2nd Place at City Paper’s 30 Beers for 30 Years, Event!

Source: Fetching Foodie

Did you know…

It’s the 30th Birthday of Sam Adams’ Beer?? Celebration = totally necessary.

As part of DC Beer week, the Washington City Paper hosted 30 Beers for 30 Years last Tuesday. The event featured 30 different Sam Adams Beers, paired with food from 30 DC area restaurants. Party-goers got to vote for their favorite, and a panel of judges also selected top 3 winners.

That said, let’s dive right in!

The Winner:

Bar Pilar’s Smoked Lamb Belly with Bone Marrow Apple Butter!! I had two dishes of this. It was THAT good. Unique, distinct, and super flavorful. I’d order it in the restaurant in a heartbeat. Worthy win!!

In second place:

Blue 44 made this delicious dish– Pork Belly and Grits. Pork belly? Outstanding. Grits? So creamy.

In third place:

Art & Soul’s Pig Head, Chorizo, & Bacon Empanadas! Wait…oh yes, I said that correctly; these empanadas had all 3 of those fine meats.  I would go to Art & Soul just for a plateful of ’em.

As far as the people’s choice, the popularity winner was:

The Hamilton’s Sweet Corn and Lobster Spoon Bread with Lobster Beer Blanc Sauce. This was the first thing we ate upon arrival. Great way to start off.

While these were all DELICIOUS, there were a bunch of others that I thought were outstanding.

Edgar Bar & Kitchen: Soft Duck Confit Tacos w/ Avocado Crema, Pickled Red Onions, Red Fresno Chilies, & Micro Cilantro.

Firefly: Chilled Rooftop Tomato Gazpacho. This was served with Roggen Wolf Rye IPA with a swirl of campari. Aaron, Firefly bartender, did a great job engaging the crowd and explaining the pairing.

Granville Moore’s Steak and Cheese Tartar with Hook’s Blue Cheese Black Truffles and Caramelized Shallots

Jack Rose’s Shrimp Ceviche with Cucumbers and Sweet Chilies

Old Glory’s Slider topped with Pork Belly, Pimento Cheese, Fried Egg, and Green Chili Verde. I LOVE fried eggs combined with other things. On burgers, with steak, in salads…I dig it.

Fat Pete’s Cider Braised Full Hog Slider with Cabbage Slaw.

Buffalo & Bergen’s Harvest Pumpkin Beer Float and Cranberry Bread Pudding.

Farmers Fishers Bakers Pimento and Bacon Scones.

Harth’s Ancho Chili BBQ Pork Sliders with Cabbage Slaw

RSVP Catering Mini Kobe Beef Hot Dogs wrapped in Puff Pastry. AKA gourmet pigs-in-a-blanket!!! SO GOOD! Always a classic go-to.

Tonic’s Beer Braised Chicken Slider

Carmine’s Meatball. Noms.

1905

City Tap House’s Fluke Crudo: pine nuts, sea beans, breakfast radish, and curry oil

GCDC’s British Stilton with Fig Balsamic Emulsion on a Pumpernickel Crisp

Hank’s Oyster Bar’s Lobster Roll Slider

PJ Clarke’s Cheeseburger Sliders

And even more!! Yes, I did in fact try everything. Or at least about 90% of the things…

You’ve probably noticed that I took more note of the food..and less note of the beers. It was really cool how everything was paired, but often times I think people couldn’t drink as fast as they could eat (that’s a special skill you know, it requires training…). I asked around and ultimately I gathered that most people voted based upon the food they tried, not necessarily the beer or how the food and beer paired together. Though I really appreciated hearing about the pairings.

My favorite beer of the night was the Hazel Brown, a dark brown ale with a bit of spiciness from the hops. There were other good beers….this one stood out the most.

They had some sweet live music too.

Kept everything lively!

Needless to say, I was very satisfied at the end of this event. So well done, as all of the Washington City Paper events always are. Had such a great night!

Cheers