Previewing The Sovereign With Greg Engert, Pt. 2

Earlier this year, the Neighborhood Restaurant Group announced the opening of The Sovereign, a Belgian-focused bar and bistro located at 1206 Wisconsin Avenue NW in Georgetown. The two-story space contains an 84-seat first floor dining room and a 47-seat bar on the second floor.

In anticipation of the restaurant’s early February opening, we’re speaking with Neighborhood Restaurant Group Beer Director Greg Engert about the new beer program and, per usual with Greg, a number of other beer industry-related topics. See the first interview here. In this second interview, we discuss staff training, the atmosphere at The Sovereign, and Belgian beer culture and history. The third part of the series will focus on the launch list and food menu.

What follows below is a transcript edited for length and clarity.

DCBeer: Why the Sovereign? What is the derivation of the name The Sovereign?

Greg Engert: We go round and round trying to name places, but a Belgian place is even more difficult because of