I know, I know, this is one of those questions that seem impossible to answer. I suppose the value is in the dialogue itself and not necessarily the answer. Indulge us here and tell us what your favorite beer of SAVOR 2011 was.
Something sour or perhaps a rare offering in one of the outstanding salons?
Any surprises or breweries you erroneously dismissed prior to this weekend?
Any of your favorites make an appearance on our Top 25 Must Try List?
Tags: SAVOR, SAVOR2011, tell dcbeer
I was lucky enough to try some Black Tuesday, barrel Cuir, and the three Capt. Lawrence porters at my salon…but I have to say my favorite was still the Rosemary Swamp Fox IPA as it was 2 years ago. While there are many I enjoyed, that was really the only beer I would have as a desert island situation. And it was as delicious as I had remembered it being.
Friek was a close second though.
I would say the Woodford Reserve Barrel Aged…IPA I think? from Trinity Brewhouse. That beer blew me away. Woodcut No. 5 from Odell was a close second.
The beers in the Friday Bruery/Cigar City salon were fantastic, especially the ISO:FT. The Saturday Bruery/Capt. Lawrence salon was also very good.
On the main floor, my favorite was the Short’s Spruce Pilsner, and I assume I’m not the first, and won’t be the last to say that. It was awesome. Other highlights were Sierra Nevada’s Ovila Dubbel, Standing Stone’s Milk and Honey, Schafly’s Hop Toddy, and Two Brothers’ Domaine DuPage.
Red Poppy. Game Over.
Odell Friek was up there. Schlafly’s Hop Toddy was up there. I’m also a big fan of Firestone Walker’s Parabola. Envious [from a brewery in Michigan I can't recall] was excellent too. Two Brothers’ Domaine DuPage has always been one of my favorites.
Odell’s Woodcut #5…insane. Close second would be Nebraska’s Hop God.
I had the pleasure of attending the Alaskan salon where we got to try a smoked porter from 1993. I also really enjoyed the Hop Toddy from Schlafly’s and Laurelwood’s, Workhorse IPA. The biggest surprise beer was Elm City’s Vanilla Stout.
My favorites were Parabola, Red Poppy, Loakal Red. Also, I found Short’s Spruce Pilsner and Buckbean Orange Blossom Ale to be really unique and delicious. Honorable mention goes to Nebraska Brewing Company’s Black Betty. I wish I had tried their Hop God.
The sours were really memorable for me and Avery Dihos Dactylion was a star amongst stars.
The odell Freak was by far the best of the show… the rosemary IPA and the Watermelon wheat were the worst… why would anyone do that to a beer!
Trying not to go with the anything distributed around here… I\’d have to say that Deschutes Dissident, Cigar City Humidor, Short\’s Spruce Pils & Anniversary, and Lost Abbey Angel\’s Share were tops for me.
Also, I can\’t speak highly enough about the Arcadia Salon on Saturday with Spuyten Duyvil. The Friday Ommegang Salon wasn\’t stellar (wasn\’t all that impressed with the pairings), but the 2004 Cave Aged Abbey Ale may have been the most amazing beer I had all night.
PS. Sorry for givnig you guys flak about the website on Friday, lol. I hope you took it as constructive! Keep up the good work.