Tonight, ChurchKey taps the only cask in town of Bell's coveted Hopslam. Meanwhile,  Smith Commons is hosting a whole dinner dedicated to out-of-market beers and unusual pairings: the goat cheese ravioli with raisin puree and pop rocks matched up with Hair of the Dog Brewing Co.'s "Fred" certain sounds interesting. Ditto the braised pork belly with coffee  and smoked bacon paired with Alaskan Brewing Co.'s "Smoked Porter." Also on the agenda: the debut of the new Black & Orange on 14th Street, with its brand-new "Hair of the Dog" burger, as well as the opening of Unum, the new Georgetown restaurant by former Equinox sous chef Phillip Blane. Also, the grand pig-out procession known as D.C. Meat Week converges on Alexandria's Pork Barrel BBQ.

Coming up: on Wednesday, D.C.'s most talented pastry chefs show off their skills at the annual Sugar & Champagne charity event at the Ronald Reagan Building. And, on Thursday, Church & State debuts its new cocktail list, with each libation created in tribute to one of the biblical seven deadly sins. For our purposes, gluttony seems an apt choice.

For more info, click on any link in the Y&H food events calendar above.

Got something tasty going on? Email tips, daily special and event listings to hungry@washingtoncitypaper.com

What's so special about Hopslam? City Paper's former "Beerspotter" columnist Orr Shtuhl explored the brew's ambrosial qualities in this very space two years ago. For a fresh perspective on its lingering popularity, Y&H turned to—who else?—ChurchKey's walking malt-and-hops encyclopedia Greg Engert, who reminds us of the local connection between the city and its most sought-after seasonal import. Engert points out that Bell's Brewery founder Larry Bell had attended George Washington University and it was here in D.C. where the young collegian turned into a hophead. “He started drinking craft beer at the Brickskeller and it really opened his eyes and got him to start brewing himself in 1985," Engert says.

ChurchKey's brewhound-in-chief is especially fond of Bell's ultra-hoppy suds. “I think this beer is phenomenal,” he says. “I sold 24 bottles of it the first night it came in ($9 apiece), based on just one tweet. I would put it up against any Imperial I.P.A. in the country. It’s beautifully balanced, hoppy but not a fruit bomb. Not too piney, but with great tropical fruit and herb notes. It’s everything you could want out of Pacific Northwest hops.”

Sipping the stuff during our conversation at Engert's noted beer hall on 14th Street NW the other night, I had to agree. I tend to dislike hoppy beers. No, I take that back, I despise them (apologies to my beer expert uncle, Peter). Probably has something to do with how my palette was ruined by Busch Light and Natural Light in college. But Hopslam has a roundness that sets it apart from the overly bitter pales I’ve tried in the past. I enjoyed it.

Engert also explains that Hopslam is unique because Bell’s Brewery has never changed its annual, small-batch approach to allocating the beer, despite demand that has increased year after year. In fact, as the appetite for craft beer in D.C. has grown and more high quality watering holes have opened, Engert has seen his yearly allotment go down.

Yet, somehow, he still manages to get an exclusive:  “We have the only cask of Hopslam in the area, and we’re tapping it for a special event next week,” he says (details here).

But whither Hopslam? Can its appeal last forever, in D.C. or elsewhere? Despite changes in craft brew culture, which have new breweries constantly cranking out special batches and one-off beers, Engert still believes Hopslam reigns supreme. “There’s not going to be another Hopslam,” he says. “This beer comes from a different era. It has such credibility because it has been so good for so long.”

Image courtesy of Bell's Brewery

Cedric Maupillier

Cookie-themed café Uncle Chip's has opened in Truxton Circle [Prince of Petworth]

Oh, truck it: The guys behind nightspots Ultrabar, Lima, and Barcode are launching two new food trucks. One is Latin themed. The other is Italian. [Dining Bisnow]

Who cares about the Top 100 Very Best Restaurants? D.C. standouts ChurchKey and Ripple each make the grade on Garden & Gun's coveted Top 50 Southern Bars list. [Washingtonian]

How many local bars, restaurants and breweries incorporate the D.C. flag into their logos? Let's see. There's The Passenger, District Kitchen, Sticky Fingers Bakery , DC Empanadas, Chinatown Coffee Co.,  DC Brau, Chocolate City Beer, Three Stars Brewing.... [Metrocurean]

Photo courtesy of Mintwood Place

Megan Parisi

Photo by Tomasz Sienicki/Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 Generic license

Hungry for Chinese peasant food the way they used to make it? You know, during the rule of Mao Zedong? There's a book for that. [NPR]

Iconoclastic Alamo Drafthouse aims to open in the District. [Arts Desk]

The Monocle isn’t usually open on Saturday or Sunday. But, for Restaurant Week, the closest restaurant to the Capitol building made an exception. Maybe it shouldn't have. [The Root DC]

The Inn at Little Washington in Virginia earns its 24th straight five-diamond rating from AAA, a record stint for non-suckitude. [Eater DC]

D.C.'s Bier Baron and ChurchKey retain standing among Draft magazine's 100 best beer bars. Notable local omissions: Meridian Pint, Brasserie Beck, Pizzeria Paradiso and Black Squirrel. [DCist]

Making its debut at Smoke & Barrel, DC Brau’s newest draft "Thyme After Thyme" pleases one critic much more than the food. [DC Dining]

Photo by Mr Wabu/Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license

Does paying a little more for that hormone-free, veggie-fed beef burger at Black & Orange make you feel good enough to justify the money? [A Hamburger Today]

ChurchKey not only stocks some 555 types of beer—it also serves upwards of 1,558 tater tots in a single night. [CityEats]

Washingtonian critics aren't looking for free food, no matter what anonymous haters say. [Eater DC]

No, seriously, is this José Andrés' place? [HuffPo]

Tonight, the newly rebranded 2100 Prime (ex-Jockey Club) caters a splashy—and I mean, splashy!—opening reception for the Capital Wine Festival at the Fairfax Hotel. Sip on samples from two Virginia wineries, Leesburg's Tarara Vineyards and Middleburg's Boxwood Vineyards, and some 45 others. Admission is $65 per person, with buffet fare included. Across town, Belga Cafe celebrates the national drink of its thematic homeland with a three-course Genever-themed dinner for $39 per person.

Tomorrow, the National Portrait Gallery hosts a reception for slow-food pioneer Alice Waters, with light grub whipped up by Restaurant Eve's Cathal Armstrong, Graffiato's Mike Isabella, Equinox's Todd Gray and Proof's Haidar Karoum; drinks by Karoum's cocktail counterpart Adam Bernbach. Tickets are $100.

Coming up: ChurchKey beer director Greg Engert launches his new "Beer Academy" at Rustico in Arlington and the Newseum hosts its Saturday Night Sips reception for charity, featuring food and drink from some of the area's brightest cooks and bartenders.

For more info, click on any link in the Y&H food events calendar above.

Got something tasty going on? Send tips, daily specials and event listings to hungry@washingtoncitypaper.com

Squid ink and saffron pasta with lobster and cherry tomato confit at Elisir

Really, it's OK to slurp your noodles at Toki Underground [NBC Washington]

The new management at beleaguered Shaw's Tavern is feeling optimistic about its chances. Maybe someday soon, the place will actually be allowed to serve drinks. [Eater DC]

The couple behind Le Caprice DC in Columbia Heights aims to “make people stop saying you can’t get a good baguette in this town.” [Washingtonian]

St. Arnold's new location in Cleveland Park is opening soonish. [Prince of Petworth]

Birch & Barley/ChurchKey boss Michael Babin is a stickler for soft lighting, among other things, at all his restaurants. [Flavor]

Hunting for duck fat? Here's where to look. [Metrocurean]

Julia Child's kitchen exhibit at the Smithsonian is closing. [Post]

A love letter to Taylor Gourmet. [Borderstan]

Check out the full video below.

Get the full details, if you're interested, below:

Beer Director Greg Engert Introduces The Beer Academy at Rustico

Get Schooled on the Basics of Beer at Brew U.

Arlington, VA − On Saturday, January 21, Rustico, located at 4075 Wilson Blvd. in Arlington, will officially become home to The Beer Academy a.ka. Brew U.  Guided by Neighborhood Restaurant Group’s Beer Director Greg Engert, The Beer Academy will offer a comprehensive curriculum for beer enthusiasts with two-hour tutorials, once a month for the entire year. Each class will be held from 1 PM to 3 PM on Saturdays at Rustico in Arlington, and is priced at $24 per person. With a Food & Wine “Sommelier of the Year” as their guide, students will receive a first-class education, as well as tastes of at least six beers, hand selected by Greg to exemplify the featured theme of each class.

Those who attend the inaugural class on Saturday, January 21 will get schooled on Tasting Craft Beer: Examining the Flavor Spectrum across the History of Beer. During this course, students will be led on a journey through Greg’s flavor profiles (Crisp, Hop, Malt, Roast, Smoke, Fruit & Spice, Tart & Funky), while sipping and studying six different beers. Future classes will focus on topics such as casks ales, sour ales, farmhouse ales of the world, and brewing locally vs. locally sourced brewing. To heighten the experience, Rustico will offer their full brunch menu a la carte with standouts such as buttermilk biscuit sliders, sweet potato skins and crispy deviled eggs to the attendees.

The Beer Academy will commence on January 21 and run every four weeks, with subsequent classes scheduled for February 18, March 17, April 14, May 12 and June 9. Dedicated students, who wish to enroll in the full year will receive a discount of $6 off each class (additional discounts for packages of three, six and nine classes are also offered). To reserve a spot for The Beer Academy please call Rustico at (571) 384-1820.

As the beer director for Neighborhood Restaurant Group, Greg Engert draws on his extensive beer knowledge to create the beer programming for the company’s ten concepts.  To source unparalleled selections, Engert works with breweries around the globe both renowned and remote to find the best beers available. Engert specializes in domestic microbrews as well as international craft rarities that are not readily available in the United States. Recognized for his work, Engert has been featured in The New York Times, USA Today, Food & Wine, Food Arts, The Washington Post, Washingtonian, Beer Advocate, All About Beer, Imbibe, Draft and Mid-Atlantic Brewing News and appeared on national television programs such as Cooking Channel’s Foodography and Unique Eats.

About Rustico

Rustico is a neighborhood restaurant that pairs honest, robust cooking with an amazing beverage program. With a cache of over 400 beers, a bustling bar scene and a passionate kitchen committed to its craft, Rustico is a restaurant to visit with family and friends time and time again. Rustico in Ballston is located at 4075 Wilson Blvd. in Arlington, VA. For reservations or more information please visit www.rusticorestaurant.com or call 571-384-1820.