Membership questions? Log in issues? Email info@brewersassociation.org

Author Topic: Any good Beer/ Places in the Washington D.C. metro area?  (Read 11125 times)

Offline pyrite

  • Brewer
  • ****
  • Posts: 443
  • Davis, CA
Any good Beer/ Places in the Washington D.C. metro area?
« on: June 07, 2012, 08:42:25 am »
I'm in the D.C. area until August 10th.  Any recomendations of good breweries, micro Pubs, beer stores, festivals, etc?  Any suggestions on good happy hours would be appreciated. I'm using the Metro as my primary sorurce of transportation.

I was craving an easy drinking beer so I bought a six pack of Guiness black lager at a local liquor store and it tasted like liquid cardboard.  I wount go to that liquor store again. 

 
If you don't get in over your head, how are you ever going to know how tall you are.

Offline MDixon

  • Brewmaster General
  • *******
  • Posts: 2313
Re: Any good Beer/ Places in the Washington D.C. metro area?
« Reply #1 on: June 07, 2012, 09:13:55 am »
I hear good things about MadFox in Arlington area. In DC proper I like RFD and my latest fave is Brasserie Beck (get the mussels). I haven't been there with beer on the brain in quite some time, but if no one provides a better list I can dig up and old one.
It's not a popularity contest, it's beer!

Offline redbeerman

  • Senior Brewmaster
  • ******
  • Posts: 1849
  • On the banks of the mighty Susquehanna in MD
Re: Any good Beer/ Places in the Washington D.C. metro area?
« Reply #2 on: June 08, 2012, 09:13:50 am »
Bilbo Baggins in Olde Towne Alexandria on Queen Street.  All kinds of Belgian and microbrew beers.  King street (next block over) has a lot of good restaurants that have good beers on tap as well.
CH3CH2OH - Without it, life itself would be impossible.

[441, 112.1deg] AR

Jim

Offline hopfenundmalz

  • Global Moderator
  • I must live here
  • *****
  • Posts: 10678
  • Milford, MI
Re: Any good Beer/ Places in the Washington D.C. metro area?
« Reply #3 on: June 08, 2012, 10:32:01 am »
Pizza Paradisio (Dupont Circle) and Bierra Paradisio (Georgetown) for beer and pizza. We stayed near Dupont and there was a little bookstore/bar called Kamer Books/Afterwords that was pretty good.

Brasserie Beck looks like it is out of Belgium. Good beer selection. The only downside is that your wallet will be considerably lighter.

Have not been to Churchkey, but hear it is excellent.
Jeff Rankert
AHA Lifetime Member
BJCP National
Ann Arbor Brewers Guild
Home-brewing, not just a hobby, it is a lifestyle!

Offline BrewingRover

  • Brewmaster
  • *****
  • Posts: 771
  • Brewing in Flossmoor, IL
Re: Any good Beer/ Places in the Washington D.C. metro area?
« Reply #4 on: June 08, 2012, 02:40:22 pm »
The Churchkey is awesome. 40+ taps and 4-5 casks, even more in bottles. And they do everything in 4oz pours if you like. I had lunch there during a conference and was able to try 3 beers and still be awake for my afternoon meetings. It's a bit of a walk from the Metro, but well worth it.
It's such a fine line between stupid and clever.

Offline MDixon

  • Brewmaster General
  • *******
  • Posts: 2313
Re: Any good Beer/ Places in the Washington D.C. metro area?
« Reply #5 on: June 10, 2012, 02:23:42 pm »
I already mentioned:

Brassierie Beck - 1101 K St NW
RFD - 810 7th St NW
Mad Fox Brewing Company - 444 West Broad Street - Falls Church, Virginia

I'll add a few since you have not gotten too many responses, you can do your own research to see if they still are good places to go:

Belga Cafe - 514 8th St SE
District ChopHouse & Brewery - 509 7th St NW
Kramerbooks & Afterwords Cafe & Grill - 1517 Connecticut Ave NW

Chevy Chase Wine & Spirits - 5544 Connecticut Ave NW




It's not a popularity contest, it's beer!

Offline pyrite

  • Brewer
  • ****
  • Posts: 443
  • Davis, CA
Re: Any good Beer/ Places in the Washington D.C. metro area?
« Reply #6 on: June 11, 2012, 06:44:58 am »
This is great information.  Most of the pubs that I've been to out here seem to lack in the craft beer selection.  I will definitely try your suggestions. 

 
If you don't get in over your head, how are you ever going to know how tall you are.

Offline csu007

  • Brewer
  • ****
  • Posts: 304
  • Littleton, CO
Re: Any good Beer/ Places in the Washington D.C. metro area?
« Reply #7 on: August 16, 2012, 10:49:17 pm »
Glad to saw this thread, as I was going to start a topic on it. I will be in the DC, Alexandria area the second week of September and was wondering if one the DFH pubs would be worth the ~30mi drive, also if there any good pubs/breweries closer to Alexandria. We will have a car and about 2.5days of free time.
“Sometimes when I reflect back on all the beer I drank, I feel ashamed. Then I look into the glass and think about the workers in the brewery and all of their hopes and dreams. If I didn’t drink this beer, they might be out of work and their dreams would be shattered. Then I say to myself, “It is better that I drink this beer and let their dreams come true than be selfish and worry about my liver.

Offline pyrite

  • Brewer
  • ****
  • Posts: 443
  • Davis, CA
Re: Any good Beer/ Places in the Washington D.C. metro area?
« Reply #8 on: August 16, 2012, 11:44:05 pm »
Glad to saw this thread, as I was going to start a topic on it. I will be in the DC, Alexandria area the second week of September and was wondering if one the DFH pubs would be worth the ~30mi drive, also if there any good pubs/breweries closer to Alexandria. We will have a car and about 2.5days of free time.

Google Port brewing company.  I think they are in Alexandria Virginia.  I didn't make it out there but I wanted too.   

While I was in the DC area I found MANDU to host a great happy hour 4-7pm 7days a week.  Beers were $3 dollars. They had four beers on tap, which included Bells Two Hearted Ale, Anderson Valley Summer ale, A good pilsner from Great lakes brewing company and Stone IPA. 

Try and make use of Beeradvocate.com, specifically the icons on the left where you can choose location and places for beer.

I found that the Trader Joe's in George Town (fogggy bottom) carries a wide variety of local craft beer.  They had Bell's two hearted ale, DC BRAU, Port Brewing Company and Founders Centennial IPA.

BTW, Churchkey is a must.  They know beer, and the atmosphere is great.  It's worth the money.

If you don't get in over your head, how are you ever going to know how tall you are.

Offline csu007

  • Brewer
  • ****
  • Posts: 304
  • Littleton, CO
Re: Any good Beer/ Places in the Washington D.C. metro area?
« Reply #9 on: August 16, 2012, 11:49:56 pm »
thanks looks like i will have plenty to do,now only if i can convince my friend to have her wedding at one the breweries that would be great, haha.
“Sometimes when I reflect back on all the beer I drank, I feel ashamed. Then I look into the glass and think about the workers in the brewery and all of their hopes and dreams. If I didn’t drink this beer, they might be out of work and their dreams would be shattered. Then I say to myself, “It is better that I drink this beer and let their dreams come true than be selfish and worry about my liver.

Offline the_pig

  • Cellarman
  • **
  • Posts: 32
Re: Any good Beer/ Places in the Washington D.C. metro area?
« Reply #10 on: August 17, 2012, 03:31:57 am »
Hi and welcome to DC.  As a 52 year old native, I can say there was a long stretch of dark days for beer in DC.  But I'm proud to say that those days are over and the beer scene is vibrant!  Let me add a few to the list (there are many more):

micro breweries:

Chocolate City Brewing
DC Brau
3 Stars Brewing

Someone already mentioned Port City (close by in Alexandria).  All of the above are in DC proper.  3 Stars is new, but I believe they are already doing growler sales and tastings.  The other two have both (growlers and tastings) on Saturdays and usually have a food truck or two in attendance.  Chocolate City is not too far from the Brookland Metro stop. 

There are a ton of pubs including several brew pubs.  A new one that I really like is called Menomale Pizza (I think that means "welcome" in Italian) on 12th St. NE.  They don't brew their own, but have approx. 20 taps with a great selection.  They specialize in very good pizza, but I recommend the cheese plate (includes bread made in their pizza oven, nuts, honey, etc.) as a great sampler.  They serve small pours so you can try a few.

There are lots of other places too.  Enjoy your visit!

Offline garc_mall

  • Brewmaster
  • *****
  • Posts: 858
  • [1892.9, 294.9deg] AR Lynnwood, WA
Re: Any good Beer/ Places in the Washington D.C. metro area?
« Reply #11 on: October 22, 2013, 04:04:29 pm »
So, I am resurrecting this thread because I need more places to go. I am staying in Arlington, but can make anything within a decent drive. Good luck for me, because a block away from my hotel is Rustico, which is a sister bar of Churchkey. I have also done Mad Fox, Liberty Tavern, and I will be heading to Port city later this week.

Tell me where I should go, or tell me if you want to hang out.

narvin

  • Guest
Re: Any good Beer/ Places in the Washington D.C. metro area?
« Reply #12 on: October 25, 2013, 03:33:06 pm »
If you're still around and don't mind a longer drive, this weekend is the Real Ale Fest, a cask-only beer fest and the best event of Baltimore beer week.