If rainwater was beer

The Northern Virginia Fall BrewFest was held this past Saturday and Sunday at Bull Run Park in Centreville, Va.

Meteorologists on all the local networks had predicted a washout for the weekend. But the rain held off (except for a short time on Sunday) ... and a beer festival broke out.

A few things of note:

• One of the principals of the Mad Fox Brewpub, Rick Garvin, indicated that 2009 looked good for the pub to open in Northern Virginia. Mum's the word --understandably-- as to the exact location until a letter of intent is signed.[UPDATE 2009.02.26. Done ... in Falls Church, Va.]
• Bill Madden keeps a stealth beer on tap at Vintage 50 (and probably will at the soon-to-be Mad Fox): one has to ask "stealth beer, please" to get one! David Turley —of Fredericksburg's Musings Over a Pint —remembered to ask at the festival (and reminded me). Saturday's was a Saison; Sunday's was an Alt.
  
• Hear Bill Madden's interview on WJFK-FM's Big O and Dukes show.
• Jerry Bailey, founder and past president of Dominion Brewing was pouring at the Stella Artois/Becks booth. Jerry gamely helped out, when other volunteers chose other breweries.
  

The weather —or, more appropriately, the weather forecasters— may have frightened off some potential beer lovers, as things never became hectic. That relaxed atmosphere created more opportunity to talk with festival goers about the beers themselves.

It was busy enough, however, especially on Saturday, that Bill Madden and other festival organizers seemed confident of the gate receipts. A worthy festival, worthy of attending next year.

And the roster of beers? The festival listed the following breweries, winery, and cidery as in attendance. (As a representative for wholesaler Select Wines, Ltd., I brought selections from 7 breweries, marked below with an asterisk.)

Abita (Restoration Ale, Purple Haze)*, Allagash (White, Triple)*, Ballast Point, Bear Republic, Beck’s, Bells, Birra Peroni, Bitburger, Blue Grass, Boston Brewing Company, Boulder, Brooklyn (Oktoberfest, IPA, Post Road Pumpkin)*, Budweiser, Capitol City, Clipper City (Hang Ten Dopple Weizenbock, Balto MarzHon)*, Dogfish, Flying Dog (Gonzo Imperial Porter Old Scratch Amber Lager)*, Fordham, Franziskaner, Het Anker, Hofbrau Munchen, Hook & Ladder, Huyghe/Delirium Tremes, Kona, Kostrizer, Lagunitas, Lancaster Brewing Co. (Milk Stout, Oktoberfest)*, Leinenkugel, Mad Fox, Magic Hat, New Holland, Northcoast, Old Dominion, Oskar Blues, Otter Creek/ Wolavers (Otter Creek Oktoberfest, Wolavers Pale/Brown)*, Peak Organic, Pilsner Urquell, RedHook, Sierra Nevada, Spaten, St George, Starr Hill, Tarara Winery, Van Housebrouck, Victory, Vintage 50, Weihenstephaner, Widmer, Wild Goose, Woodchuck.

No brewery brought a cask.

And, as to Sunday's 15 minutes of rain ... In A Man For All Seasons by Robert Bolt, Thomas More declares:

I wish we could all have good luck, all the time. I wish we had wings.

I wish rainwater was beer. But it isn't.

And what with not having wings but walking-on two flat feet; and good luck and bad luck being just exactly even stevens; and rain being water—don't you complicate the job by putting things in me for me to miss.

More photos here.

Gold can't buy you beer in Baltimore

From Friday's Baltimore Sun:

With Michael Phelps' face plastered on the cover of Sports Illustrated and boxes of Frosted Flakes, you've got to wonder: Did he lose the chance to live a normal life when he won all that Olympic glory?

The bouncer at a Fells Point bar provided a reassuring answer to that question the other night, when he turned away the swimming sensation because he didn't have his ID.

Phelps is no underage Chinese gymnast. He's 23.

But all the bouncer at Max's Taphouse knew was that some tall, young-looking guy with a group of friends had come to the door. Some of the friends didn't have IDs either, said owner Ron Furman.

"Hey, guys, no IDs here, I can't do anything about it," Furman said the bouncer told the group.

Considering that an alcohol license is a basic necessity for operating an alcohol establishment and considering that Liquor Control boards around the nation routinely send out underage agents to entrap otherwise law-abiding businesses, this was a prudent and correct action by the doorman at Max's.

Furman said he'd love to have the Olympian, who just moved into a waterfront condo in the neighborhood, stop by again. <..>

"I respect the hell out of what he has done. His mother - it's a family to be proud of," Furman said. "And if Michael shows up with his ID, I'll be happy to buy him a beer."

Come back, kid, when you can show ID
by Laura Vozzella
Baltimore Sun
September 26, 2008

After all, what's 14 Olympic gold medals between friends?

• I was alerted to this story by a Twitter post at Musings Over a Pint.
• Max's Taphouse recently offered a three-day festival of German beer.

a Tuppers' Christmas gift?

At the Brickskeller in Washington, D.C. last evening, it was a celebration of 25 years in the USA of Chimay —the iconic Belgian Trappist monks' beer. Guest speaker was Bobo Van Mechelen, regional Sales Manager for Manneken-Brussel, importer of Chimay.

When the floor was opened for questions, there were many about Chimay. But one question was directed at host Bob Tupper.

"Wait until December," Bob answered, reassuringly sanguine for the rebirth of Tuppers Beers.

L-R: Bob Tupper, host; Regional Sales Manager for Manneken-Brussel Imports, Inc. - importer of Chimay: Luc "Bobo' Van Mechelen; representative for DOPS, Chimay's wholesaler in Washington, DC: Jeff Wells.

Photos here. More about the tasting, later.

It is our calling to take the gifts of God and make them useful for man.
— the Trappists' motto

The Art of Homebrewing

Brewers United For Real Potables is a homebrewers' club in the Washington, D.C. area ... with the impish acronym of B.U.R.P.

Bud Hensgen is a longtime member in good standing, and a repeat winner of awards for his beers.

Not only a homebrewer, Hensgen, in the 1990s, had been a driving force behind coalescing the commercial small breweries and brewpubs in Virginia, Maryland, and the District of Columbia into an advocacy group —the Mid-Atlantic Association of Craft Brewers. He was its first executive director.

The Guild later became a victim of conflicting regional goals and dissolved itself. Maryland, alone among the three jurisdictions, created its own, still active, guild: the Maryland Brewers Guild.

Hensgen still has the organizing bug. This Friday, he is bringing together some of his homebrewing confreres for a unique exhibit at Studio Gallery, a Washington, D.C. art gallery.

ten local home brewers from the nationally recognized homebrew club B.U.R.P (Brewers United for Real Potables) demonstrate the art of homebrewing and present you with a tasting of their beers <...> [at the] Studio Gallery, the longest running artist-owned gallery in the area.

More information here.

I was alerted to this unique exhibit by DC-Beer.

[UPDATE 2008.10.09: Washington Post coverage.]

Stand by your ingredients

"Stand by your ingredients," said Chef Will Artley. Not quite a country and western lyric, it's his philosophy of cooking.

Artley was addressing diners on 5 September at Planet Wine Shop which adjoins the Evening Star Restaurant, in the Del Ray neighborhood of north Alexandria. The occasion was a five-course dinner pairing Artley's food to the wines of Martin Mittelbach, the 9th generation winemaker of Weingut Tegernseerhof in Austria. The setting was the Farm Table, a private table for fourteen in the wine shop.

His preparation, Artley said, reflects "the purity, provenance, and absolute quality of ingredients, rather than on fanciful technique." And, he buys local.

Wild mushroom succotash with Amish goat cheese,
basil gnocchi, and truffle froth.
Paired with Tegernseerhof Bergdistel Grüner Veltliner 2006.

Located in the Austrian wine district of Wachau, northwest of Vienna, the Tegernseerhof estate slopes sharply down to the banks of the River Danube. The majority of its wine is Grüner Veltliner (also the grape varietal), a spicy, peppery, white wine with nuances of fruits such as honeydew melon and peach. Mittelbach also produces Riesling and a small volume of Chardonnay, and two red varieties: Blauer Zweigelt and Blauburgur.

The estate's main stone house was built in 1166. But in the 1960s, Martin's father, alone among area winemakers at the time, switched to all stainless steel fermentation. This more modern technique ironically allowed the traditional character of the grapes to show their varietal character, unencumbered by oaky flavors.

The Menu

• Black Diamond Cheddar & Fried Dragon Creek Oyster Biscuit
  Wild Mushroom & Braised Spinach Spring Rolls
  served with
  Tegernseerhof Zweigelt Rosé 2007
  Tegernseerhof Riesling 2006
  
  
• Heirloom Tomato Carpaccio
  Smoked Shallot and Arugula Salad
  Shaved Pecorino and Vibrant Summer Vinaigrette
  served with
  Tegernseerhof T26 Grüner Veltliner 2007
  
  
• Amish Goat Cheese and Basil Gnocchi
  Wild Mushroom Succotash & Truffle Froth
  served with
  Tegernseerhof Bergdistel Grüner Veltliner 2006
  
  
• Seared Day Boat Scallops
  Virginia Sweet Corn Risotto & Pea Shot Salad
  served with
  Tegernseerhof Hohereck Grüner Veltliner 2006
  
  
• Indian Summer Fruit Pie
  Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream
  served with
  Tegernseerhof Creation Grüner Veltliner 2003

Winemaker Martin Mittelbach and friends

*************
Lessons for 'craft' brewers?

These days, many craft beer makers are experimenting with oak and other extraneous ingredients. Could Mittelbach's reliance on the grape itself, the prime ingredient of his wine, be an object lesson of sorts for these craft brewers? Likewise, Artley's reliance on fresh ingredients rather than process?

For centuries, barley malt, hops, pure water, and yeast —that sublime quadrumvirate— served, unencumbered, as the recipe for fine beer. Indeed, there is recent beer scholarship asserting that brewers historically took great lengths to forestall wood flavor in their beers. Not so much today for many U.S. craft brewers who are tossing all sorts of things in their kettles and tanks, and emphasizing oaky flavors.

Are extraneous ingredients fun? Yes. Are they interesting? Yes. Can they be flavorful? yes. But, as Mittelbach does with winemaking and Artley does with cooking, maybe make them the exception not the rule.

Stand by your (prime) ingredients.

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