Beer Bloggers Conference, Day One

And so this trip started with a bang.

My flight to DC left at 7am. But with a bump into first class, I had to start off with a Sweetwater 420, right? (No judgment!)

Russ landed a little after I did and we made our way to the hotel. With a few hours to kill and a LOT of breweries in the area, we picked one that also served lunch and made our way there. Lost Rhino Brewing was a great choice. The ‘Spicy Mike’ sandwich is a really nice option, if you happen to be in the area. I mean, I had to get that, right? We both ordered flights, and I’d say that the beers were mostly good, one not as much, and we had one clear winner. The vibe in there is very cool (beautiful chalkboard menu). Russ and I would both tell you that the Pumpernickel Honker was the best one of the bunch.

Back to the hotel to get ready for the bus ride to Delaware. We met Lars, who would be our best bud for the rest of the day. Lars is with Dogfish Head and was our bus entertainment/trivia guy for the ride. We loaded up with about 15 other bloggers and headed down the road. We stopped at the brand new Guinness location in Maryland (massive, beautiful facility) to pick up the rest of the bloggers. We got a few minutes in the gift shop and then started down the road to Delaware.

It’s kida hard to put it into words. I’ve been a big fan of DFH for a long time, so it was going to hard for them to live up to my expectations. Hint: they exceeded them. From climbing to the top of the Steampunk Treehouse, starting with a cheese and Flesh & Blood pairing, grabbing a flight of some stuff you can’t find elsewhere, the exhaustive tour of the facility, dinner in the tasting room. It was a-mazing! But wait, there’s more! We finished the evening sipping 120 Minute IPA brewed in 2008 while having a fireside chat with Sam Calagione, DFH founder, and his wife. Just an unbelievable end to a pretty tremendous day. If you like beer, and specifically DFH beer, this is a must visit.

Going to try something a little different today. We have so many pictures from the day, I’m throwing them into a Flickr album to make it easier for you to live vicariously through the bloggers!