Oregon's Deschutes Brewery Making Inroads in D.C.
If you haven’t heard of Bend, Oregon’s Deschutes Brewery, it’s time to take notice. Despite its nearly 30 year run, a slew of awards and status as the fifth-largest craft brewery (and twelfth-largest overall brewery) in the United States, Deschutes has been fairly underrepresented on the East Coast. We’re hoping that their recent Beer Week tasting dinner at Penn Quarter’s City Tap House on August 19 is a signal that Deschutes will soon be a household name in the Mid-Atlantic Region.
City Tap House’s Culinary Director Brian Cooke prepared a five-course menu in close consultation with Deschutes brewmasters for a culinary event that showcased both his signature fresh take on pub classics and five of Deschutes most loved and brand-new brews. The meal kicked off with with mini truffled grilled cheeses paired with the extraordinarily popular Mirror Pond Pale Ale (5% ABV), followed by salad courses paired with their seasonal Twilight Summer Ale (5% ABV) and Fresh Squeezed IPA (6.4% ABV). The Summer Ale is a deep amber brew with a distinct honey flavor, while the Fresh Squeezed is one of the most drinkable IPAs we’ve ever tried. It’s smooth flavor is thanks to a heavy dose of citra and mosaic hops that give it a slight sweetness.
The fourth and fifth courses were where both chef and brewmaster alike brought out their most decadent creations. Cocoa-dusted pork chops were paired with the Black Butte XXVI, a 10.2% ABV imperial porter aged in bourbon barrels for six months with cocoa nibs, pomegranate, molasses and Oregon cranberries. The evening finished off with a dessert course of pomegranate chocolate terrine accompanied by the truly exquisite Not the Stoic (12.1% ABV). Aged in select oak casks, the quadrupel style brew is dark and rich, with flavors of caramel, molasses, red wine and rye.
Currently City Tap House is the only place in D.C. to taste these phenomenal brews, but Deschutes’ marketing manager, Jeremy Kieffer, did hint that a DC chef with several local restaurants is gearing up to include Deschutes in the beer program of an as-yet-unopened spot. We’ll keep our ears to the ground and hope that the city’s ever growing craft beer sophistication will get more great West Coast brews onto your table and into your pint glasses.
City Tap House; 901 9th St, NW; 202-644-9433.
Photo via Deschutes Brewery
