The Beers to Beeline for at Snallygaster 2017

For it’s sixth annual drinking fest/fundraiser, homegrown Neighborhood Restaurant Group is bringing in around 400 beers. NRG beer director Greg Engert, who says he works to source more rare and obscure brewers each year to “spread the wealth,” provides some advice for those looking to get the most bang for their buck.

Find These First

• Allagash Brewing Company: Engert says Ghoulschip, a barrel-aged pumpkin ale, is a seasonal favorite.
• Bluejacket: Engert is, of course, proud to again be pouring a new expression of the beer created to mark his wedding. The latest iteration is a peach-apricot blonde ale.
• Cantillon: Engert says Fou’ Foune, a Belgian lambic spiked with apricot, should be on everyone’s short list.
• DC Brau Brewing Company: Engert is excited for folks to try the Deep Cuts: Centennial Wet Hop pale ale.
• Great Lakes Brewing Company: Jump-start the holiday season with a tall glass of barrel-aged Christmas ale.
• Mad Fox Brewing Company: this local brewer is contributing four cask ales — one of only four producers that Engert invited to do so; the others are Heavy Seas Beer, District Chophouse, and Stone Brewing (more on that in a second) — including an IPA (Orange Whip), saison (The Funk), pale ale (Defender), and Scotch ale (Wee Heavy). “I love real ales,” Engert says.
• Other Half Brewing Company: This New York brewery is sending four IPAs (most of which are double dry-hopped) to the festival.
• Perennial Artisan Ales:: “It’s the only keg we get for the year,” Engert says of the barrel-aged Abraxas, a coveted imperial stout.
• Suarez Family Brewery: Engert tells Eater he drove to New York this past weekend to personally retrieve beer from this small producer. His current favorite: the Palatine Pilsner, which he bills as “incredibly delicious and restrained. Certainly a beer not to be missed.”
• Stone Brewing: this West Coast brewer now produces beer in Richmond, Virginia as well. The local operation is sending a cask of Stone Enjoy By 10.31.17: Galaxy, a locally brewed IPA dry-hopped in the cask with Galaxy hops.
• The Veil Brewing Co.: “They’re sending some really cool stuff,” Engert says of the Richmond-based brewery. Two new selections this year include a bourbon barrel-aged imperial stout (Sleeping Forever) and thrice dry-hopped IPA (Crucial Taunt 3).

A festival-specific app, complete with a map laying out each brewery and what it will be pouring, is projected for release later this week. An NRG spokeswoman says a fully searchable Excel file and map should be available online Monday, September 18.

“We do realize we’re creating a monster of a festival,” Engert says.

Snallygaster is scheduled to take place from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m., Saturday, September 23.