Not all beers are meant to be summertime thirst quenchers. Some are best savored from snifter glasses while huddled around a fire on a frigid winter evening. Strong beer traditions abound. German monks, during the rigorous Lenten fast, fortified themselves with a thick, malty brew called Doppelbock. Russian nobility in the czar’s court enjoyed a roasty, black-as-pitch libation called imperial stout. English estate breweries celebrated the harvest by brewing a potent stock ale—the ancestor of our barley wines—that was allowed to grow mellow with age. American microbreweries have coaxed yeast cells to even greater heights, producing an array of new imperial beers. Sample these styles and more, and learn their secrets and unique characteristics, in this convivial afternoon at the Brickskeller. The tutored tasting is led by beer maven par excellence Bob Tupper, creator of Tuppers’ Hot Pocket Ale and Tuppers’ Hot Pocket Pils.

The program is coordinated by Jim Dorsch, editor and publisher, American Brewer magazine, and Washington Post beer columnist Greg Kitsock, editor of Mid-Atlantic Brewing News and associate editor, American Brewer magazine.

CODE: 1M2-427

Participants may purchase food from Brickskeller’s menu on their own.