Our Interview with Greg Engert, The Beer Director

Last week I sat down and spoke with Greg Engert, Beer Director for the Neighborhood Restaurant group (ChurchKey, Birch & Barley, Rustico, Evening Star Cafe, etc.) and a celebrity in the world of craft beer. I don’t use the term celebrity lightly, Greg has been featured in numerous national publications, spoken at major beer and food events across the country, was nominated for a James Beard award, and in 2010 was named as one of Food & Wine’s “Sommeliers of the Year.” The latter is especially impressive given that it was the first time a beer professional received the honor.

Greg is currently in charge of all aspects pertaining to beer programs for the Neighborhood Restaurant Group, made up of 10 restaurants, a retail beer & wine shop, two bakeries and two Red Apron butcher shop locations. ChurchKey, where we met, sits on top of NRG’s Birch and Barley, and is undoubtedly one of the greatest craft beer spots in DC, if not the best. I’ll be sure to write a full review soon, as it’s long overdue. For now however, we’ll focus on Greg. If you’re a craft beer lover, Greg’s career is one you need to follow.

When we sat down, Greg handed me a IV Saison from Brasserie de Jandrain-Jandrenouille (I have no idea how to pronounce it either) in Belgium, an example of just one of the many unique beers that Greg showcases daily on the constantly rotating tap menus of Birch & Barley and ChurchKey. This beer was particularly exciting to drink since only 300-400 barrels are produced annually. For comparison sake, the major beer companies in the US kick out about 170 million barrels of “beer” each year, so if you’re drinking a IV Saison, you’ve got something rare in your hand. I appreciated it greatly, and it was a fantastic beer to enjoy during our talk.

Greg’s love of beer began at an early age (coincidentally so did mine) and in 2004 while working towards his graduate degree at Georgetown, he took a job bartending at the once famous and now closed Brickskeller near Dupont Circle. Greg was studying English Literature with aspirations of becoming a teacher, but soon dropped those plans to pursue beer full time. Greg went from bartending to managing at Brickskeller, and later left to become Beer Director at NRG’s Rustico in Alexandria. It was there that Greg was able to take his passion further by creating unique beer menus focused around taste, giving beer lectures, and teaching those around him about pairing beers with food and so on. I guess you could say that in a way his dream of becoming a teacher had been realized, only in a much cooler subject area! During our conversation I asked him if he ever wondered what might have been, and his reply was that “Beer is as important to the world as any poem, book or novel…I’m in a new library, and now the books are beers.” Well said Greg!

To give you an example of how serious Greg is about beer at NRG’s properties, he created a 120 page beer manual for training the group’s staff. Trainees learn beer flavor categories such as crisp, hops, malt, roast, smoke, fruit & spice, tart & funky, and receive hands on experience pairing food with beer. The beer training is rigorous, but you can be sure that when you visit any of the group’s locations you’ll be speaking to someone who knows what they’re talking about when it comes to beer. One of Greg’s many goals is to educate and appeal to every type of beer drinker that frequent the group’s establishments, and his efforts have succeeded wildly.

If you’re not already familiar with the group’s restaurants, you need to check them out immediately. While most of their locations are full service restaurants, their portfolio also boasts their boutique Red Apron Butcher shops and the soon to be famous GBD (Golden Brown Delicious)…where they’ve paired artisanal beers with two of our favorite foods, fried chicken and donuts!

Greg is currently working on getting the group’s newest addition, BlueJacket. Located near Nationals Park, this new site will open in 2013. Already, Greg and his team have produced 15 different collaboration beers with other breweries, before BlueJacket has even opened its doors! The new brewery, which will also contain a restaurant, a bar and tasting room, will undoubtedly prove to be one of the most exciting additions to the craft beer scene in DC.

On behalf of all DC beer drinkers, I’d like to personally say thanks to Greg for all of the innovative ideas and different concepts that his passion for beer have brought, and continue to bring to the DC beer scene. I’ll be sure to continue following Greg now that we’ve met, and will keep you posted on what he comes up with next.

Until next time…stay thirsty DC!

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