Savor

Last night was the big Savor beer event at the National Building Museum. A group from work were planning to meet at RFD around 3:30 to make sure we got some food in us. We knew there would be food at Savor but we wanted to makes sure we had some solid stuff already in our bellies. Well, of course, the organizer of this meeting never did show but he did arrive at the event just in time for our first "Salon."

Sam Calagione led us on a tour of Ancient Beers in the Modern World. As could be expected from Sam, there were no notes or PowerPoint slides. What we did get was a sampling of 4 beers and some information on the history of brewing. This was a great session since I had never had two of the beers. It start with the 90 minute but moved quickly to the Midas Touch which was excellent with the aged cheddar pairing. Then why tried an even older recipe recipe, from China of all places, called Chateau Jiahu. I was enjoying these beers but really thinking that it is a shame Lori was not there, I think she would have loved them- all this was before the Theobroma which is based on a 500-1200 year old Honduran recipe. Now this baby was made with some very fine cocoa powder- paired with some Askinosie Chocolate (You must try this chocolate!). With the Theobroma, I knew that I needed to stop by the store and pick some up.

I'm guessing that crowds are simply following me around because the Building Museum was packed like Artomatic was on Friday. Some stand outs for me were Brooklyn's Local 2, Rock Bottom Highland Courage Scottish Ale, Saint Louis Brewery/Schlafly Oak Age Barleywine, Arcadia Cocoa-Loco Triple Chocolate Milk Stout (yes, I was in a chocolaty mood after the Salon).

There were a number of breweries that I simply love to drink though they don't excite the way those listed above do. I love high-gravity beers but I usually like to drink more than one so last night reaffirmed how good St George, Clipper City (Marzhon), Great Lakes (Burning River), Legend and Oskar's Blues are at crafting delicious "session" brews. Another brewer I enjoy, Smuttynose was only pouring Belgian-styled brews- It would have been nice to show one of their more straightforawd beers.