I did not know Elizabeth Ridgeway, my wife did though, and we attended her memorial service yesterday in DC.  I’ve been to a few funerals/memorial services in my life (more than I care to count), and aside from my father’s this one was probably the most emotionally taxing, which seems strange given that I did not know the deceased.  With over 200 people in attendance and five personal remembrances it was clear to me that I would have liked knowing her.  The collective pain was palpable.  By all measure, she lived an amazing life that was cut short by a horrible accident.

Mrs. TKD and I drove to DC, Friday night with the plan to spend the night since the memorial service started at 11:30 AM on Saturday.  We arrived in DC around 5:00 and quickly made our way to the restaurant The Birch and the Barley.  With over 500 different beers on the beer list, I was excited for this trip.  What I hadn’t expected was excellent food to go along with the beer.

Over the course of the dinner, I had four beers that I’ve never had before and will likely have trouble finding again.  Perhaps the most memorable was a German beer made with smoked barley.  I’ve had a few smoked beers in my life, but nothing ever like this.  One sip and I was all in.  If you’ve ever enjoyed a smoked pork shoulder, then you’ve got an idea what this was like.  I hadn’t read the description on the menu very carefully, but after a few sips, I noticed the description was “smokey and meaty.”  Maybe that doesn’t sound appealing, but let me tell you it was fantastic.