Name: Evolution Brewing Company
Location: Salisbury, MD
Website: http://www.evolutioncraftbrewing.com
Type: Production brewery
Available in DC Market: Yes
What you need to know: Evolution flies under the radar for way, waaaaaay too many people given the quality of the beers they produce. Lot 3 IPA and Lot 6 DIPA are some of the finest examples of their respective styles that you'll find on the east coast, but it doesn't stop there. Evolution is making great examples of a number of pretty familiar styles (pale, porter). Where they have really started to shine even brighter in the past few years is with their sour and funked beers though. The Migration and Menagerie series in particular make excellent examples of wild yeasts and wine barrel aging, respectively. Evolution is relatively young; they've only been around since 2009, which is pretty impressive given the body of work they've put out to date.
Beer #1: Lot #6 (Double IPA / 8.5%)
In Their Own Words: "Think of this as our Lot #3 on performance-enhancing malt and hops. At 8.5%abv, this beer is loaded with tropical fruit and citrus notes. Deep gold in color, massive additions of American varietals of hops generate assertive bitterness and big hop flavor and aroma."
Food Pairing: Brie tartlet (Pastry shells filled with brie, saffron and a touch of brown sugar.)
Our Thoughts: Lot #6 is a fabulous example of the style. Let me give you some evidence to that fact. During DC Beer Week last year, Scion had a Blind and Bitter tasting where 24 hoppy beers were served without telling attendees what the beers were. All attendees had to go by were tasting notes, but they got to vote on their favorites. Lot 6 won far and away across hundreds of people's votes. If you're a hophead, and especially if you're from out of town and don't get this regularly, stop by the Evo table. The food pairing here is nice, the brown sugar will match the malt of the beer. I wish the cheese was something like a gouda or blue, brie just probably isn't going to hold up against the hops.
Beer #2: Lucky 7 Porter (Porter / 5.8%)
In Their Own Words: "Black with garnet highlights, this porter is rich and full flavored with notes of chocolate, coffee and smoke playing off the sweeter toffee and dark dried fruit tones."
Food Pairing: Turkey braised in mole (Turkey breast braised in a fragrant mole of dried chiles, tomato, almonds, Mexican chocolate and toasted pumpkin seeds.)
Our Thoughts: As porters go, this is a good one. The light touch of smoke is a nice touch. Stout fans, give this a try in between blowing your palates out via some of the bigger offerings. This will work nicely with the turkey mole. Lucky 7 isn't so big that it can't meld well with all of the nuance of a nice mole.
This profile is a part of the DCBeer.com SAVOR Brewery Profile series. For more information, follow the link to see profiles of all 2014 SAVOR participants.
