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It seems that after many years of hard work by so many people Craft Beer has justifiably earned the respect of High-Profile Restaurants. The days of treating beer as the last thing of importance when creating a beverage menu are surely starting to end.

This is quite evident in the nation’s capitol. It seems that nearly every positive restaurant review or write-up in major Washington-based publications is about a place that offers good beer. This was displayed at this years Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington awards gala when the 2009 winner of Chef of the Year went to Robert Weidmaier. Chef Weidmaier mans the helm of two of DC’s highly regarded Bistro’s- Brasserie Beck and Marcels.  Both places are known for fantastic Belgian cuisine and extensive Belgian and Belgian-style beer programs. Chef Weidmaier has been known to conduct some of the best beer dinners in the nation.

In early November, the Women Chefs and Restauranteurs Conference was held at the Ritz-Carlton on M St NW. The buzz was that one of the most memorable was a seminar on Craft Beer. “Liquid Bread” featured Carol Stoudt of Stoudts Brewing Co., Susan Greene of the Global Brewers Guild, Sebbie Buhler of Rogue Ales, Tammy Tuck from the Washington City Paper, and Erin Tyler of Legends Ltd.  Moderated by Chef Ruth Gresner of Pizzeria Paradiso, each speaker spoke about prominent women in the Craft Beer movement and the shift that is taking place in the consumer marketplace. It was very inspiring.

In brewpub news the District Chophouse continues to move along. A recent stop by Barrett Lauer at the Dunkel Weizen brewed with a touch of chocolate and caramel malts. As Barrett put it “Think chocolate banana bread.”

In January the Chophouse will have Wheat Wine on tap -- a strong Hefeweizen and on the “Marker Tap” will be a Doppelbock which is a strong dark lager that is “deceptively smooth”. Over at Gordon Biersch has its Winter Bock on tap, a Bavarian-style 8% dark lager. At Washington, DC’s first brewpub since Prohibition, Capitol City Brewing Co. brewer Mike McCarthy has a Winter Ale in the pipeline.