Good Micro-Brewery in the D.C. area?

[e***@excite.com]

Hi All:

I'll be vacationing in the Washington D.C. area next week & it looks
like I'll have time to visit one microbrewery.

Any thoughts on the best to see? I've heard that Old Dominion is far
and away the highest quality brewery in the area. Your thoughts on
this?

Any and all suggestions welcomed.

Thanks much.

Prosit!:
Ed

"Brewers make wort, yeast makes beer". - Dave Miller

[Dan Iwerks]

Post by e***@excite.com
I'll be vacationing in the Washington D.C. area next week & it looks
like I'll have time to visit one microbrewery.
Any thoughts on the best to see? I've heard that Old Dominion is far
and away the highest quality brewery in the area. Your thoughts on
this?
Any and all suggestions welcomed.

Old Dominion is absolutely excellent, but it's a long haul from downtown
D.C. itself (~30 miles, maybe). It's just north of Dulles airport, so if
you're flying into there it's certainly conveniently located, but a long
haul from the district itself. As for other places, Founder's on King
Street in Old Town Alexandria makes some really impressive beer, have
been quite pleased with their offerings. Within D.C. itself, there's a
number of chain brewpubs that are unspectacular but not sucky (John
Harvard's, Gordon Biersch, Capital City) and have occasional good things.
If you want a good tap spot, go to RFD right near Chinatown. Typically
have a good 20-30 impressive taps, some of them pretty incredible. Then
there's the Brickskeller, which claims to have the largest beer selection
in the world, if "largest beer selection in the world" means "largest
menu of beer in the world, of which we're probably out of a large portio
of it". One word of advice on the Brick, eat somewhere else first. The
food is on a good day atrocious.

Now follows the generic Ratebeer link for beer places. The D.C. area
does have a lot of really impressive beer, so should be good hunting.

http://www.ratebeer.com/Places/ShowTour.asp?TourID=20

[Alexander D. Mitchell IV]

Post by e***@excite.com
I'll be vacationing in the Washington D.C. area next week & it looks
like I'll have time to visit one microbrewery.
Any thoughts on the best to see? I've heard that Old Dominion is far
and away the highest quality brewery in the area. Your thoughts on
this?

*Only one? Sheesh.

You can try www.pubcrawler.com and see if it's working long enough for you
to see their Washington DC city guide.

Old Dominion is probably the best bet beer-wise for a production bottling
brewery, but get directions, and perhaps a sherpa.

In a similar realm, I can also suggest Frederick Brewing, 40-some miles up
I-270, which does Wild Goose and Blue Ridge beers plus a variety of contract
brews, and Clipper City, located just off Baltimore's beltway to the south
of Baltimore (once again, about 40 miles from DC center), a fine regional
bottling/kegging micro with several contracts as well.

Pubs? DC has two outlets of Capitol City Brewing, a Gordon Biersch, a
District Chop House & Brewery, a John Harvard's, and in the suburbs
Franklin's in Hyattsville, Rock Bottom in Bethesda, and in Virginia
Founder's in Alexandria, Shenandoah Brewing (a weird
brewpub-and-brew-your-own) west of Alexandria, a Rock Bottom and Dr. Dremo's
in Arlington, and a Hops in north Alexandria. Many of these are chains, but
with the exception of the Hops in Alexandria, don't hold that against
them--as far as I know, all the chains retain some degree of brewing
creativity by the brewers, with Rock Bottom in Bethesda being particularly
good "for a chain".

I would be remiss in not mentioning the Brickskeller off Dupont Circle and
RFD on 7th St. NW near District Chophouse--no brewing, but killer beer
selections.

Pubcrawler or a well-executed series of Google/Yahoo/whatever searches
should give you everything you need to know to find these places.

Also, pick up a copy of the about-to-be-hot-off-the-press Mid-Atlantic
Brewing News wherever you go for your planning needs.

Alexander D. Mitchell IV
Baltimore columnist
Mid-Atlantic Brewing News

[Richard Kaszeta]

Post by Alexander D. Mitchell IV
Old Dominion is probably the best bet beer-wise for a production bottling
brewery, but get directions, and perhaps a sherpa.

I find that Old Dominion plus a trip to the Udvar Hazy center makes
for a nice day trip from the city when I'm in the area.

Post by Alexander D. Mitchell IV
Dr. Dremo's in Arlington

How is Dr. Dremo's? I use to spend a lot of time around the Courthouse
Metro stop, but back in those days Dremo's was Ningaloo (or Bardo
before that). It seems these days when I'm meeting someone for a beer
around there I end up at Four Courts (which usually has Smithwick's
and a few decent ciders), or sometimes Whitlow's instead (which has a
mediocre selection).

Post by Alexander D. Mitchell IV
Hops in Alexandria

Hops is pretty good, I'll second this.

Post by Alexander D. Mitchell IV
I would be remiss in not mentioning the Brickskeller off Dupont Circle and
RFD on 7th St. NW near District Chophouse--no brewing, but killer beer
selections.

But highly variable food and a spotty selection. If you're looking to
try beers you've never had before, or looking for obscure regional
beers from another region, it can be pure gold, however.

[Alexander D. Mitchell IV]

Post by Richard Kaszeta

Post by Alexander D. Mitchell IV
Hops in Alexandria

Hops is pretty good, I'll second this.

I must be hitting this place with bad timing, I tell ya. The last time I
was there, they told me they had "a light, a lager, a golden, and a seasonal
red"--and based on the previous time I had been there, I turned on my heel
and retreated. They weren't producing repulsive beer, mind you, just
nothing worth crossing a parking lot for. Have they improved, gotten a
better brewer, etc.?

At least one Hops franchise I've seen in my area no longer even keeps up the
pretense of brewing beer; they just bring in guest beers, mostly
sex-in-a-canoe beers.

[Richard Kaszeta]

Post by Alexander D. Mitchell IV
I must be hitting this place with bad timing, I tell ya. The last time I
was there, they told me they had "a light, a lager, a golden, and a seasonal
red"

Well, the last time I was there (around a year ago, I think) it was
half and half: they had a fairly servicable oatmeal stout, a
nicely-rounded IPA (named "Big skeeter" or similar), and a decent red
on the "good" end of the scale. I think a nut brown that was decent,
too. On the other end of the taps, they had a *very* light ale
(looked waaaay too light), a low-carb brew that scared me, and some
sort of sketchy fruited beer. I guess I've been lucky to catch their
good stuff.

[The Archer]

I was in Hops in N. Alexandria a few years back and the beer was maintained
ice cold and in case that wasn't cool enough for some people, they served it
in chilled mugs! The waiter seemed surprised when I objected to this. I went
for a second but insisted on an unchilled glass. The beer itself was so cold
that it made no difference.

Post by Richard Kaszeta

Post by Alexander D. Mitchell IV
I must be hitting this place with bad timing, I tell ya. The last time I
was there, they told me they had "a light, a lager, a golden, and a seasonal
red"

Well, the last time I was there (around a year ago, I think) it was
half and half: they had a fairly servicable oatmeal stout, a
nicely-rounded IPA (named "Big skeeter" or similar), and a decent red
on the "good" end of the scale. I think a nut brown that was decent,
too. On the other end of the taps, they had a *very* light ale
(looked waaaay too light), a low-carb brew that scared me, and some
sort of sketchy fruited beer. I guess I've been lucky to catch their
good stuff.
--
Richard W Kaszeta
http://www.kaszeta.org/rich

[Bill Davidsen]

Post by The Archer
I was in Hops in N. Alexandria a few years back and the beer was maintained
ice cold and in case that wasn't cool enough for some people, they served it
in chilled mugs! The waiter seemed surprised when I objected to this. I went
for a second but insisted on an unchilled glass. The beer itself was so cold
that it made no difference.

One technical thought on that. Some beer styles are great when very
cold. I have brewed several hoppy lagers which don't mind at all being
cold. I chill at 40F for 72 hours to clear any chill haze.

And two commercial thoughts... the average dumb drinker thinks the
temperature of the fridge is the right way to serve beer, and will feel
he's getting "warm beer" otherwise. Also, if you serve cold it will warm
to whatever the consumer feels is right, if you serve it warm it's only
going to get more so.

The object of these businesses is profit, not education.

[Dav Vandenbroucke]

You could do worse than the District Chop House, about a half block
from the Gallery Place Metro Station. Their beer and their food are
both good.

Take a look at http://www.chophouse.com and choose the Washington
location.

As far as the other suggestions are concerned, here are my opinions:

Dominion: great place, but out of the way. If visit the partk at
Great Falls, you could stop there on the way back.

RFD: Impressive array of beers on tap. Most food is made with beer.
Can be pretty loud sometimes. Also handy to Gallery Place.

John Harvard: Not bad. Caters to the theater crowd. Handy to Metro
Center station.

Founders: tends to be uneven. Make sure you get a seat near the
windows, so that you can watch the parade of people through Old Town.
A lengthy walk from King Street Metro.

Hops: Not a bad place for a bite after shopping, but hardly a "must
go" experience.

Capital City: I wasn't impressed. The restaurant was noisy, and the
beer was bland. It's handy to Union Station, though.

Another good restaurant for beer is Matchbox, which is also by Gallery
Place, around the corner from RFD. It's mainly a pizza place, making
verty thin crust pizzas with some exotic ingredients. It does have
other food on the menu. It's not a brewpub, but it has some nice
beers on tap, such as Duvel.



Dav Vandenbroucke
davanden at cox dot net

[Bill Coleman]

Given that Duvel is not served on draft even
in Belgium, I assume you mean in bottles, not
on tap. Sounds like a place worth visiting, though.

Bill Coleman

--------------------------------
"Dav Vandenbroucke" <***@compuserve.com> wrote in
message news:***@4ax.com...
hough.

Post by Dav Vandenbroucke
Another good restaurant for beer is Matchbox, which is also by Gallery
Place, around the corner from RFD. It's mainly a pizza place, making
verty thin crust pizzas with some exotic ingredients. It does have
other food on the menu. It's not a brewpub, but it has some nice
beers on tap, such as Duvel.
Dav Vandenbroucke
davanden at cox dot net

[Joris Pattyn]

Post by Bill Coleman
Given that Duvel is not served on draft even
in Belgium, I assume you mean in bottles, not
on tap. Sounds like a place worth visiting, though.

Bill, I seem to recall definitely that Duvel has been served on draught in
Holland, on special demand. They won't do it for Belgium.
Joris

[Dav Vandenbroucke]

On Thu, 11 Aug 2005 10:36:28 -0400, "Bill Coleman"

Post by Bill Coleman
Given that Duvel is not served on draft even
in Belgium, I assume you mean in bottles, not
on tap.

No. What I mean was Chimay. Just a neural malfunction. You can read
about their beer at http://www.matchboxdc.com/beer-list.shtml .


Dav Vandenbroucke
davanden at cox dot net

[Bill Benzel]

Bill Coleman <***@ludwig.com> wrote:
: Given that Duvel is not served on draft even
: in Belgium, I assume you mean in bottles, not
: on tap. Sounds like a place worth visiting, though.
:


IIRC there are two "versions" of Duvel available in Belgium -- one
is fresh, the other is bottle conditioned.

Tom Peters has obtained kegged Duvel on more than one occasion -- I've
been to a few Belgian festivals in Philly where it was served on draft.
I recall a keg at the first Belgian fest that Tom engineered back aound
1993 at Copa II.

Lew, am I dreaming that?? I'm pretty sure you were there as well.

[Bill Coleman]

Post by Bill Benzel
IIRC there are two "versions" of Duvel available in Belgium -- one
is fresh, the other is bottle conditioned.
Tom Peters has obtained kegged Duvel on more than one occasion -- I've
been to a few Belgian festivals in Philly where it was served on draft.
I recall a keg at the first Belgian fest that Tom engineered back aound
1993 at Copa II.
Lew, am I dreaming that?? I'm pretty sure you were there as well.
reply to bbenzel adelphia net

I've visited the Moorgat brewery, and I've had both versions of Duvel.
The non-bottle conditioned version is a little lower in alchohol (7.5%
instead of 8.5%), and is called "Duvel Green" because of the color of
the label. It's actually filtered, so it could be argued that it's less
fresh
than the regular version.

And neither has ever been served on draft, anywhere.

Bill

[Lew Bryson]

Post by Bill Benzel
: Given that Duvel is not served on draft even
: in Belgium, I assume you mean in bottles, not
: on tap. Sounds like a place worth visiting, though.
Tom Peters has obtained kegged Duvel on more than one occasion -- I've
been to a few Belgian festivals in Philly where it was served on draft.
I recall a keg at the first Belgian fest that Tom engineered back aound
1993 at Copa II.
Lew, am I dreaming that?? I'm pretty sure you were there as well.

Can't back you up on that, Bill. I WAS at that first Belgian draft fest (it
was on April 15, which gave us all a laugh), and I remember draft La
Chouffe, which blew me away, and draft Lucifer, but I don't remember any
draft Duvel. There were somewhere between 12 and 16 drafts, can't remember
more than that.

[Lew Bryson]

"Dav Vandenbroucke" <***@compuserve.com> wrote in
message

Post by Dav Vandenbroucke
You could do worse than the District Chop House, about a half block
from the Gallery Place Metro Station. Their beer and their food are
both good.

Two thumbs up on that: bring money, but figure it's worth it.

Post by Dav Vandenbroucke
Dominion: great place, but out of the way. If visit the partk at
Great Falls, you could stop there on the way back.

Or the new Smithsonian exhibit at Dulles, or...any other excuse you can come
up with. And while you're out there, get to at least one of the Sweetwater
Taverns; award-winning beers, clean as a whistle, and the imperial stout
rules.

Post by Dav Vandenbroucke
RFD: Impressive array of beers on tap. Most food is made with beer.
Can be pretty loud sometimes. Also handy to Gallery Place.

Tap selection was not as impressive as places in Philly...I felt kind of let
down. Though I may have just hit it at a down period in the cycle.

Post by Dav Vandenbroucke
John Harvard: Not bad. Caters to the theater crowd. Handy to Metro
Center station.

Didn't knock me out, and the building's odd.

Post by Dav Vandenbroucke
Hops: Not a bad place for a bite after shopping, but hardly a "must
go" experience.

Concur. Appleby's with a little brewhouse. The Big Skeeter's pretty decent
stuff, though.

Post by Dav Vandenbroucke
Capital City: I wasn't impressed. The restaurant was noisy, and the
beer was bland. It's handy to Union Station, though.

Disagree on this one. The space is cool and the beers I had included a
Double IPA that rocked me back on my heels. And DC sure drinks a LOT of Cap
City's Koelsch.

Post by Dav Vandenbroucke
Another good restaurant for beer is Matchbox, which is also by Gallery
Place, around the corner from RFD. It's mainly a pizza place, making
verty thin crust pizzas with some exotic ingredients. It does have
other food on the menu. It's not a brewpub, but it has some nice
beers on tap, such as Duvel.

Matchbox is excellent, and often overlooked by the geekerie. Small but quite
select tap selection.

And don't forget the brewpubs on the Maryland side: Rock Bottom Bethesda,
Summit Station, and Franklin's, all of which have definite appeal.

[Alexander D. Mitchell IV]

Post by Lew Bryson

Post by Dav Vandenbroucke
You could do worse than the District Chop House, about a half block
from the Gallery Place Metro Station. Their beer and their food are
both good.

Two thumbs up on that: bring money, but figure it's worth it.

*You can survive on drinking a couple beers, but in that neighborhood if
they could charge you for the air you breathe, they would. Figure on $50-75
a person for dinner and beers--but you can do it for far less if you're a
bit of a miser.

Post by Lew Bryson

Post by Dav Vandenbroucke
Dominion: great place, but out of the way. If visit the partk at
Great Falls, you could stop there on the way back.

Or the new Smithsonian exhibit at Dulles, or...any other excuse you can
come up with. And while you're out there, get to at least one of the
Sweetwater Taverns; award-winning beers, clean as a whistle, and the
imperial stout rules.

*Suffice it to say that it can't be considered an incidental trip from DC.
You have to plan the assault. And while you're out there, you pretty much
have to do something else. I might also recommend the Tuscarora Mill Bar &
Restaurant in Leesburg, another "dress up, damn expensive, and worth it"
place.

Post by Lew Bryson

Post by Dav Vandenbroucke
RFD: Impressive array of beers on tap. Most food is made with beer.
Can be pretty loud sometimes. Also handy to Gallery Place.

Tap selection was not as impressive as places in Philly...I felt kind of
let down. Though I may have just hit it at a down period in the cycle.

*This, I will argue, is a factor of 1) when you hit them and 2) what you're
used to. If you come from a territory where the concept of Belgian beer or
distinctive imports on tap is only a mysterious allegory or legend, you may
declare yourself in heaven. If you are honestly used to "Belgian beers of
the week", as Brother Bryson and I are, then you will find RFD to be
terrific but not life-altering. (I'm sipping a Lindemanns Cassis as I type
this, having just come home from a Belgian-style brewpub that emptied an
entire firkin of fresh cask lime-leaf-and-pink-peppercorn-infised saison for
our monthly meeting of the Society for Preservation of Beers from the Wood,
so I'm spoiled to hell and back again.)

Post by Lew Bryson

Post by Dav Vandenbroucke
John Harvard: Not bad. Caters to the theater crowd. Handy to Metro
Center station.

Didn't knock me out, and the building's odd.

*Yes on both counts. It's there, it's handy, and your mileage may vary.

Post by Lew Bryson

Post by Dav Vandenbroucke
Hops: Not a bad place for a bite after shopping, but hardly a "must
go" experience.

Concur. Appleby's with a little brewhouse. The Big Skeeter's pretty decent
stuff, though.

*the LAST place I would hit in the DC area. Your odds of finding remarkable
beer here are almost nil.

Post by Lew Bryson

Post by Dav Vandenbroucke
Capital City: I wasn't impressed. The restaurant was noisy, and the
beer was bland. It's handy to Union Station, though.

Disagree on this one. The space is cool and the beers I had included a
Double IPA that rocked me back on my heels. And DC sure drinks a LOT of
Cap City's Koelsch.

*For a "chain" that HAS to cater to tourists, families, and yuppie
commuters, don't knock them. The flagships may be a bit better than
ordinary, but the specialties can rock.

Post by Lew Bryson

Post by Dav Vandenbroucke
Another good restaurant for beer is Matchbox, which is also by Gallery
Place, around the corner from RFD. It's mainly a pizza place, making
verty thin crust pizzas with some exotic ingredients. It does have
other food on the menu. It's not a brewpub, but it has some nice
beers on tap, such as Duvel.

Matchbox is excellent, and often overlooked by the geekerie. Small but
quite select tap selection.
And don't forget the brewpubs on the Maryland side: Rock Bottom Bethesda,
Summit Station, and Franklin's, all of which have definite appeal.
--

*I can second Summit (and its sister, Brewers Alley in Frederick), but it's
pushing the concept of "DC area" to the limits. For what you can get at the
place factored against its distance from downtown, you're better off in
parking-sucks-to-Hades Bethesda or Hyattsville (despite what some a**hole
folks may try and tell you, a bullet-proof vest is NOT mandatory for going
to Hyattsville, at least not where the brewpub is).

The latest Mid-Atlantic Brewing News will be in the pubs when you get there.

Cheers,
Alexander D. Mitchell IV
Baltimore MABN columnist

[Lew Bryson]

Post by Alexander D. Mitchell IV

Post by Lew Bryson
And don't forget the brewpubs on the Maryland side: Rock Bottom Bethesda,
Summit Station, and Franklin's, all of which have definite appeal.
--

*I can second Summit (and its sister, Brewers Alley in Frederick), but
it's pushing the concept of "DC area" to the limits. For what you can get
at the place factored against its distance from downtown, you're better
off in parking-sucks-to-Hades Bethesda or Hyattsville (despite what some
a**hole folks may try and tell you, a bullet-proof vest is NOT mandatory
for going to Hyattsville, at least not where the brewpub is).

Yeah, but...it's a REAL easy and pretty run out to Frederick, you can get to
Brewers Alley AND Barley and Hops, Firestone's across the street is a pretty
cool bar, and...and...Well, I really like going to Frederick. But the Rock
Bottom Bethesda is great, and you can always park in the town garage around
the block: cheap, clean, safe.

How's Franklin's beer quality holding up?

[Alexander D. Mitchell IV]

Post by Lew Bryson
Yeah, but...it's a REAL easy and pretty run out to Frederick, you can get
to Brewers Alley AND Barley and Hops, Firestone's across the street is a
pretty cool bar, and...and...Well, I really like going to Frederick. But
the Rock Bottom Bethesda is great, and you can always park in the town
garage around the block: cheap, clean, safe.

*We're assuming, from the way he phrased his initial inquiry, that he won't
have time to go out to Fredneck, as some refer to it. Heck, I like
Frederick myself, but we're assuming he has to sneak out of a conference,
not pub-crawl for a whole day.

Post by Lew Bryson
How's Franklin's beer quality holding up?

*Rather good, I might say. On average, I'd say a cut above everybody else
in alcohol content, hoppiness, innovation, etc. I ain't gonna fault a place
that has an I2PA, a tripel, and an ESB all on line at once in addition to
the more typical red, light, stout, etc. I'm almost inclined to say that
Franklin's might be the place in the DC area for a more experienced beer
geek to go if they really want beers to wake them up (not that I'm faulting
Old Dominion, Chophouse's bourbon stout, etc).

In retrospect, I will nominate one beer in the DC area to stay the hell away
from: Dr. Dremo's Chocolate Donut Stout, made in part with Krispy Kreme
chocolate donut glaze. Tragically, I kid you not.

[Dav Vandenbroucke]

On Tue, 16 Aug 2005 22:13:27 GMT, "Lew Bryson"

Post by Lew Bryson
Yeah, but...it's a REAL easy and pretty run out to Frederick, you can get to
Brewers Alley AND Barley and Hops, Firestone's across the street is a pretty
cool bar, and...and...Well, I really like going to Frederick.

And while you're in Frederick you can visit the National Museum of
Civil War Medicine, one of the area's more offbeat attractions.

Dav Vandenbroucke
davanden at cox dot net

[ckijora]

I would have to disagree about going to Old Dominion - personal opinion,
I wouldn't waste the time or gas. The Brickskeller is fun though for its
huge variety of bottled and draft beers. DC just isn't a brew pub kinda
town. CK

Post by e***@excite.com
I'll be vacationing in the Washington D.C. area next week & it looks
like I'll have time to visit one microbrewery.
Any thoughts on the best to see? I've heard that Old Dominion is far
and away the highest quality brewery in the area. Your thoughts on
this?
Any and all suggestions welcomed.
Thanks much.
Ed
"Brewers make wort, yeast makes beer". - Dave Miller