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What Dave Alexander of RFD Washington lacks in punctuality, he more than makes up for with events. As a quasi-followup to the Lupulin Slam, Sam Calagione of Dogfish Head and Adam Avery of Avery Brewing paired up for the Lupulin Lovefest.
After some pre-pouring frenzy to get Randall The Enamel Animal hopped up. Dave took the microphone and asked, "Can you feel the love?"
It was East vs. West once again, but in a kinder, gentler sort of way. Sam and Adam paired up six of their beers. The opening round featured Dogfish’s Weedwacker Wit and Avery’s White Rascal Belgian Wheat, supposedly to ease us into the adventure that lay ahead. The beers then ramped up to a chicory stout and The Czar Imperial Stout. It was during the stouts that we experienced Sam’s latest concoction — hop brownies.
I’m not sure I’ll ever be a good enough writer to explain the sensation of eating the hop brownie. Like a hot pepper, the dessert starts out chocolately and mild, but then the hop bitterness overtakes your tongue and numbs your head. Still, throw in some vanilla ice cream and these premiere stouts and you’ve got something to work with.
After our stout and brownie extravaganza, we sampled the two strongest Belgian beers in the world. Dave found a 2002 vintage of Sam’s Raison D’Extra with an incredible 20.5% abv. Adam brought his latest The Beast Grand Cru, which is slated to be released in a few months. Its abv was a mild 18.1%. Does high octane even apply at this level?
From the Belgian extreme, we changed directions and began to power up the IPAs. The offerings included Sam’s 60, 90, and 120 minute IPAs and Adam’s IPA, Eleven Anniversary Ale Double IPA, and finally his Hog Heaven Barleywine. The last two for each brewer were Randallized. For those not in the know, Randall acts like a hopback as the beer is being poured — just in case these beers aren’t hoppy enough!
As we began our ascent into the hop valley of IPAs and Randall, Sam succumbed to the rivalry that epitomized the Slamfest. He donned his gangsta brewer persona and launched into a west slamming rap. The man has potential.
Even better than the terrific beers that were sampled was the casual conversation. Even though we were in a crowded room, it felt like we were sitting around a bar after hours talking shop. Adam and Sam talked to each other and us about all things beer and answered our questions, giving everyone a glimpse into the world of a small brewery. It was a lovefest — it was two men talking about what they love and the rest of us loving what they do.
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