FREDERICK, MD – It’s OK to play with your food, especially when there is beer involved.
That is the motto of Flying Dog Brewery and Chef Bryan Voltaggio as they kick off a partnership at SAVOR: An American Craft Beer and Food Experience in Washington, DC June 3-4.
Presented by the Brewers Association, SAVOR is the country’s premier beer and food event and a must-attend for area beer connoisseurs and foodies. Attendees will sample beers from 72 independent craft breweries that team up with a duo of expert chefs to pair each beer with a dish of the chef’s choice.
In addition to the night’s main event, educational salons and private tastings provide additional opportunities for attendees to interact with the United States’ most talented craft brewers and chefs. That’s where Flying Dog and Voltaggio really come into play.
Voltaggio, along with Flying Dog Brewmaster Matt Brophy, will offer their take on using Flying Dog beer as a cooking ingredient. Their salon will include basic tips and techniques for cooking with beer, carbonation removal and reinfusion, spherification and the art of turning beer into finger food, and the balance of reduction and bitterness.
“Unlike wine, I've found that in brewing beer, we can be very specific to developing a flavor profile that pairs perfectly with the intended foods and/or be used in a recipe to enhance the flavor of a dish,” says Voltaggio. “There seems to be little to no limitations to get the creativity flowing.”
Concluding the salon is the world premiere of the first Flying Dog and Voltaggio culinary collaboration beer, which was brewed specifically to pair with the ever-changing, eclectic menu of VOLT, Voltaggio’s fine dining establishment in Frederick, Maryland.
“You could have 100 brewers brew for 100 years and never develop the same beer,” Brophy explains, “which is a fascinating juxtaposition considering there are only four ingredients in beer – water, hops, malt, and yeast. However, there are endless possibilities with the different types of malted barley, hop varieties, and yeast strains available.”
Flying Dog and Voltaggio’s collaboration beer is still in the pilot stage. Further details on the beer, including the name and style, will be released closer to the event.
SAVOR will be held at the National Building Museum from 7:30 to 11 pm on both Friday, June 3 and Saturday, June 4. In 2010, the event sold out in less than 24 hours, prompting the Brewers Association to expand the event to two nights. General admission tickets are $110 and tickets for individual salons are $30 each. Tickets go on sale to the public on Thursday, March 3. For more information, visit www.savorcraftbeer.com.
ABOUT FLYING DOG BREWERY
“Good Beer, No Shit.” Located in Frederick, MD, Flying Dog is Maryland’s largest brewery. As their tagline proclaims, Flying Dog is committed to producing world-class craft beer and continues to push the envelope with experimental and limited-edition releases. Their award-winning beers are distributed in 45 states and 20 countries. Recent accolades include Doggie Style Classic Pale Ale ranked as the #1 American Pale Ale in the U.S. by The New York Times and Raging Bitch Belgian-Style IPA named one of the best new beers in 2010 by multiple sources. For more information, please visit www.flyingdogales.com.
ABOUT BRYAN VOLTAGGIO
Highly accomplished, innovative, and talented 34-year-old Chef Bryan Voltaggio is among the new generation of young chefs who are reinventing American cooking through his three-star reviewed restaurant, VOLT, located in the historic Houck Mansion in his native Frederick, Maryland. Both a James Beard Best Mid-Atlantic Chef nominee and Chef of the Year by both the non-profit Share Our Strength and the Restaurant Association of Maryland in 2010, Voltaggio was classically trained at one of America’s most prestigious culinary schools, the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park and his pedigree includes that of celebrated Chef Charlie Palmer. At VOLT, Voltaggio exercises his cooking philosophies and signature preparation of Modern American cuisine – which he characterizes as “sophisticated dishes offering classic flavor combinations that are created using fundamental and innovative cooking techniques.”