We just got back 2 days ago, what a great trip! We hit the following places while enroute;
-City Steam Brewing, Hartford, CT, went there for lunch on the way down and Dinner on the way back! Tried all of the brews on their menu, all were excellent. The Naughty Nurse amber ale and the American Wheat were both especially good!
-Capitol City Brewing, Washington D.C., went to both locations, the Kolsch, Hefeweizen and Amber Waves (a hoppy brown ale) were both outstanding, everything else they had was also wonderful!
-The Dogfish Head Alehouse in Fairfax, VA. The food was great and some of the blends you can do with all the draft DFH were really neat. My wife got a 1/2 Red and White, 1/2 Chicory Stout. I got an Alehouse 75, 1/2 60 minute IPA and 1/2 90 minute IPA. It was a nice mix of the crispness of the 60 minute and the floral/sweet flavor of the 90 minute. Shelter Pale Ale on draft is outstanding, by the way. We also had a variety of other delicious draft DFH including Sah'Tea and Theobroma, both hard to find on draft near our place in MA.
-The Bier Baron, dowtown Washington D.C., near Dupont Circle. Great traditional bar food with some cool Bavarian twists. I got a 21st Amendment Back in Black, a black IPA, I can't recall what my wife had. They had an extensive collection of bottled beer from all over the world, a few hundred at least. They were also having movie night, everyone in the restaurant was treated to watching The King's Speech!
-Last but not least by any means, Dogfish Head Brewing and Eats in Rehobeth Beach, DE. The place was mobbed, but the service was excellent and we were treated to some truly hard to find DFH brews. Jenna had a Red and Black, an imperial stout with a TON of mint in it. Definitely a great slow sipping dessert beer. I had a Zeno, a nice light Saison without much explanation on the menu. It was definitely spiced with *something* good, I just couldn't put my finger on it. The treat of the night was definitely the 120 minute IPA on draft. It was truly outstanding, a bit sweeter than the bottled version I've had but it packed a hell of a punch. Unfortunately they were out of Johnny Cask, they're 75 minute casked IPA, Noble Rot a strong saison fermented with wine grapes infected with Botrytis, and their new brew Hellhound On My Ale. I would have loved to try all of them but alas, it was not meant to be. We picked up a bottle of their Peanut Butter flavored vodka and a bottle of their "Jin" made with juniper berries, coriander, cucumber and something else which currently escapes me, I'll edit when I get home and check the bottle.
The DFH brewery tour was excellent, one of the best I've been on. They also sell a lot of their bottled product on the cheap, I picked up 4 bottle of Squall for 8 bucks apiece, amongst other things!
Thanks for the advice everyone, we had an awesome vacation!
Topic: Washington, D.C. area and the Delaware coast! (Read 4710 times)
