“This is happening nowhere else in the world,” overheard in the rest room.  “This is not like a bunch of guys drinking [a popular light lager]” overheard from a nearby woman in heels discussing the event with her partner.  “This place is like a Roman temple, Bacchus would have been proud,” looking up at the Melon Auditorium columns and overheard between a puff and a pan seared pilsener’d sirloin tip.  “It’s a great time to be alive,” the predominant sentiment among attendees.  All three sessions were sold out and the big question on everyone’s mind was, “Are you going to do this next year?  Where will it be?  Will it be in DC again?”

            The attendance at the event was surprisingly not limited to area beer and food enthusiasts.   Let me say that there were LOTS of folks that made the journey to DC from California, Florida and dozens of places between there and DC.  I never would have thought there would be that much draw to a first time ground breaking event.   But there evidently was – and according to exit discussions SAVOR is certainly on the radar for the adventurous beer enthusiast.  Next year?   This will be a discussion the Association staff and board committee will be having in the coming weeks.  The staff was certainly pleased with all the support it received from all the DC area and other supporters across the U.S.  It’s a tribute to how far America’s 1,400+ small craft brewers have come in the minds of the world’s beer drinkers.

            I continue to hear that the economic situation in the U.S. will be a tough one for America’s small brewers, but I’m hearing this from the beer pundits that cover the news of the big brewers.   There are two very different worlds out there and I don’t think you can easily say that the situation is similar.    I have mixed feelings about the actual impact.  Maybe the impact will be a wash.   Yes, there’s higher prices for hops, malt, energy, glass and all the other things it takes to run a business, let alone a SMALL business.  Small brewers are definitely having a tougher time coping with the current economic environment.   That will inevitably mean higher prices for beer in general.    But I think that those that really don’t care at all about the taste of beer, will indeed “trade down,” as the beer pundits are suggesting, meaning some types of beer drinkers may be looking for low priced budget beer.  So be it.  But anyone with a small amount of intelligence will realize that spending a $7 to $20 a six pack for specialty craft beers made by creative small brewers who are offering real added value – is a small price to pay for such value. If you are going to treat yourself to anything in these tougher times, craft beer is an affordable and accessible value. A few bucks more for a six of your favorite or exploratory craft beer is a comparatively small price to pay when you look at the other options on the shelves.  One less cup of latte a week and you maintain the same net paid for that tremendous treat called craft beer.   Not to hard to do that math.  

            Yes there will be all sorts of belt tightening, but my “gut” is feeling that even with slower growth, let’s say at 6% for 2008 (from last year’s 12%), not too many would be complaining.   Craft Brewers have been at for over 25 years and they have had a lot of experience with “hanging in there.”  If anyone’s up for the challenge, craft brewers are.

            In this day and age there’s also the “culture-added” benefit that consumers in general are beginning to really appreciate the what “locally” brewed beer brings to the nation’s footprint.    That is another added factor and part of the mixed bag of hope and despair upon us in these times.

What’s in my glass?

Water?   Well today, having just flown back to Colorado on an early flight, water is sounding pretty darned good to me for most of the day.  Hey, give me a break.  I’m human too.  But over the past couple of days at SAVOR I was sipping beers from 58 breweries across the USA.  And what a treat it was savoring the flavor with the excellent food pairings and talking to the brewers and owners themselves.   Okay, I don’t usually single out any one beer after these types of events, but I did find myself revisiting three brewers in particular.   The ten year old aged Italian chunks of Parmesan Reggiano cheese was out of the galaxy with Denver’s Great Divide Brewing Company’s Oak-aged Yeti Imperial Stout.   Peking duck "purse" with Tomme Arthur’s Lost Abbey, (Quad) Abbey Ale was a remarkable example of how beer flavor changes with the food it is eaten.  Delicious.   And a really enjoyed meeting Henryk and Angela Ortlik, owners and brewer from the Heinerbrau Microbrewery in Covington, Louisiana – Henryk’s Kölsch (actually he admits it’s a cross between Helles and Kölsch- because that’s the way he likes it) and Maerzen were remarkably authentic tasting German style beers.  Some of the best I’ve ever had that are American made.  

            Now it’s time for a breather.