It's the 7th annual DC Beer Week!

In 2009, Jeff Wells —Washington, D.C.-area beer guru— and Teddy Folkman —co-owner and chef at Granville Moore's, a Belgian-beer and food inspired 'gastropub'— conceived and created DC Beer Week, a celebration of the beer culture in the nations's capital, whether brewed there (not many choices at the time) or enjoyed there (many more choices).

Today, Sunday 9 August 2015, marks the beginning of the 7th running of DC Beer Week. À la most such city-wide 'beer weeks,' the festival will run one more day than a true calendar week. For celebrating, that's not necessarily a bad thing.

And different than in 2009, there are many more choices among breweries: this year, there are ten breweries in Washington, D.C. alone, whereas in 2009, there had been only three int he city. And that's not to mention the numerous breweries and beer-centric venues in Washington, D.C.'s ring suburbs who will be participating, who had been excluded for the first few years of the festival.

DC Beer Week is a celebration is of good beer in the National Capital Region from conception to consumption and everyone and everything in between. DC Beer Week aims to educate all on good beer through various events and seminars from August 9th through the 16th.

The folks bringing you the 2015 edition of DC Beer Week are:

• Chris Van Orden: Co-Editor, DCBeer.com.
• Mick Nardelli: "The Craft Beer Lobbyist" at Nelson Mullins, LLP.
• Bill DeBaun: Co-Editor, DCBeer.com.
• Jackie Ludden: Director of Communications and Public Relations for DC Beer Week.
• Teddy Folkman: Chef and co-owner, Granville Moore's.
• Miles Gray: Managing Partner, Smith Commons Dining Room & Public House.
• Steven Cardello: representative for Duvel Moortgat USA.
• Barrett Lauer: Brewmaster, District Chophouse and Brewery.
• Bill Madden: CEO, Mad Fox Brewing Company.

This year, DC Beer Week will feature eight "Marquee Events," including the kick-off, today, and a tap takeover at Churchkey, on 13 August, featuring fifty drafts and five casks, all only from breweries within the boundaries of Washington, D.C., the largest such D.C.-only draft event ever. Find the list of events at DCBeerWeek.net and at independent website, DC Beer.com.

DC Beer Week is excited to announce its kick-off event at Suburbia on Sunday, August 9, 2015. The 1967 Airstream bar outside of Union Market in northeast DC will host 20 of the region’s top breweries, cideries, and meaderies to mark the beginning of the 7th Annual DC Beer Week. The daytime event will feature tastings, music from DJ-59, and a ribbon cutting ceremony with a special guest who will also tap the first official keg of DCBW’s Solidarity Beer of 2015.

Follow all the fun on social media:

• Website: dcbeerweek.net. [Note: Not DCBeerWeek dot com. That address is held by a cyber-squatter.]
• Facebook: DCBeerWeek
• Twitter: @DCBeerWeek
• Instagram: dcbeerweek
• Tumblr: dcbeerweek.tumblr.com
• For searching and posting, use hashtags: #DCBeerWeek2015, #DCBW2015, #DCbeer.

Several years ago, during the early iterations of DC Beer Week, I had suggested ten proposals for improving the experience. Whether or not I had any influence (I've never been on the planning board), nine of the ten proposals have been adopted, the most important of which was including the entire metropolitan area in the celebration.

The one not accepted was moving the date from the heat and humidity of August, but, this week, a good local 'craft' beer might just be anodyne indeed for summer in the city.

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