A couple Saturdays ago, while we were in the throes of the Polar Vortex, Patti and I embarked on a journey that would’ve been unthinkable five years ago – a District of Columbia brewery crawl. By my count, DC itself has at least seven breweries or restaurants that brew their own beer (and I’m probably forgetting some) and there are several that we haven’t had a chance to check out. Sure, we did DC Brau last summer and recently visited BlueJacket, but there are so many more in DC’s burgeoning craft beer scene. So, after a hearty late lunch at Union Market (TaKorean for me, Toki’s popup for her), we set out to find some breweries and taste some beer.
One thing that’s always struck me about going to breweries to taste beer that’s vastly different than going to wineries to taste wine is the ambiance. Wineries are out in open spaces, where things are pastoral – lots of greenery, usually some hills if not outright mountains. Frequently, the tasting facility is palatial, or if it isn’t, it’s usually at least a quaint farmhouse or barn.
Breweries, on the other hand, are quite the opposite. They’re not pastoral, they’re industrial. With the exception of restaurant breweries, they’re usually in industrial parks and frequently in bad parts of town. Entering the facility often requires traipsing up loading dock stairs, and standing around a giant unheated warehouse (challenging in 20 degree weather!) on a cement floor drinking beer. While you’ll occasionally come across ones with nice tasting rooms, like Port City in Alexandria, that’s not always the case. And the DC breweries we visited were no exception.
Another odd thing about DC breweries is that you can go
there, taste beer and get growler fills, but you can’t actually go there and
buy a pint like you can at some of the Virginia breweries. And for the most
part, the breweries are only open for tasting and fills on Saturdays. So there
are some limiting aspects.
All that said, it was a grand way to spend a Polar Vortex
Saturday in January and we definitely tasted some good beer. Here’s the
rundown:
Atlas is very much a newcomer to the DC brewery scene, having just opened in September 2013. It’s located in the Ivy City neighborhood of Northeast DC, not far from Union Market. The ambiance definitely falls in the category described above – slightly dilapidated industrial, with lots of room to grow. They’re beginning to distribute to local restaurants (including the aforementioned TaKorean), and had the saison in large format bottles, but otherwise you’re pretty lost without a growler. They were pouring three beers that day:
- District Common – A California Common style of beer similar to Anchor Steam, where it’s a lager that’s fermented at warmer, more ale-like temperatures. It tasted light and crisp, with a little bit of bitterness. Pretty easy drinking and appropriate for any time of day or year.
- Rowdy Rye – It seems like Rye beers are getting more and more common. This one is typical of the genre, with hoppy bitterness on the back, but nothing too heavy.
- Saison des Fetes – It’s so great to see more
local brewers trying the Belgian saison style! This one has a nice fruity nose,
citrus and a good malty backbone.
From Atlas, we moved farther into Northeast and found
Chocolate City Brewing, not far from the Brookland/Catholic U area. In terms of
facilities, this one was definitely the most…um…casual, but anyplace that lets
you bring your dog in is a-ok with us. Once again, some quality beers:
- Cornerstone Copper Ale – This one was tasty, with a bit of a hoppy bite that told me to pay attention. I think that the snappiness of high-hop beers tends to go well with food, and I’m betting this one would too.
- Cerveza Nacional de la Capital – Something I don’t see much of in the local craft brewery scene: a black Vienna lager. This was reminiscent of a Negra Modelo, both in taste and packaging. Nice malty backbone.
- 8th & I Rye – See what I mean about the Rye thing? Another good example, with proceeds from the sale of this going to the Fisher House Foundation. Might’ve been a growler candidate had the keg not kicked before we went in for the fill.
- Mister Mayor Imperial Stout – Only a place with a name like Chocolate City can get away with this one: a dark stout that was fermented with…wait for it…marion berries. According to the bottle, this can be "your beer for life." Well played. Interesting take – a stout with a fruity finish. High alcohol (9%) too.
Our Growler
Pick: Cerveza Nacional de la Capital
(though we also took home a couple of large format bottles of the Mister Mayor and a Big
Chair IPA that they weren’t tasting that day)
Stop #3 Three Stars
Brewing Company
- The Movement – I’m a sucker for a good American Pale Ale, since they usually don’t pack the hop whallop of an IPA. This one was tasty, with some good hops that didn’t last long.
- Peppercorn Saison - Another nice saison. Citrus notes and the usual.
- Pandemic Porter - Nice, roasty porter. I used to not be a big porter fan, but I'm starting to really like them. Especially in the winter.
- Two to the Dome - Double IPA! Hoppy hoppy. Not sure it's the right time of year, but it's got some snap.
- Samsquatch - White IPA. Has a bright taste. After this point, things are starting to all run together.
- From Russia with Love - Hard to beat a James Bond title. And a nice Russian Imperial Stout. Flavorful and rich.
Our Growler Pick: From Russia with Love
Stop #4 Right Proper Brewing Company
By now, we'd worn out the growler time at breweries, so it was time to find one that was also a restaurant. We visited Right Proper, which has been open for about a month now in Shaw. Nice atmosphere -- great art on the walls and clearly happening and crowded early on a Saturday evening with a mostly neighborhoody crowd. But not so happening that we couldn't get a seat at the bar (though if we'd arrived half an hour later it would've been a different story). Nice set of bar food on the menu, and a solid beer lineup, including a Scottish ale that's a wee light instead of a wee heavy (first time I've ever seen one that wasn't a heavy).
We didn't do a proper tasting (we were pretty much tasted out), but the beers we had were good. In addition to the wee light (Laird Fauntleroy), we had a couple of others, including Bete Noire (a Baltic Porter) and Raised by Wolves (an aromatic pale ale) as well as some fried chicken parts and mumbo sauce. Great way to wind things up.
Right Proper also believes in the guest tap and uses it to promote other local beers -- in this particular case it was DC Brau's On the Wings of Armageddon, a double IPA that even Patti (who is not an IPA fan) likes.
Our Growler Pick: We'd only brought three growlers (I think we were surprised we made as many breweries as we did), so we weren't able to fill a growler here, though they do fill them. We'll know better next time.
After that, we made our way over to 14th Street for a plate of oysters at Pearl Dive/Black Jack and the fourth quarter of the Colts' spectacular comeback against the Chiefs. It was a great day!
I'm glad we finally got a chance to check out all of these breweries, and I plan on going back, though maybe not during Polar Vortex weather (something about drinking cold beverages in unheated drafty spaces). I'm also looking forward to the day where the DC beer scene has grown up enough that I can have a steady supply of DC beer in my fridge at home.
Stop #4 Right Proper Brewing Company
By now, we'd worn out the growler time at breweries, so it was time to find one that was also a restaurant. We visited Right Proper, which has been open for about a month now in Shaw. Nice atmosphere -- great art on the walls and clearly happening and crowded early on a Saturday evening with a mostly neighborhoody crowd. But not so happening that we couldn't get a seat at the bar (though if we'd arrived half an hour later it would've been a different story). Nice set of bar food on the menu, and a solid beer lineup, including a Scottish ale that's a wee light instead of a wee heavy (first time I've ever seen one that wasn't a heavy).
We didn't do a proper tasting (we were pretty much tasted out), but the beers we had were good. In addition to the wee light (Laird Fauntleroy), we had a couple of others, including Bete Noire (a Baltic Porter) and Raised by Wolves (an aromatic pale ale) as well as some fried chicken parts and mumbo sauce. Great way to wind things up.
Right Proper also believes in the guest tap and uses it to promote other local beers -- in this particular case it was DC Brau's On the Wings of Armageddon, a double IPA that even Patti (who is not an IPA fan) likes.
Our Growler Pick: We'd only brought three growlers (I think we were surprised we made as many breweries as we did), so we weren't able to fill a growler here, though they do fill them. We'll know better next time.
After that, we made our way over to 14th Street for a plate of oysters at Pearl Dive/Black Jack and the fourth quarter of the Colts' spectacular comeback against the Chiefs. It was a great day!
I'm glad we finally got a chance to check out all of these breweries, and I plan on going back, though maybe not during Polar Vortex weather (something about drinking cold beverages in unheated drafty spaces). I'm also looking forward to the day where the DC beer scene has grown up enough that I can have a steady supply of DC beer in my fridge at home.
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