As a government shutdown looms for the nation, many people are asking what a government shut down will mean to them.  Here is a brief overview of who will be closed and who will be open during the shut down.

National Parks, museums, and monuments will be closed.  Hope you didn’t plan on visiting DC this weekend… or in the next few weeks… months.

The postal service is NOT affected.  They are self-funded.  You WILL get your mail.

Veteran hospitals and medical facilities will be open as long as proper staff can be maintained at the facilities.  However, new benefits or beneficiaries will not be processed. 

Medicaid, Medicare, and food stamps will still be issued on time. 

Passports will not be issued.

Amtrak and Metro will be able to run on time for a while without government funding.

The Federal Housing Administration will not be endorsing new mortgage loans.  If you are obtaining an FHA loan to purchase a home in the next few weeks, you better go ahead and ask for an extension.  The money’s not gonna be there for you if the government is shut down.

The Small Business Administration will not be processing new loans for small businesses.

Elected officials will continue to be paid.  Yep, you heard right, Congress will continue to collect a paycheck.  The people responsible for not passing the budget have no reason to fear, they will get their paychecks.  Some Congressmen may decide  to voluntarily give up their pay as a show of solidarity with the American public. 

Any non-essential federal employees will be told to stay home and do absolutely no work.  They will not be allowed to even check email.  They are also not allowed to volunteer to work for no pay.  It is illegal for federal employees to not claim and be paid for hours worked. 

Law enforcement, air traffic control, border patrol, public health and safety, disaster relief, and prisons will still report to work.

Furloughed federal employees may be able to collect back pay for the days they could not work. 

The IRS will still be collecting tax returns on April 18th.  Congratulations!  They will continue to process electronic filings and possibly issue electronic returns.  Paper filings and returns will be postponed until the budget is passed. 

The Department of Defense will have no money to pay the military.  If the government shut downs today, military personnel would only get paid thru April 8.  They would receive back pay for hours and benefits they did not receive during the shutdown.

Here's another fun-sounding, and tasty festival coming up soon. The Blue Ridge Oyster Festival will be held at Devils Backbone Brewing Company in Nelson County on April 23. Growing up near Baltimore, MD I was practically weaned on seafood, and oysters are favorite.

The event will feature fresh steamed and raw oysters, local craft beer from Devils Backbone Brewing Company & Starr Hill Brewery, select wines from Cardinal Point Winery and local food provided by The Rock Barn.  Live music will be performed by Travis Elliott & Tucker Rogers, Misty Strings & Gold Top County Ramblers.

All oysters served at the Blue Ridge Oyster Festival are harvested from Ward Oyster Company’s Aquaculture program.  Find out more information on Aquaculture programs and their impact on the growth of the Chesapeake Bay’s native oyster population. These programs are also doing great things to help restore the commercial oyster industry.

Tickets are $10 in advance,  $15 at the gate. Children 12 & Under FREE.
Price includes admission to the event only. All Food, Beer, Wine & other items are priced separately. See the event web site for more information.

Tasty food and great craft beer, what's not to like?

I don't attend many of these sorts of events, but I'm seriously tempted by an email I received about a Terrapin Beer dinner at the Fredericksburg Capital Ale House. I'm not real familiar with Terrapin beers, but admittedly it's the menu that tempts me. This is some serious Southern meat.

The event takes place on Thursday, April 14th at 6:30 pm. The cost is $60 per person.

Food & Beer Menu
1st Course:  Virginia style Brunswick Stew & Cornbread paired with Rye Pale; complex flavor and aroma that is both aggressive and well balanced.- ABV 5.5

2nd Course:  Texas Style Beef Brisket & Jalapeno Mac N Cheese paired with
Hopsecutioner; this Killer IPA earns its name by using six different types of hops while still remaining an aggressive well balanced beer. Gold Medal - 2010 Atlantic City Beer Festival. ABV 7.2

3rd Course:  Carolina style Pulled Pork & Stewed Apples paired with
Hop Karma; a head on collision between a hoppy, west coast IPA and a complex, malty brown ale. ABV 9.8

4th Course:  Memphis Style BBQ Chicken with Jicama Slaw paired with
Monk's Revenge; a classic Belgian Style Tripel and a new age American Double IPA. ABV 9.8

5th Course:  Duck/Alligator BBQ with Fried Okra paired with
Rye Squared; mammoth hop aroma, bitterness and flavor, this beer is not for the faint at heart. ABV 9.5

6th Course:  House made malted Ice Cream & Cayenne dusted Georgia Peach Cobbler paired with Tom Foolery; this dark, spicy, Black Saison is made with a silly amount of rye, wheat and black malts. ABV 7.4

There's no ticket information yet on the Cap Ale House events web site. Calling the restaurant is probably your best bet.

It's a great day to be Irish!

The 9th Annual St. Patrick's Day festival and parade at Blue & Gray Brewing Company is tomorrow, Saturday, March 12.

The parade steps off at NOON and includes fire trucks, classic cars, high school marching band, community organizations, Irish dancers, horses, military equipment and local pageant winners. The parade ends at Blue & Gray Brewing. Beginning at 11am there will be Irish songs, Irish and Highland dancers, and a magician with Christian themes performing throughout the day. This is a very family-friendly event. A shamrock facepainter and craft table (free) for the kids will be there too.

Between 10:30am and 2:00pm get your corned beef, cabbage, potato, and a beer (or bottled water) meals for $5.00 ($7.00 day of). Proceeds from meals benefit local Volunteer Fire & Rescue Departments. Get advance meal tokens at Roxbury Mills and at the brewery. A limited number of meal tickets available the day of event. You can also visit historic railroad cars of the Rappahannock Chapter - NRHS on site beginning at 10:00am. The festivities end at 3:30pm.

Lee's Retreat brewpub will be open too.  You can't get the $5 fundraiser meal inside, but the full menu will be available.  It's recommended that you make reservations if you plan to visit the brewpub this Saturday.

The Annual Washington Post Beer Madness Competition has been held, and the winner selected.  The Post asked five readers to join the panel of judges for this year's event. The group got together on two days and worked their way through 64 beers in a blind tasting. Interestingly the beers were placed into brackets based on four "flavor-driven categories."

Malt: These beers derive their sweet, bready, biscuity, toasty and caramel flavors from the specialty grains.

Fruit and spice: Special yeasts are largely responsible for the fruity, peppery and spicy flavors found in these freewheeling Belgian-inspired brews and German-style wheat beers.

Roast: Highly kilned grains give these mahogany-to-ebony-colored brews nuances of coffee, chocolate, licorice and roast.

Hops: The bitter brewing herb dominates these beers, yielding flavors described as citrusy, piny, resiny, herbal and floral.

That's a unique way of grouping for judging, but one that I think mimics how many folks do categorize beers.  It's also a design that will eventually pit hop-heavy beers against malt-rich flavors. Or session beers against high alcohol selections.

Who won? They're not saying. Unlike the Brewing News National IPA Championship, where you make your predictions prior to the judging, in this event, readers make their predictions after the judging is complete. The Washington Post will dole out the results of the bracket eliminations over the next few weeks.

By the way, there where three Virginia beers entered in the competition; Starr Hill Amber Ale, Williamsburg Alewerks Tavern Ale and Port City Brewing Porter.

Well,a week after a tornado ripped through the real estate social media world, Daniel Rothamel has responded.  I’m gonna give some link love and let you read it by clicking In Which I Explain My Decision to Retire the Stripes. 

I mentioned in my first post regarding this situation that Daniel doesn’t need the stripes.  His brand moved past zebra stripes several years ago.  His brand is now that of a caring, giving, and knowledgeable real estate agent.  He doesn’t need the gimmick to get noticed.  He is noticed on his merits.

I applaud Daniel for how he has handled himself during this very trying time.  He has continued to earn the respect and admiration of his colleagues.  My hope is that The Lones Group will drop this suit and move on.  I will keep you posted as we enter the next chapter.  This is definitely a fantastic case study in brand management and moving past a brand and into people’s hearts. 

As we have done a couple of times previously, (here and here) Colleen and I offered to donate a beer and food tasting event for the annual fundraising auction to benefit our son's school. In previous years, we loaded up the car with food and beer and took the tasting on the road to the winners' homes. This year we hosted it at our house, so we were not as limited in what we could serve. And it was indeed a feast!

The theme for the tasting was "Winter Beers." Each beer was served with a food chosen to demonstrate the variety of food flavors that work when pairing with our favorite beverage. We poured 3-4 ounces of each beer and used of a variety of glassware. There were nine courses served featuring nine different beers. The menu for the tasting and pairing experience is listed below, along with some comments.

Great Lakes Christmas Ale
Winter Warmer (7.5% ABV)
Paired with gingerbread cake with lemon curd
This winter seasonal from Great Lakes Brewing was a perfect match for the gingerbread cake. This was a great start and our guests all commented how good it was, but there was much more to come!

Starr Hill The Gift
Maibock / Helles Bock (6.5% ABV)
Paired with humus, olives, labneh, and pita
This pairing was a nod to the foods we enjoyed on our trips to Italy and Israel. The fresh baked pita with herbs was a hit, as well as the beer.

Sierra Nevada Celebration
American IPA (6.8% ABV)
Paired with Buffalo wings and ranch dressing
The only food that wasn't prepared in our kitchen, the wings were picked up at a local sports bar. This course answered a question I was asked at the start of the tasting, "What beer can I serve with spicy food?"

Gouden Carolus Noël
Belgian Strong Dark Ale (10.5% ABV)
Paired with mixed berries on pound cake topped with custard
The Gouden Carolus Noël came from two bottles I had been saving for a few years. This was a different style of beer than most of the participants had experienced previously, and was enjoyed by all. I think that most were surprised how well it went with the berries. Fruit with beer, not in beer I always say!

Tröegs Mad Elf
Belgian Strong Dark Ale (11% ABV)
Paired with Blue Cheese, Gorgonzola, and Roquefort
This was another beer from our cellar. I've always preferred aged Mad Elf to new, and these bottles had held up quite well. I think several of our guests are planning to put away some of this Tröegs seasonal for the future.

Old Dominion Baltic Porter
American Porter (7% ABV)
Paired with marinated flank steak and garlic ciabatta
This was a last minute addition after I saw it on a store shelf and remembered how much I had enjoyed it previously. Folks were impressed with the beer, but I have to admit, I think the grilled flank steak was the real hit of this course.

Lagunitas Brown Shugga’
American Strong Ale (9.99% ABV)
Paired with crème brûlée
This pairing was one we had never tried previously. As I was, um, refreshing my memory on the flavor of this beer recently, I came across a mention of crème brûlée served with a barleywine and thought it would work here as well. I dare say this just might have been the hit of the menu. One guest admitted that his wife loves crème brûlée and he's always shrugged it off. Now he has to go home and admit that he's been wrong in his opinion. We still have some Brown Shugga’ left, and I'm going to have to convince Colleen to recreate this pairing for dessert real soon.

Williamsburg AleWerks Coffeehouse Stout
Milk / Sweet Stout (5.4% ABV)
Paired with chocolate almond panini
This was a beer that I purchased especially for this event, but had never tried until recently. Like our friend with the crème brûlée, I've been missing out. Everyone commented on the distinctive coffee aroma and flavor of this beer.

Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout
Russian Imperial Stout (10% ABV)
Served with Hershey chocolate, and in an ice cream float
Chocolate and Imperial Stout. What more is there to say? Admittedly, we might have gone overboard with this pairing. By this point, everyone was remarking how stuffed they were. We'd been eating and drinking, a lot, for several hours. We served a 2009 vintage, both a small taster with a bit of chocolate on the side, as well as an ice cream float made with vanilla ice cream, Black Chocolate Stout, whipped cream, and a cherry on top.

It was a fun afternoon of indulging in good beer, good food, and lively, interesting conversation. There were five guests for our meal, and everyone had a good time. Some were old friends and we also made a few new friends as well. Is there a better way to spend a day? And to top it off, the whole thing was done "for the children."

I don't think I can make it to Mad Fox Brewing this weekend, but I suspect this will rank as one of the top beer events in Virginia this year. I'd be remiss if I didn't give it a mention here. With Rick Garvin's permission, I've reprinted his post to the DC-Beer mailing list that gives all the details. That is an incredible lineup! If any readers are able to attend, feel free to post your impressions in the comments. And, be careful out there!

Bill Madden and team are putting the finishing touches on this weekend's Barleywine Fest. Bill's pulled together 24 rare and delicious barleywines on tap and cask for our sampling pleasure. No admission fee, no tickets, 4 oz sample servings and pay as you go. The taps will be changed at 4PM on Saturday, so before and after is the sweet spot for trying all 24. Fair warning, some of the very rare beers may run out before 4PM Saturday - we have the only sixtels in the country of two of these barleywines.

The full menu will be on along with a whole smoked pig and more tasty specials from Chefs Russel Cunningham, Sean Swasey and Rodrigo Lozada.

It's not all barleywines, Bill & Charlie tapped Saison yesterday and draught Irish Dry Stout will be on at 3PM today, with more of Bill's standards pouring from the serving tanks. Happy Hour prices for pints will be in effect 3PM-7PM seven-days.

Details at madfoxbrewing.com/barleywinefest/ . Plenty of public transportation options.

Here's the beer list as of yesterday:

• Mad Fox Slobberknocker American-style Barleywine draught and cask
• Mad Fox Headknocker English-style Barleywine draught and cask
• Mad Fox Wheat Whacker Wheatwine draught - 8% ABV
• Heavy Seas Below Decks English-style Barleywine cask - 10% ABV
• A L'abri De La Tempête Brewery Corps Mort Barleywine - 9% ABV
• Avery Hog Heaven Barleywine - 9.2% ABV
• Bluegrass Brewing Bearded Pat's Barleywine - 11% ABV
• Brooklyn Brewing Monster Ale Barleywine 2007 - 10.3% ABV
• Brooklyn Brewing Monster Ale Barleywine 2010 - 10.3% ABV
• Climax Brewing Company Barleywine - 10% ABV*
• Dogfish Head Olde School Barleywine - 15% ABV
• DuClaw Devil's Milk American-style Barleywine - 11% ABV
• DuClaw Devil's Milk American-style Barleywine aged in Jack Daniels Barrels - 11% ABV
• Duck Rabbit Barleywine - 11% ABV
• Lagunitas Gnarleywine - 10-12% ABV
• Microbrasserie Le Trou Du Diable Brandy Nose Barleywine - 12% ABV
• Oliver Breweries Hot Monkey Love Barleywine - 9.8% ABV*
• Sierra Nevada 30th Anniversary Jack & Ken's Black Barleywine - 10.2% ABV
• Sierra Nevada Grand Cru, blend of Oak-Aged Bigfoot, Celebration and Pale Ale - 9.2% ABV
• Stone Brewing Company Old Guardian Barleywine - 11.3% ABV
• Victory Old Horizontal Barleywine - 10.5% ABV
• Weyerbacher Blithering Idiot Barleywine - 11.1% ABV
• Weyerbacher Insanity - Bourbon Barrel Aged Blithering Idiot - 11.1% ABV
• Willisamsburg Alewerks Grand Illumination Barleywine - 11% ABV

Cheers, Rick

Wow. Just wow.

The Washington Post is once again sponsoring its annual Beer Madness taste-off. The list of beers to be included is not yet published, but the selection will be limited to "craft beers, all domestic." The event involves three nights of tasting. The best part is that you can be one of those selected to judge the beers. If you want to be considered, it's a simple process:

Here's what you do: Send an e-mail to food@washpost.com with the phrase BEER MADNESS in the subject line, and include two things:

-A description of your qualifications and a demonstration of your passion for beer, in one tightly constructed sentence. (Remember, we have to read hundreds of these, so yours needs to stand out at a glance.) Humor is always appreciated.

-A list of your five favorite domestic craft beers.

See Beer Madness 2011: Calling all tasters for details. And if you are selected, be sure to let us know!

In contrast to their extremely popular Oktoberfest celebration, Capital Ale House's proposed St. Patrick's Day event won't close any streets. CAH President Matt Simmons is proposing that downtown food and beverage establishments host specials inside their own restaurants to benefit charity. The Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star reports:

The president of Capital Ale House is organizing a St. Patrick's Day event in downtown Fredericksburg that would also raise money for charity.

Yesterday afternoon, Matt Simmons distributed letters proposing the event to downtown restaurant and bar owners. The businesses would work together to promote the event but would organize their own parties for that night.

Each participating business would pick a charity to support. It would collect a cover charge at the door or take a percentage of menu sales, perhaps of just one special item for that night. Those funds would be donated to charity.

Capital Ale House regularly supports local charities through their Community Chest project. The St. Patrick's Day event would continue that tradition. Let's hope downtown businesses get behind this initiative.

See Revelers can wear green and aid a worthy cause for more information.