I would be remiss to not take a day during this week long celebration to recognize some great national events planned to promote, much like American Craft Beer Week, the culture and community of craft beer. Last year I included a list of notable some notable national events. This year I’ll be attending one of them.

On Saturday May 30, 2009, I was among the 1900 craft beer enthusiasts who gathered at the National Building Museum in Washington D.C. to sample 136 beers from 68 American craft breweries paired with 32 food items for the 2nd annual craft beer and food experience, SAVOR. The event, hosted by the Brewer’s Association, is the premier food and beer event for American craft beers. I'm just saying -- it is an awesome event.

Here is how I plan to experience SAVOR this year.

Wednesday: Fly into Providence, R.I. 
This is my airport of choice when traveling to the Northeast. First of all, flights are inexpensive. Second: Dinner at Al Forno. I’ve eaten at Al Forno more than I’ve eaten at many of my favorite restaurants in Houston. Much like many of my favorite restaurants, I’ve only ordered one main dish from the menu: The Spicy Clam Roast. This is a plate of longnecked clams, served in their shells, each with a spicy sausage slice and onions. The clams are set around Al Forno’s mashed potatoes and everything is topped with a tomato-based sauce. I'm confident that this dish was sent directly from the seafood gods. 

Thursday: Long Island's North Fork and Atlantic City
We then head to New London, CT and catch the ferry to Long Island. Our North Fork itinerary always includes a few winery stops and lunch at P.J. Lobster House in Port Jefferson, NY. This year we’ll be sampling at two wineries I’ve never visited, Bedell Cellars and Paumanok Vineyards. Both are listed in Palate Press’ recent Nine New York Wineries to Watch. Port Jeff is the prototypical harbour city on Long Island and has a Northeastern small town charm that makes it a popular tourist destination. P.J. Lobster House was recommended to me when I worked a few seasons at nearby Stony Brook University. This half fish market, half restaurant has unbelievable prices, superb service, and very fresh seafood. 

Normally at this point in the journey we stop in NYC for a few days. This year our schedule is tighter so we are heading to Atlantic City to shorten our Friday drive to Washington D.C. I scored a reservation to the somewhat mysterious Chef Vola’s a day before they received a 2011 James Beard Award, something I knew nothing about before finding their elusive phone number on Yelp. 

Friday: Rehoboth Beach, DE and Washington D.C.
From Atlantic City we travel to Cape May, NJ to take the ferry to Delaware. Our plan is to spend the afternoon at Rehoboth Beach on their boardwalk before heading to Washington D.C. that evening for SAVOR. Oh yes, and Dogfish Head Brewings & Eats is going to happen while in Rehoboth (I at least have to restock my Dogfish liquors from their distillery there).

And SAVOR should be a pretty good time too.

Day 5
May 20, 2011
Williamsburg Alewerks "400" Ale - Jamestown 1607-2007 (Williamsburg, VA)

Website/Bottle Information:
"'400' Ale commemorates the founding of the first Virginia Settlement and with it, the founding of the American brewing industry. Beer was an essential component of everyday life in Jamestown, only the security and shelter provided by the triangular shaped fort and the cultivation of edible (no doubt including barley) crops outranked the production of beer in importance. Fresh water flowing in local streams and the recently excavated well provided a source of potable water, but beer and other 'processed liquids, primarily beer' were the preferred drinks.

This ale, like the ales of the time, is brown in color. This beer may be more robust than 18th century brews, a liberty we choose to take. How could we possibly do justice to so important an event of 400 years ago, with anything other than a truly robust, full flavored contemporary 'Imperial Brown Ale.' Cheers."

Serving: 22oz bottle
Style: Imperial Brown Ale
ABV: 6.5%

He Said:
In keeping with the travel theme, "400" Ale is a bottle we picked up in 2007 while visiting Jamestown and Williamsburg. If you skipped the "Website/Bottle Information" above, then you missed a nice story about the role of beer as settlers landed in the New World.

I was reminded this was a brown ale while trying to detect its aroma prior to my first sip. It has very little hop profile and smelled bready (malty and yeasty). The flavor was good, but I found it a little hard to objectively assess a modern Imperial interpretation of an 18th century beer. When I checked Beer Advocate, most reviewers noted a strong sour flavor. In our bottle, the sourness must have completely gone away. I found "400" Ale to be much more pleasurable than BA reviewers that opened this in 2008. I'm just glad the beer was still enjoyable after five years in the cellar.

She Said:
Color - A dark, almost opaque brown with a tinge of red.

Head - Minimum white head. Lightly carbonated. Tiny bubbles.

Smell - Sweet, maybe a cherry bourbon smell (without the boozy notes).

Taste - Smooth and delish! This is a tame beer, but it is packed with a chocolate/cherry flavor. The beer finishes with sweet darker chocolate notes. The beer is very good, and I'm sad to see it go. I would buy more if it was still available.

What a tribute to Jamestown 1607!! (editor's note: TwoPints has a bachelors degree in history. Can you tell? :)

Greg Koch described the origins of his love for food and beer pairings as gradual and hedonistic while introducing himself during the "Craft Beer and Cheese Taste Off!" educational salon. This approach represents both the incredible diversity in the American craft beers today and the impressive versatility of beer (and well, maybe Greg's laid back attitude about life). Time to take off those shackles wine drinkers, your local fine liquor store (or local craft brewery if you are lucky) offers a superior pair to your cheese first course, whatever you are having for dinner, and especially that chocolate dessert.

On Saturday May 30, 2009, around 1900 craft beer enthusiasts gathered to sample 136 beers from 68 American craft breweries paired with 32 food items during the 2^nd annual craft beer and food experience, SAVOR (but who was counting?). The event was held in Washington D. C. at the majestic National Building Museum. SAVOR, which sold out two months in advance, was a fancy affair with an impressively gender mixed crowd (possibly because the $95 ticket price and fine food and drink screamed "bring a date"). The museum's grand hall was very spacious and perfect for events of this type. Most guests were dressed to impress. I spotted everything from dresses and heels to many a collared shirt to some polyester suits and Chuck Taylors (ugh, what passes for "fashion" these days…).

In addition to the main event, SAVOR offered the opportunity to attend private tasting/educational salons. Three salon options were offered in three different time slots. The first, with a pre-event time slot, seemed like a no-brainer to get the festivities started and maximize the SAVOR experience. Two Pints and I attended Sam Calagione's "Ancient Ales in the Modern World," which consisted of Sam being Sam and free-styling (eloquently) about his efforts to appreciate the history of brewing and his general disapproval for the Reinheitsgebot (Sam's words were "screw the Reinheitsgebot"). The audience was served three cheeses and a chocolate paired with four beers while we enjoyed his ramblings. If the Chinese had Maytag Blue Cheese 9000 years ago, let me tell you, they would have enjoyed the pairing with their beer.

After the salon, we hit the main hall armed with our awesome commemorative glasses and my prepared Excel spreadsheet of must-have pairings. I had 49 targets, so the task at hand was arduous. An Allagash White with a passion fruit-mango mousse cup… check. An Anchor Steam Summer with a mini pulled pork BBQ sandwich… check. An Avery Brabant Barrel-Aged Wild Ale… ugh, 45 minutes had passed (where did the time go?) and it was time to get to our next salon: The Craft Beer and Cheese (and Chocolate) Pair Off.

The educational pair off salon challenged four panelists to each pick a beer that paired with both a piece of Maytag Blue Cheese AND a Chuao chocolate (with macadamia, praline, and chipotle). The selections by chance illustrated the diversity of the panel and the versatility of craft beer food pairings. Christian DeBenedetti, the soft spoken freelance food and beverage journalist from Oregon went with Allagash Black. It was a straightforward pairing that was an adequate match for both items, although I liked it better with the chocolate. Eric Wallace (President of Left Hand Brewing Company), the Air Force guy who came armed with plenty of notes and lists, stayed within the family and chose his Smokejumper Smoked Imperial Porter. Maybe it was my connection to his list making and preparation, but I voted for his selection. It brought out the best in both the items and joined the flavor party without overpowering the complexity of the chocolate or the blue in the cheese. Greg Koch (CEO and co-founder of Stone Brewing Company), armed with his sarcasm, chose his own Ruination IPA and lobbied the audience for his vote with live tweets and humor. But it was Lauren Buzzeo of Wine Enthusiast magazine who won over the crowd with the pairing of the blue cheese and chocolate with Deschutes The Dissident, a Flander's style sour brown ale aged in oak with wild cherries. While I don't totally disagree with the majority vote, I felt the beer overpowered both items just a little. On the positive side, each pairing took on a new flavor with the beer that was reminiscent of the Ratatouille fireworks sequence.

We exited the salon several minutes after the scheduled ending of 9:15PM. With last call at 10:50PM, it was time to refocus if we were to conquer my list. The Bruery Trade Winds Tripel and a scallop burger with cilantro lime mayo... check. Magic Hat Lucky Kat with a piece of Gruyere cheese... check. Russian River Pliny the Elder with… wait, what time is it? Seriously? And the Moroccan spiced lamb burgers are cold now!?

My list was a bit of a flop (we hit 26 of my 49 targets… that is a failing grade of 53%) but the event was far from a failure. We were impressed from the moment we walked in. As an entrance gift, we received a super cool commemorative tasting glass. At each of the tables, two ounce pours were usually generous. If I could add a little criticism, it would be that the brewery reps generally did not do much to promote the food pairing. But why would they? The food was not something they provided. The catering company also struggled a little to keep up with demand. Often the food was a little cold or overcooked. I also spotted servers filling water pitchers in the bathroom sinks.

Overall, much more was right about this event than wrong. Having spent a portion of my life in New Orleans and the majority of it on the Gulf Coast, I can honestly say the raw oysters served by The Choptank Oyster Company were the best I have ever had (for the record, I choose to pair it with a Deschutes Black Butte Porter). Items which were also unanimous favorites of Two Pints and myself (in no particular order):

- Southampton Publick House Double White Ale paired with Hibachi Style Grilled Pacific Salmon Skewers
- Lost Abbey Cuvee de Tomme (blended Barrel aged Sour Ale) paired with Black Forest (tart Montmorency cherries & kirsch)
- Arcadia Brewing Cocoa-Loco Triple Chocolate Milk Stout paired Southwester Black Bean Soup

Judging by the extraordinary lines and confirmed by our personal sampling, the crowd favorites were the oyster bar, Russian River, and Lost Abbey.

Judging by the discarded items on every other table, the crowd's least favorite, also confirmed by our personal sampling, was the Espresso Sambuca Parfaits. My personal note next to this pairing was simply: "OMG, Yuck!" The catering company should have to apologize to Flying Dog, Hoppy Brewing, Odell Brewing, Saint Louis Brewery, Ska Brewing, and Upland Brewing. Surely they did not get to sample this item before they chose the pairing for their beers.

While exiting, we were handed a small tin containing a USB drive loaded with recipes and guides to craft beer and food pairings. I couldn't help but wish the event had been longer or potentially more than one session. One of our salons ate up an hour of our time, but I have no regrets about attending the pair off session. In fact, while I regret not getting into one of the intimate (~10 people) private tasting salons (which must have sold and within the first hour they were on sale), I don't know which salon I would want to swap out. Sam Calagione casually sharing his philosophy of beer making (including a story of an early comment card for Immort Ale: "it tastes like trees, but it got me f*#%ed up") or the cheese/chocolate pairing panel (which included beers as diverse as the panelists' personalities). In only it's 2^nd year of existence, the Brewers Association has added another great annual event to their calendar. As someone who has been twice to GABF, I believe the classy and more intimate setting of SAVOR may be my annual beer event of choice.