If there’s anything that grips Y&H readers, it’s tragedy, and it doesn’t get much more tragic than the homicide of Nori Amaya, the co-owner of Coppi’s Organic on U Street. People were obviously desperate for information on the strangulation. Even our negligible little item was widely visited.

Here’s how the week shook out:

1. Nori Amaya’s Friends and Fans Express Their Grief on Her Facebook Page
2. A Certain Goddamn Budweiser Beer That People Can’t Stop Reading About
   
3. Birch & Barley Opens Today. What’s Inside? (This item is quickly entering Select 55 territory.)
   
4. Tom and Derek Brown to Channel Spirits and Iggy Pop at the Passenger
   
5. D’Acqua Shutters, Ping Pong Dim Sum Set to Open Next Month
   

Dave Chappelle is a comedic genius, and his skit for Samuel L. Jackson Beer compares favorably with any of the fake commercials produced by SNL. 

I wonder if Greg Engert at Birch & Barley/ChurchKey can add this to his 500-plus beer list? Maybe even hire Chappelle to do his Sammy Jackson shtick? It might actually clear out enough people at the Logan Circle hotspot so that I could get a seat.

What a finish! The competition for the top spot in the hearts and minds of Young & Hungry readers was decided by just a single pageview. Guess who won this week?

Nope, not Select 55.

Your fave posts this week:

1. Birch & Barley Opens Today. What’s Inside?
2. Budweiser Launches Select 55, Light Beer Arms Race Gets Absurd
3. Nick Cho’s Tax Troubles: Where Does That Leave Chinatown Coffee?
4. Frank Morales Takes Over as Chef at Jackie’s
5. Dupont BGR: The Burger Joint Set to Open Thursday or Friday [Note: Now scheduled for a Monday opening.]

Let’s just call it Birch & Barley week, shall we? The new Neighborhood Restaurant Group establishment dominated Y&H this week, along with other beer-related posts.

Check it out:

1. Birch & Barley Opens Today. What’s Inside?
2. Budweiser Launches Select 55, Light Beer Arms Race Gets Absurd
3. DC Finally Getting a German Beer Garden? The Lagerheads Share their Outdoor Picks in the Meantime
4. Birch & Barley Opening Tomorrow?
5. Birch & Barley Slated for Summer Opening. Maybe.
   

Believe it or not, there has been other news in the world this week, aside from the opening of Birch & Barley/ChurchKey, the long-awaited Neighborhood Restaurant Group project on 14th Street NW. You wouldn’t know it, though, from all the local food coverage, which has devoted a ton of server space to detailing every nook and cranny and keg at the joint.

Let’s go to the highlights:

• WaPo’s Fritz Hahn has what’s on tap.
• Metrocurean has the glamour shots.
• The Beerspotter breaks down the cask list.

Read More “We Are All Just Pawns in Birch & Barley’s World” »

Late October has proven to be a great time to be a beer lover in DC. Yesterday was a big day, with a beer dinner at Belga Cafe, one at Rock Bottom Arlington, and the glorious opening of Birch & Barley/ChurchKey (whose taps start running at 4pm today).

There’s plenty more beer to drink and fun to be had over the next week. Check out our DC Beer Events Calendar below the list for details on each event.

SATURDAY & SUNDAY, OCTOBER 24 & 25

• Northern Virginia BrewFest at Bull Run Park in Centreville

MONDAY, OCTOBER 26

• Smuttynose Dinner with Lead Brewer Dan Schubert at Birreria Paradiso
• Octoberfest Dinner at Rock Bottom Brewery in Arlington

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 27

• Garrett Oliver Brooklyn Beer Dinner at Brasserie Beck [Sold Out]
• WHY IS THERE BEER? Panel & Tasting at the Brickskeller
• Beer Class & Straffe Hendrik Launch Party at Belga Cafe

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 28

• All-American Harvest Celebration at Granville Moore’s
• Great Pumpkin Beer & Food Tasting at the Black Squirrel

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 30

• Night of the Living Zoo (from the Cauldrons of Magic Hat) at the National Zoo [Sold Out]

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 31

• Sam Adams/Washington City Paper Halloween Bash at RFD

Read More “A Big Week for Beer in DC” »

Bar Trick Challenge – The Impossible Beer Lift – The funniest videos are a click away
In honor of Birch & Barley/ChurchKey’s long-awaited opening, Y&H offers this nifty bar trick that will, no doubt, impress your friends — and annoy the crap out of the servers at the new Logan Circle establishment as the sound of dropping bottles reverberates throughout the place.

Birch & Barley, the oft-promised beer bar and restaurant, will open tonight at 5 p.m. And while we’ve drooled over it for months, we’ve heard little about it other than the numbers they promised: 555 bottles, 50 taps, and 5 casks. I admit I was skeptical, worried that the list would be vaporware like the 1,000+ beer menu at The Brickskeller — but a swing by the bar yesterday put me at ease.

Read More “Birch & Barley Opens Today. What’s Inside?” »

UPDATE: NRG spokesperson Amber Pfau says that Birch & Barley/ChurchKey will open tomorrow, “barring natural disasters.” For an inside look, see Metrocurean’s preview on the place.

The DC-Beer listserv has been humming today on a rumor that Birch & Barley/ChurchKey, the long-awaited twin-concept, beer-soaked bar and restaurant (which is not a gastropub!), will finally open tomorrow. Neighborhood Restaurant Group has been conducting mock services already, but one member of the listserv writes:

My wife got a press release/e-mail in her e-mail from a local business networking group which states that Birch & Barley opens tomorrow.

Beerspotter Orr Shtuhl says the rumors are true, but I’m trying to get confirmation on this from NRG. More as I know it.

For a first yet another peek at the long-discussed Birch & Barley and ChurchKey, check out the ChurchKey blog, launched today with a post by beer director Greg Engert. If you’ve ever asked Engert a question about anything, you know the man’s got some verbosity, and this post is no different. The 900-word treatise covers everything from beer selection to restaurant philosophy to food to temperature and storage. Make that lots of detail on temperature and storage — which is great for drinkers like me who don’t want their beer with icicles in it, or poured anywhere near a frosted mug.

Still no word an opening date, though. I knew you were going to ask.