Saturday, December 20, 2008

New Year's Eve Firkin Fest

For New Year's Eve, Rustico Restaurant in Alexandria, Virginia is offering a double dose of good-beer festivities.

On the restaurant side, there's a fixed-price four-course menu: each course paired with beer. Reservations required.

  • Baked Camembert with Housemade Orval Sourdough
    Paired with Kloster Wintertraum: Klostbrauerei Weltenburg, Germany
    .
  • Maine Sea Scallops with Spooky Pumpkin Grits & Ginger-Andouille Gremolata
    Paired with Avec Les Bons Voeux: Brasserie Dupont, Belgium
    .
  • Pineland Farms New York Striploin with Whole Grain Mustard “Knish”& Old Stock Macerated Medjool Dates
    Paired with N’ Ice Chouffe: Brasserie D’ Achouffe, Belgium
    .
  • Tiffin Tin of Holiday Cookies
    Paired with Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout: Brooklyn Brewery, New York, NY.
cask pull at Rustico
But on the bar side, Beer Manager Greg Engert and his crew will be tapping 6 cask firkins (with others in reserve), beginning at 6pm and continuing until the Big Beer Toast at midnight ... and beyond. And, no reservations are required.
  • WinterHook Winter Ale: Red Hook Ale Brewery, New Hampshire.
    A Winter Warmer from a brewery whose offerings are rarely seen on cask.
  • Pomegranate Wheat Ale: Peak Organic Brewing Company, Maine.
    This beer has never been in the Mid-Atlantic before, let alone on cask.
  • Fraoch Heather Ale: Williams Brothers Brewing Company, Scotland.
    Our choice for actual British ale served stateside.
  • Snake Dog IPA: Flying Dog Brewery, Maryland.
    Very local and very fresh.
  • Really Old Brown Dog: Smuttynose Brewing Company, New Hampshire.
    An amped-up version of their traditional Brown Ale, aged in the cask.
  • Allagash Black: Allagash Brewing Company, Maine.
    Somewhere between a Stout and Belgian Strong Ale.
The other bubbled fermented beverage will be available ... if you must.
  • What's cask ale? Go here.
  • Caveat lector: I am employed by a northern Virginia wholesaler that sells Allagash, Brooklyn, and Flying Dog beers.
  • Want to polka in the New Year? Maryland's fabled Blob's Park will re-open New Year's Eve. Go to www.blobspark.net for more information.

1 comment:

  1. Love the play on the word "Firkin" before Fest! It certainly draws my attention ...

    ReplyDelete

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