theakston

That's bad news for Cap City but great news for Alexandria. This should improve the chances of this brew pub surviving where previous occupants have struggled, and Cap City will survive I'm sure. I just hope he took his Imperial Pale Ale recipe with him! Cheers!

for yer Belgians for a wider range including brits and yer Germans I've used both of these suppliers and never had any problems.

The flemish red ale? It is from brewery van steenberg I believe: here's a link to the beer on ratebeer.com Unfortunately I think you can only get it from Monks although the beer of the month club was supposed to be getting it at some point. I love the sour too! For similar sour reds there's always Rodenbach or (if you live near to Fort Collins) the New Belgium version "La folie". Duchess du Bourgogne is another. I like a good sour Gueuze in the summer too, and fruit lambics as long as they aren't overly sweet - Cantillon make the best in my opinion. Next time I'm in Phillie I must get some Yards Saison. That one is going to the top of my "to drink" list. I've not seen it here in the DC area.

I usually go for Witbier too. The Hitachino is good. All the Belgian ones are good and there are a lot of great ones being made here in the USA -Ommegang have just added one to their line-up of Belgian beers. Good stuff. I also like a Saison, like Fantome or Dupont, but I find most of the USA versions tend to be a little off base (more like triples or spiced strong ales) and not as good as a Summer quencher.

And an enterprising brewer here in Arlington has made Cicada beer: CicadAle

Thanks (al et al) for all the advice. I think SFW sounds the best - I'll be heading out there later. I did not realize that butt was shoulder! There's another example of the 2 cultures divided by a common language I guess. I've only been here 15 years! I assumed butt = arse = a leg cut (but not ham as ham is cured and I wanted to brine it myself). Haggis allow me to summarize the discussions on best smoker: Weber Smokey Mountain if you want an easy to use inexpensive smoker. Barbecue with an off-set fire box (such as a brinkman pitmaster) if you really want to get serious Q and don't mind constantly supervising a less controllable fire. Ceramic Kamado style smoker such as the Green Egg if you plan on using dollar bills instead of charcoal (they are seriously expensive but look very pretty). Happy smokin'

Tysons is home to Maestro. Very expensive, but an excellent restaurant worth the price if you are looking for a true gastronomic experience. It is considered by many to be the best restaurant in the entire DC metro area. If it's not totally out of budget and you can get a reservation I would strongly recommend it. Search this forum for Maestro and you will see many reviews.

Memorial day 2004. It's time to scrape the cicadas off the Weber and get smokin'. On previous occasions whenever I've tried to get hold of a nice piece of pork butt I've been unsuccessful and had to resort to my usual chicken / ribs. I've occasionally been more successful in finding brisket, but even that has been unpredictable. I've tried Wholefoods (Arlington) Giant (including the gourmet version in McLean), Glutton Place, etc - all to no avail. I'm guessing the local Halal butcher won't be much help either. Where can I get my hands on a nice piece of butt? (preferably without going too far into the 'burbs, or that other state..what's it called...mary something)

Plus ATMs Cirrus ATMs As you will see there are plenty. Enjoy the trip!

Beer has such an enormous range of flavours that it can go with just about everything. I've been to some of these tasting / paired dinners and some of the pairings have been awesome. I particularly enjoyed a Belgian Brown Ale or Abbey Dubbel - Val Dieu Brune with Hangar Steak & Frites at Les Halles recently (remember that classic brasserie food was originally designed with beer in mind as brasseries were brew pubs). I find, however, that I prefer red wine with pizza. The tomato / beer thing doesn't work for me.

The draught is terrific if you can find it, it's quite different to the bottle although the bottle is certainly good. For the bottle they add vanilla and oak chips to get a similar flavour to the bourbon cask. You don't have to drive all the way to the brewpub to get it. They had it at the Irish pub in Pentagon City - Sine - last time I was there. Apparently they are a "partner" with the brewery. They have Tuppers Hop Pocket on Draft too! (But not on hand pump like at the brewery - that is out of this world!)

I hand't heard that. There's something similar due to open this Summer in the spot where Whitey's bar was. Expect to see an illuminated "EATS" sign on ebay very soon.

Another Courthouse option for the unadventurous and frugal - Irelands Four Courts right at the metro stop. The food isn't bad - for an Irish bar. I'd also second Boulevard wood grill or Harry's tap room for the twin fillets.

Actually I believe that you are correct. Bass does (or did) declare itself an IPA on the label in small letters. Here's a picture link

an alternative follow up question: CAMRA: great organization or reactionary and restrictive in their definition of "Real Ale"?

Another restaurant to consider is Ceiba. Creative Latin cuisine in a beautiful space downtown. The menu is heavily weighted in the seafood direction. If you search in this forum there is a thread on it somewhere. We went last Saturday for the first time and were suitably impressed.

Mine took a long time to carbonate but now it's about perfect (carbonation wise at least). I suspect it was the late cold snap that slowed it down (especially as I left the heat off as I was on vacation) I've got loads left too. I now have a closet that is entirely given over to beer (I'm in a couple of mail order clubs too, so I had Belgians all over the place too). It's an interesting beer. I definitely overdid the hops for the style - and added a bit too much of the dark malts too so it is dark and hoppy, not a classic nut brown ale but plenty of flavour. I saw you guys are doing a Belgian soon? (I always wanted to try and brew a Belgian style, never have) Good luck with that - I'll be watching but not brewing - I have family visiting this Summer, so I'll need to stash the stuff away for a while. Cheers!

I abolutely agree. I take a few travellers checks (in dollars) as a back up. I've had them for about 5 years now and I never use them ATMs are everywhere, you get the best rates of exchange and they are much easier to use. You can always check sites such as these in advance to scope out ATMs before you go: PLUS ATMs: http://www.visaeu.com/personal/atm_locator/main.html] Cirrus ATMs: Cirrus ATMs

It is really supposed to be a Flemish brown ale. To be authentic I would recommend Liefmans Goudenband. It isn't outrageously expensive and the slightly sour belgian yeast flavour really does come through. The next best bet would be something from Brewery Ommegang - they do very reasonable impressions of Belgian beers from their brewery in Cooperstown NY, and they are fairly widely available (and comparatively cheap). I'd use either the Rare Vos or their Ommegang Abbey ale.

You don't need the transformer (for the camera at least). I never use it for charging batteries for my digital camera - It just charges faster at a higher voltage. You will of course need an adapter (to fit the square plugs into the round holes). Here's a good resource about electrical supplies worldwide Have a wonderful trip.

buy it here I particularly like the graphic - hand pulled kopi luwak.

I've done something like this: Arrossejat, a Catalan dish using sauteed angel hair pasta like a Paella: Epicurious version.

For Easter I like lamb. Heck I like it any time. I was thinking of doing a whole leg in the Weber Smoky Mountain, but I've never tried that before. Is this a bad idea? Has anyone tried this? What kind of temps / length of cooking do you go for? Long and slow smoke or hot and fast roast (for a medium rare). Brine or not?

I recently purchased the Kershaw Santoku with Scalloped Blade - Shun Classic. It's a great all round knife, but I'm wondering how best to sharpen this style of knife with the scallop edge? Any advice?

There's always the Bloody Bull a cross between a Bloody Mary and a Bullshot - involves Beef Bouillon. You could garnish it with a short rib?