I went to SAVOR in Washington, D.C. last Friday night, a festival of beer-and-food pairings put on by the Brewers Association. It was the first BA-run festival since 2019’s Great American Beer Festival, and it was good to have things back. What was fascinating about walking around at SAVOR was seeing how much the beer landscape has changed in the two and a half years since that weekend in Denver. It was actually difficult to find a brewery that was pouring an IPA. There were more than a handful of booths exclusively pouring lagers. Even when you found the IPAs, nearly as many were transparent and bitter as were hazy and juicy. It will be interesting to see if these observations are blips on the radar, or if we’ve come out of our pandemic slumber with a better appreciation for a broad spectrum of beer styles.
The world has changed dramatically in two and a half years — and arguably for the worse, in the case of what happened about two miles from this festival ten hours earlier on Friday. Walking around a beer festival with friends again was brief return to normalcy in what is increasingly an abnormal, dysfunctional world.
This Holiday Weekend’s Summer Crushers
The Fourth of July weekend is nearly upon us, and it’s a time of year where a lot of beer drinkers prefer quantity over quality. But you don’t need to choose one over the other — you can have both. Here are some suggestions on beers from New York City breweries that fit perfectly in a koozie by the grill this summer — and all are available in cans at these local brewery taprooms.
Wild East Brewing Co. // Little Patience // 10º Plato Czech-Style Pilsner // 3.8% ABV
Sure, you could go for Wild East’s Patience & Fortitude, an excellent Czech Pils in its own right, but “Little P,” as the brewery’s bar staff like to call it, is all the crisp refreshment you need when you’re drinking all day. This 3.8% Bohemian Lager is heavy on the Saaz hops but light on the alcohol. It’s flawless, crisp, and clean, and was a personal favorite of mine last summer, and I’m so glad it’s back.
Kings County Brewers Collective // Sun Sorceress // Rice Saison // 4% ABV
If you’re a fan of estery yeast and hops, Sun Sorceress might be more your speed. This brew’s got some peppery notes from the saison yeast, but plenty of citrusy flavor from the delicate dry hopping with Citra and Cashmere hops. It finishes clean and it’s probably one of the only saisons I’d gladly drink from the can.
Big aLICe Brewing // Brunch Crusher // Fruited Sour // 4.5% ABV
If you’re planning on getting your beer-drinking started over brunch this holiday weekend, this gem from Big aLICe — a kettle sour with plenty of tangerine and pineapple — is bubbly, tropical, sessionable, and a great mimosa replacement if you’re trying to lay off the sparkling wine.
Other Half Brewing // Lime Snaps // Rice Lager with Lime // 4.5% ABV
If you’re secretly a fan of a certain mass-produced light lager with lime flavor added but don’t want to have to explain to your friends or family that it’s perfectly acceptable to enjoy both craft beer and macro beer, Lime Snaps is for you. Heck, it’s for you if you’re openly a fan of that beer. This has been my go-to beer the last three times I’ve visited an Other Half taproom — and the last three times I’ve visited my fridge.
Brewery Tracker
Total brewery count: 2,710
Total breweries visited in 2022: 181
Total breweries visited in the District of Columbia: 13
Brewery Visit of the Week
Brewery #2709, Red Bear Brewing Co., Washington, DC (Visited 25-Jun-2022)
Washington, DC is small enough geographically that I can, once again, state that I’ve visited every brewery in the District. Among the most recent visits was Red Bear, which was hopping on a Saturday afternoon in DC’s NoMa neighborhood, with its patio as boisterous as its interior. Red Bear is a relatively new brewery, opening in 2019, and it’s clear that the place has really hit its stride. The place has Pacific Northwest roots — its co-founders Bryan Van Den Oever, Simon Bee, and Cameron Raspet all moved to DC from Seattle — so I started with Skookum, a “PNW Red Ale” that reminded me of some of my favorite beers from my travels to the region in the early 2010s. I also enjoyed the Say Queer, a fruited sour with orange and vanilla that was vibrant and fun and made to celebrate Pride Month. It was an appropriate order at this, a 100% Queer-owned brewery.
Social Post of the Week
In honor of the coming holiday weekend and tubed meat:
Long Read of the Week
If you were at Other Half’s Green City earlier this month, you probably noticed the wrestling matches going on. And if this was your first Other Half-run festival, you were probably like, “what’s up with the wrestling?” Well, Josh Bernstein has your answer in the New York Times, of all places.
One Last Thing
Next week’s newsletter will likely be an abbreviated one, with a quick check-in from Sweden, where I’m jetting off to tonight. Hope you have a safe and enjoyable holiday, whether you’re staying put here or traveling elsewhere!
Cheers,
Chris
Absolutely *howling* at the NYT style guide "Mr Austin" and "Mr Valentine" :)
Good piece though, was wondering what the particular Other Half link was. Big fan of [ahem] Mr Deppen as well, would like to try some of his beer!