Guys” than any other city in America.  In 2003, DC beer legend Dave Alexander, co-owner of The Brickskeller, was the fifth American and first American bar owner to be knighted by the Belgian Brewers’ Guild. You may recall all the hubbub just two years ago, when Belgian beer aficionado Bill Catron, the former beer sommelier at Brasserie Beck who is now with DeVinos/D’Vines, was the 13th American to be knighted.

Read More “DC Boasts Two New Belgian Beer Knights” »

As you may have noticed, I’ve changed the title of this weekly feature, which is usually published under the name of Greatest Hits. I have done so out of respect for the top item about the passing of pastry chef Jérôme Girardot. There was nothing great about his untimely death, even if, in life, Girardot repeatedly displayed greatness in his chosen field.

This week’s most-read posts:

1. Ritz Pastry Chef Jérôme Girardot Found Dead in Cameron Station Park
2. A Day in a Life of a Writer for a Newspaper No One Knows About
3. If Carla Hall Becomes the Next ‘Top Chef,’ She Doesn’t Want Her Own Restaurant
4. Former Brasserie Beck Beer Man Bill Catron Now at De Vinos
5. Two Unsolicited Tips for Hostesses and Wait Staffers

Following his surprising departure from Brasserie Beck last month, Bill Catron has already found a new home. The former beer “sommelier” has taken a position at de vinos in Adams Morgan, where he will do for the beer/wine store what he did for his former boss, Robert Wiedmaier, at Beck: He’ll turn de vinos into a Belgian beer destination.

“I thought, ‘Why wouldn’t I put [Belgian beer list] in de vinos and make it affordable?’” Catron says during a phone interview.

Read More “Former Brasserie Beck Beer Man Bill Catron Now at De Vinos” »

Thanks to the power of the internets, the first two spots on this week’s list belong to posts from last week: one on the departure of Bill Catron from Brasserie Beck and the other on the Cameron Perks tragedy. After that, the Top 5 looks like this:

1. The Sounds of Slurping: Get Ready for D.C. Noodle Shops
2. Ray’s the Net Is No More. It’s Now Ray’s: The Catch
3. Beard Semi-Finalists Just Announced: D.C. Is Well Represented
4. So Where the Hell Can You Find Jamie Stachowski Charcuterie in This Town?
5. Pizze in Woodley Park: Taking Aim at the Jumbo Slice Culture

Bill Catron, the man who put together the killer beer list that won a Best of D.C. award last year, is no longer with Brasserie Beck, Robert Wiedmaier’s Belgian-heavy restaurant at 11th and K streets NW. Catron’s duties are being assumed by General Manager Thor Cheston, who’s no stranger to suds. Cheston helped launch Birreria Paradiso in the basement of Ruth Gresser’s Pizzeria Paradiso in Georgetown.

“Robert offered him another position within the company, and Bill declined,” Cheston said this afternoon. The job was a management gig that would allow Catron to continue as beer manager for Beck, Cheston said. The general manager didn’t know why Catron declined the offer, and Beck’s former “beer sommelier” was not immediately available for comment. Catron’s last day at Beck was Jan. 23.

As the new man in charge of the beer list, Cheston doesn’t plan to mess with success—at least too much. He’s already added two German beers, including Weinstephaner Hefeweizen, and he’s thinking about “branching out and doing American versions of Belgian beers.” Cheston is even planning a trip to Belgian to visit two of his favorite breweries, Van Steenberge and Het Anker, to develop a signature beer for Brasserie Beck.

Read More “Beer ‘Sommelier’ Bill Catron Is Out at Brasserie Beck” »