The night before SAVOR has traditionally (three years' worth anyway) had two big events in D.C. The Lupulin Reunulin at RFD, which is hosted at the Brickskeller this year and called ReunuLess in honor of the absence of several key Lupulin competitors, is as formal as a beer panel and tasting/roast can be with brewers like Rob Tod from Allagash, Sam Calagione of Dogfish Head and Bill Madden of Mad Fox poking fun at each other while sharing their most innovative beers with a room full of loyal beer enthusiasts.

While that event's tickets are long gone, the other Friday-before-SAVOR tradition is an informal hang at Birreria Paradiso in Georgetown where many of the brewers and brewery staff in town for Saturday's big event pass the night ordering from the bar's outstanding beer list.

This year Southampton Publick House brewer Phil Markowski will be on hand with copies of his book, Farmhouse Ales: Culture and Craftsmanship in the Belgian Tradition and Flying Dog brewer Matt Brophy will be there with a cask of Flying Dog Raging Bitch  and a keg of Flying Dog Gonzo Imperial Porter (settle down, it's not the aged one).

Other breweries that are likely to have representation are Ommegang, Victory, and Three Floyds, but many surprise guests are sure to drop in. This event has no cover and is open to as many beer fans as can fit in Pizzeria Paradiso's Georgetown basement. If you were bummed about not having tickets to Lupulin tonight, we hope news of this brewers' party at Birreria will cheer you up. If you are taking tonight off but up for more beer fun over the weekend, check out our SAVOR Week event master list for your options.

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For all its storied beer history, the Czech Republic has essentially two beer styles: dark and light. It’s a spartan selection even in comparison to Germany and its Reinheitsgebot. There’s the dark, chocolaty cerny (pronounced with a “ch” sound), and there’s pilsner, the famous light-colored lager from the city of Plzen. Poured fresh, they’re clear, bready, crisp, and delicious — and the reason Czechs drink more beer per capita than any country in the world.

But the best pilsner is a fresh pilsner, which is why the Pilsner Urquell we get in the States tastes like detergent. (An unfiltered keg of the stuff, a rare find even in Prague, is the beer equivalent of fresh-squeezed OJ.) In D.C., it doesn’t get better than Victory Prima Pils for a crisp, hoppy take on the style, while pilsners are always good choices at brewpubs like District Chophouse and Capitol City Brewing Co. In Virginia, seek out a bottle of Legend Pilsner, a slightly sweeter, appley version. And if you must try an import, start with Czechvar, the nom de plume of Budvar, the original “Budweiser.”

Cerny beers are equivalent to German dunkels, or schwarzbiers. They’re malty, with sweetness ranging from sticky caramel to deep, burnt molasses. Dunkels aren’t common in America, but they are growing. Duck Rabbit recently brewed a wonderfully charred seasonal schwarzbier, while Samuel Adams tasty Black Lager has more of a coffee profile. For a Czech taste, you can try Krusovice, which crops up now and then in good beer stores.

So there you have it: two beer styles. I’m particularly partial to a fresh pilsner, but they both have their merits. So try one or two of each — and then be thankful you live in America, where we can pretty much drink anything in the world.

In the September/October issue of Imbibe, the editors selected their 99 favorite beers in different categories, such as seasonals or beers to drink with a burger. In "Imbibe Vs. Beerspotter," Y&H's Beerspotter takes each list to task.

The editors of Imbibe write that their ideal burger beers "complement, rather than overwhelm" the flavors of their burger. I suppose that's fine if you're writing from Portland, Ore. — the dry, hoppy Victory Prima Pils does cut through unctuous beef fat like, um, a knife through unctuous beef fat. But in D.C., where our chain burgers are Five Guys and our boutique patties are presidential, we want our beers to punch their weight.

I want my burger juicy in the middle and charred on the outside, and I want a Stone Smoked Porter to go with it. Its bittersweet chocolate flavors give it a hefty body, while a dose of smoked malt puts grill marks on your pint glass. Nonsmokers should try Duck Rabbit Schwarzbier, a black lager that swaps the smoke for chewier flavors in the form of toasted coffee. Samuel Adams Black Lager would do in a pinch, too.

What do you drink with your burger? Tweet up @Beerspotter!

Imbibe picks:

• Anderson Valley Poleeko Gold Pale Ale

• Bear Republic Racer 5
• Deschutes Mirror Pond
• Firestone Walker Pale 31
• Full Sail Session
• Sierra Nevada Pale Ale
• Trumer Pils
• Uerige Obergärige
• Widmer Drifter
• Victory Prima Pils

At some point, everyone has wondered why the latter three Belgian beers have been named in relation to each other. Is there math involved? If so, what factor is being multiplied? Speculation runs high, and we have heard claims of all kinds. "The styles have twice, three times, and four times the alcohol content of the monks' basic brew." "No, it's the malt that's doubled, tripled, and quadrupled in the recipes." "It has nothing to do with ingredients. Most people couldn't read back then, so the barrels of types of beer were marked with one, two, or three X's." "It's how many times the beer has been fermented."

Each account has a bit of truth to it, but none is entirely correct. The simplest (while still accurate) answer is that the names have to do with the amount of malt used. However, the full explanation has more to do with an old brewing process in which the same malt was used for multiple batches of beer than it does with simple math and the unique characteristics that each style has come to exhibit today.

Hopefully those of you who attended the "Hitting for the Cycle" Belgian beer event at Marvin last night got a proper account. Sly Fox brewmaster Brian O'Reilly, who the Lagerheads got to meet during a Pennsylvania brewery tour a few weeks ago, has written what appears to be the most succinct and accurate explanation of the origin of the names available online. (Scroll down to the "From the Brewer" section.) It gets a little technical so you may want to check this out to brush up on the  steps of the brewing process and basic brewing terminology before reading it. (Beer Snob Warning: In the video, they use hop pellets instead of flowers and refer to two weeks of conditioning as "aging." Don't hate.)

Historically, the enkels (the monks' basic brew, which the Belgian blonde style most closely resembles), dubbels, and tripels had much more in common with each other. The image above from La Trappe, the Dutch trappist brewery that took the nomenclature one step further by brewing the first "quadrupel," shows how the types of beer compare color-wise today. Below is a bit of information on the three styles and some less obvious examples of each (that is, examples that don't have the word for the style in their name).

THE DUBBEL

• History: First brewed as early as 1856 by the monks at Westmalle
• Characteristics today: rich, malty, some spice aromas, mildly hopped, caramel flavors, decent carbonation
• Alcohol content: 6% to 9% ABV
• Examples: Chimay Premiere/Red, Ommegang (their straight up abbey ale), North Coast Brother Thelonious, Corsendonk Brown, Maredsous 8, Brewer's Art Resurrection

THE TRIPEL

• History: First brewed in 1934 by Westmalle (Belgium)
• Characteristics today: spicy, fruity, sweet, often clove and citrus aromas and flavors, sometimes banana and/or pepper
• Alcohol content: 8% to 12% ABV
• Examples: Chimay Cinq Cents/Tripel (White), Unibroue La Fin du Monde, Victory Golden Monkey, Weyerbacher Merry Monks' Ale, Maredsous 10

THE QUADRUPEL

• History: First brewed in 1991 by La Trappe (Netherlands)
• Characteristics today: rich, malty, very sweet, strong alcohol presence, often dark fruit aroma and flavors
• Alcohol content: 9% to 13% ABV
• Examples: Rochefort 10, Ommegang Three Philosophers, Avery The Reverend, Victory V-Twelve, Allagash Four, Mikkeller Monk's Brew

Now that we've cleared that little matter up, which do you prefer? Tammy was hooked by her first quad, Kasteel Bruin, but not many other folks are into them. Bruce can't get enough of the tripels, with Tripel Karmeliet being his favorite. Had a specific brewery's attempt at any of these Belgian beauties and been particulary smitten (or completely unimpressed)? Let us know.

The Lagerheads piqued our interest earlier about a potential D.C. Beer Week in August that would culminate with Brew at the Zoo on August 20.

It's official now: The festivities will run from Aug. 16 to 21, and so far 15 tastings, happy hours, meet-the-brewers, food pairings, and plain old drinking parties have been announced. There's lots of H Street NE action, what with one of the organizers being Teddy Folkman of Granville Moore's. Brew at the Zoo still seems like the main event, but The party ends on Friday with a Nats game featuring a discount for Beer Week attendees. (They're playing the Milwaukee Brewers, natch.)

Here are the full listings. You will want to bookmark this sucker because there will be updates. The Web site's not finished, but they're also Facebookin' (sorry, federal employees).

SUNDAY, AUG. 16.

• D.C. Beer Week “Unity Jam” at Rock & Roll Hotel — The week kicks off with a classic pairing: music and beer. For $20 you can buy ten 4 oz. sample pours of rare craft beers. No word on the beer lineup, but tune providers include: See-I, The Blackjacks, Laura Tsagaris Band, and The Jeff Wells Band. Beers include: Abita Abbey Ale, Allagash Double, Allagash Four, Brooklyn Local One, Brooklyn Octoberfest, Troegs Dead Reckoning Porter, Victory V-Saison (2008 vintage), and Victory St. Boistorous. 2-8 p.m., $10.
• Unity Jam After Party at The Pug — Featuring their usual lineup of craft beer in cans and, according to the press release, free cheese puffs. 8:30 p.m.

MONDAY, AUG. 17

• Allagash Beer Dinner With Rob Tod at Granville Moore's — A five-course, six-beer dinner with Allagash President and Brewmaster Rob Tod. Beer lineup includes: Hugh Malone, White, Dubbel, Tripel, Curieux, and Black.
  Menu: Meat and Cheese Plate; Roasted Beet Salad with Orange-Cumin Vinaigrette, Boucheron, Arugula; House Cured Pork Belly with Collard Greens; Crudo of White Toro with Rainier Cherries; Allagash-Marinated Lamb Shoulder with Melon-Pistachio Cous Cous; House-Made Cheesecake. $75.
• Sausage, Cheese, and Beerliciousness at Big Hunt — A hard trinity of food-beer pairings to argue with. Includes beers from some big boys of craft: Allagash, Bell's, Brooklyn, Dogfish Head, Troegs, and Victory. 7 p.m., $25.
• Dogfish Head Happy Hour at Brasserie Beck — Beck breaks from their all-Belgian mantra to pour drafts of Raison D'Etre, Fort, and Theobroma. 5-7 p.m.
• Chimay Vintage Beer and Cheese Tasting at Birreria Paradiso – Try Chimay Blanche on draft and their vintage Grande Reserve (the fancy one) with rich and nutty Chimay cheese. 5 p.m.
• "Hop Times in the City: A Beer Tasting for Hopheads & the People Who Love Them at The Black Squirrel – A tongue-scraping lineup of extreme offerings from Bear Republic, Green Flash, Avery, Dogfish Head, and Speakeasy, co-hosted by bloggeroo cohort DC Beer. For extra doses of ridiculous, the tasting also includes a hop cocktail and hop ice cream. 7:30-10 p.m., $40.

TUESDAY, AUG. 18

• Rogue Oregon Oyster and Ale Festival at The Reef — 1,000 Yequina Bay Oysters are being flown in from Newport, Ore. to our collective bellies. Pair the oysters and other food specials with Captain Sig's Deadliest Ale and "something imperial" on draft, plus a few bottles. Specials available 5-10 p.m.
• Brooklyn Brewery Beer and Cheese Tasting with Cowgirl Creamery at Café Saint-Ex — Think about the Cowgirl fromagophiles' evocative cheese descriptions. Now add Brooklyn beer. 7 p.m.
• Abita Beer Crawfish Boil at the Argonaut — New Orleans' dominant brewery will bring a boatload of crawfish and introduce it to a nice, warm bath. 6 p.m.
• Terrapin Beer Event at Galaxy Hut — Try beers on tap from the Athens, Ga. brewery: Big Hoppy Monster IPA, Sunray Wheat, India Brown Ale, and Rye Pale Ale — the latter of which is a Beerspotter desert island pick. 6 p.m.

WEDNESDAY, AUG. 19

• Hitting the Cycle at Marvin — Drink Smuttynose Star Island Single, Brooklyn Local #2, Allagash Tripel, and Weyerbacher Quad, with a dinner buffet of Belgian food. Also includes a drawing for tickets to the Aug. 21 Nats-Brewers game. 40 tickets are available in all. 5:30 p.m., $35.
• Belgian Beer Invades the Capitol at Capitol Lounge — Discounts on Belgian and Belgian-style beer, food specials, and beer chat with Larissa Hill of Granville Moore's. 4-11 p.m.
• Coney Island Freak Show at Palace of Wonders — In a match made in hell, the founders of Schmaltz Brewing Co. (makers of Coney Island lagers and Hebrew ales) present their big, creative beers with a freak show backdrop. 8 p.m.
• Meet the Brewer Happy Hour at District Chophouse – Meet the talented Barrett Lauer and check out his shiny brewing setup. Half-price beers from 3-7 p.m.
• Drink to Victory at CommonWealth Gastropub – Beer and food pairings, plus seasonal Victory beers and a pair of brews on cask. 5-10 p.m.
• Terrapin Launch Party at Rustico – Featuring all four Terrapin flagship beers as well as the 2008 Big Hoppy Monster and, new from their Side Project Series, Maggie's Farmhouse Ale. Free Terrapin glass with every beer you buy. 6 p.m.

THURSDAY, AUG. 20

• Brew at the Zoo at the National Zoo — The main event of This event has nothing to do with D.C. Beer Week, but it features 35 microbreweries, including Sierra Nevada, Dogfish Head, Brooklyn, Smuttynose, Great Divide, and Stoudt's. Anheuser-Busch InBev is also pouring, so you can quaff that presidential Bud Light. 6-9 p.m., $35 for FONZ members, $50 for nonmembers.
• Brew at the Zoo After Party at Asylum — After the [completely unrelated] beer fest, swap pandas for drunks as a backdrop, at a place that always surprises with one or two great finds on tap. 9:30 p.m.
• Troegs Pint Night at the Red & the Black — Taste tasty Troegs and snatch a free pint glass at H Street's sleeper venue for good beer. 7 p.m.

FRIDAY, AUG. 21

• Nationals v. Milwaukee Brewers, D.C. Beer Week Special – Drink the Nationals Park's awesome new microbrews while watching the punniest beer-related sporting event since Bud Bowl. Drafts include Bell's Kalamazoo Stout and Stone Arrogant Bastard! Come on! Beer Week attendees receive 25 percent off tickets in selected areas — enter the super-secret promo code (“Beer”) to receive the discount. 7:05 p.m.
• DC Beer Week Happy Hour at RFD – Nurse (or feed) your Beer Week hangover with specials on Allagash, Bell's, and Dogfish Head beers. As a bonus, catch the worst team in baseball live on TV. 4-8 p.m.

A sixer of Dale's to go — on your desert island

I've had, and still do have, a proclivity toward lists and the ranking of favorites. High Fidelity inspires desert island-record discussions. Fantasy football drafts are a drug. And as tykes, my brother and I would sit cross-legged in the living room, surrounded by sorted mounds of Halloween candy or Pogs (depending on the season) and conduct elaborate trades and negotiations based on our arbitrarily prized possessions. (Should I be confessing this in print? If I ever run for public office, let's pretend this didn't happen.)

The point being: I'm no different today. So when I see the Alström brothers of Beer Advocate fame enumerating their top five desert island beers alongside a profile in The Boston Globe, I start getting ideas. Building a desert island list is a delicate task. With records, you need to take into account all the different styles, eras, and at least one sentimental favorite. You probably want some reggae in there, being on an island. So while ranking Pogs may be less nuanced, picking just five beers to drink for all of sand-locked eternity seems unfair, if not impossible. Or in other words, fun.

Like records, my favorite beers change frequently — probably every time I walk into a beer store. But here's my outline, the prototypical desert island beer list. And despite the urge to apply a beach theme, I have one rule: nothing with a lime in it. Ever.

1. The go-to quaff. You need one lighter beer, a refreshing lager you can drink by the case while watching the game (better believe my desert island gets NFL Sunday Ticket). This beer is also necessary for pairing with the fresh seafood your monkey butlers bring in off the trawler every morning. My go-to here is Victory Prima Pils, or in fantasy land, I'd take Pilsner Urquell, unfiltered and fresh from Plzeň. But no, if I really have to pick just one, it's Terrapin Rye Pale Ale from Athens, Ga. It's as light as Tahitian sand and bristling with dry rye flavor. Terrapin doesn't ship to D.C. yet, but I'm on their case about it.
2. IPA, at least one. What's a man without hops? Sad and alone on a desert island, that's what. But if there's a Bells Two-Hearted Ale or a Dale's Pale Ale in my coconut shell, I'm doing all right.
3. Sentimental favorite #1: big and hoppy. As with Jason Alström, I have to have some Bear Republic Hop Rod Rye. It's a dark, spicy beast with enough hops to put your average IPA to shame.
4. Something for the palate.You're going to want to invite guests over to the desert island, and you'll need something classy to pair with a fine cheese plate. Something in the Belgian style seems in order; I'd go with a trappist like Rochefort 8, St. Bernardus Abt 12, or a saison like Dupont.
5. Sentimental favorite #2: mellow and complex.I'm still lacking in slow-sipping beers, so I'm leaning toward a double IPA or barleywine. My choice here at the moment is Head Knocker from the Vintage 50 restaurant and brewpub in Leesburg. It's a lighter, golden take on an English barleywine, with a honey aroma and a sweetly smooth finish. The beer is now retired, but brewer Bill Madden will open brewpub Mad Fox in the fall. On my fantasy island, it's delivered in fresh casks via helicopter.
6. The cheating sixth beer. Come on, you knew it was coming. Who can pick just five beers? My cheating sixth: Fullers London Pride, the ultimate English bitter, in all its quaffable, buttery glory.

So fellow Beerspotters, let's hear it. What are your top five (okay six) desert island beers?