Definitive Washington DC visit thread

[neorunner]

Which would you recommend?

Ocelot
Whole Foods Fair Lakes (30 taps)
Solace
Aslin
Old Ox
Crooked Run for tacos
Vanish for bbq by one of the Voltagio brothers
Cerritos for authentic El Salvadorian (not a brewery)

 

[brees6221]

I was there today! Didn’t expect to see you, but you could have met mrs. beerontwowheels!

I need some Mr. and Mrs. beerontwowheels in my life. And little beerontwowheels too.

 

[civicsitodamax]

Which would you recommend?

Ocelot, cause you can find me behind the bar there

 

[neorunner]

Ocelot, cause you can find me behind the bar there

You working tonight?

 

[civicsitodamax]

You working tonight?

No sir, tomorrow Friday and Saturday

 

[thewimperoo]

Ocelot, cause you can find me behind the bar there

See you on Friday

 

[civicsitodamax]

See you on Friday

Ask for Max

 

[Sebowski1]

Ask for Max

OK. Is Max around? Go Hammers!

 

[chefduff2]

I guess I need to make another run down to Ocelot again. That anniversary party was fun.

 

[bramsdell]

Visiting my friend that has been on assignment in the area this weekend. His place is in Chantilly. Current plan is to hang out in the suburbs on Friday and then go to DC proper on Saturday.

For Friday, I was thinking Ocelot, Crooked Run, grab cans at Aslin if there's stuff available and then just kind of chill back at his place and drink whatever we pick up throughout the day. He hasn't been too keen on any of the other breweries he's tried out there. Is there anywhere else out that way that is a must hit?

Saturday, spend a good chunk of time at Sovereign and Churchkey. Want to hit Right Proper, maybe Blue Jacket. Smoke & Barrel and Jack Rose to close out the night.

It's been noted, but probably skip Blue Jacket. It's pretty far out of the way. The others are at least in NW.

The Sovereign, while excellent, is also rather out of the way compared to those others. A day at Right Proper brewpub, Churchkey, Smoke & Barrel, and Jack Rose should provide more libation options than will be necessary.

 

[Beerontwowheels]

A day at Right Proper brewpub, Churchkey, Smoke & Barrel, and Jack Rose should provide more libation options than will be necessary.

That's pretty much perfect.

 

[neorunner]

That's pretty much perfect.

 

[Beerontwowheels]

I don't get out often, might as well splurge when I can.

 

[Shakedwnst]

There’s no such thing as a cheap day out in DC anyway

 

[stakem1]

Looks like next weekend (st patty’s day) ill be in DC with my beer drinking amigos.

We were planning on getting a hotel as close to the Bruery DC location as possible but it appears that they dont serve beer, only sell it to go? Which completely squashes our game plan.

So now im left with trying to figure out what to do with 3 dudes who love Bruery beer and were banking on getting shitty on it next weekend. I suppose this means we dont have to stay within the confines of DC and can meander around elsewhere. But our styles of drinking are very different - id love to go to the soveriegn and sit down with some bottles of Fantome and lambic but these guys will **** bricks at those prices.

Ive read the other suggestions in this thread regarding whats close by and are easy to put together to hit one after another but if there was one spot between central PA and DC that was a must stop, what would you say?

 

[neorunner]

Looks like next weekend (st patty’s day) ill be in DC with my beer drinking amigos.

We were planning on getting a hotel as close to the Bruery DC location as possible but it appears that they dont serve beer, only sell it to go? Which completely squashes our game plan.

So now im left with trying to figure out what to do with 3 dudes who love Bruery beer and were banking on getting shitty on it next weekend. I suppose this means we dont have to stay within the confines of DC and can meander around elsewhere. But our styles of drinking are very different - id love to go to the soveriegn and sit down with some bottles of Fantome and lambic but these guys will **** bricks at those prices.

Ive read the other suggestions in this thread regarding whats close by and are easy to put together to hit one after another but if there was one spot between central PA and DC that was a must stop, what would you say?

PM me if you're interested.

 

[gatorbeer1]

Looks like next weekend (st patty’s day) ill be in DC with my beer drinking amigos.

We were planning on getting a hotel as close to the Bruery DC location as possible but it appears that they dont serve beer, only sell it to go? Which completely squashes our game plan.

So now im left with trying to figure out what to do with 3 dudes who love Bruery beer and were banking on getting shitty on it next weekend. I suppose this means we dont have to stay within the confines of DC and can meander around elsewhere. But our styles of drinking are very different - id love to go to the soveriegn and sit down with some bottles of Fantome and lambic but these guys will **** bricks at those prices.

Ive read the other suggestions in this thread regarding whats close by and are easy to put together to hit one after another but if there was one spot between central PA and DC that was a must stop, what would you say?

Not sure if it helps, but the Bruery store just started selling crowlers. Not for consumption on site of course.

 

[civicsitodamax]

PM me if you're interested.

this

 

[franch]

buy a bunch of my extra bruery beer and drink it in union market's parking lot

 

[bramsdell]

Has anyone been to the new Bruery spot? Impressions?

 

[gatorbeer1]

Has anyone been to the new Bruery spot? Impressions?

It’s a small shop but they pack a ton of beer in there. Barrel aged on one side, sour and non BA on the other. Offshoot Beer Co hazy IPAs in the fridge (which are pretty damn solid). Some merch also available and they just put in like 20 taps for crowlers.

Solid space and the prices are pretty reasonable.

 

[bramsdell]

Went to Manor Hill yesterday. I really enjoy their offerings that I can find in the city, but their taproom has an excellent selection and is super comfortable. It's on a real farm and is rather remote, but it's worth the drive. Record shopping in Ellicott City and then beer at Manor Hill makes for a great day.

You need a reservation, though. Just a head's up. You can make them on their website.

 

[stakem1]

Went to Manor Hill yesterday. I really enjoy their offerings that I can find in the city, but their taproom has an excellent selection and is super comfortable. It's on a real farm and is rather remote, but it's worth the drive. Record shopping in Ellicott City and then beer at Manor Hill makes for a great day.

You need a reservation, though. Just a head's up. You can make them on their website.

Thanks for the heads up. We were looking at possibly stopping here on our way to the Bruery tomorrow. I just made a reservation for 1:30.

I know the way this is gonna go...we are gonna hit this place, grab our **** at the Bruery, check out the Sovereign for (please still have Fantome on tap) and then we were planning on making our way west hopefully checking out Ocelet as previously suggested. But in all reality, we will probably drink too much at stop #1 and 2 and not make it to the others we intend to.

 

[mrk_d]

Thanks for the heads up. We were looking at possibly stopping here on our way to the Bruery tomorrow. I just made a reservation for 1:30.

I know the way this is gonna go...we are gonna hit this place, grab our **** at the Bruery, check out the Sovereign for (please still have Fantome on tap) and then we were planning on making our way west hopefully checking out Ocelet as previously suggested. But in all reality, we will probably drink too much at stop #1 and 2 and not make it to the others we intend to.

In addition to the Fantôme on tap at Sovereign, they have a pretty decent bottle selection. Prices are $30-40 IIRC which isn't too crazy considering restaurant markup and the general high prices in DC. I've been considering pulling the trigger on a bottle of Desert Ghost before I leave the city because I haven't seen it on shelves and I'd really like to try it. After factoring in shipping costs/risks, $40 for a desirable Tome isn't that bad. Anyways, I digress, hope you get your Tome tap fix.

 

[Beerontwowheels]

Thanks for the heads up. We were looking at possibly stopping here on our way to the Bruery tomorrow. I just made a reservation for 1:30.

I know the way this is gonna go...we are gonna hit this place, grab our **** at the Bruery, check out the Sovereign for (please still have Fantome on tap) and then we were planning on making our way west hopefully checking out Ocelet as previously suggested. But in all reality, we will probably drink too much at stop #1 and 2 and not make it to the others we intend to.

I've been to Manor Hill a few times now, but just to pick up cans (it's pretty rare that I'll make reservations somewhere just to drink beer). Most of their stuff goes on tap at my LBS, so there's really no need to hit the brewery itself. Yeah, they have their own hop farm, cool, but if I was prioritizing a visit to Manor Hill, I would wait until summer when the hop bines are in full swing. I've been underwhelmed with a lot of Manor Hill stuff lately. They've had some consistency issues and all of the fruited IPAs have been awful (Malt Shop stuff).

Ocelot will be bit of a hike (also along a toll road - bring your ezpass), but IMO, has much better beer. It will probably be a little nuts since it's St. Patty's day. They will definitely have a food truck available.

TL/DR: I live almost equidistant from Manor Hill and Ocelot and I'd choose Ocelot every time.

 

[neorunner]

Some of the kegs that will be tapped at whole foods fair lakes tomorrow for kegs and eggs. You can find me there after Ocelot.

-Triple Barrel Big Bad Baptist
-Bells Traverse City Whiskey Barrel Neptune
-Perennial Abraxas
-Hardywood Christmas Morning
-DC Brau OTWOA
-Innis and Gunn Irish Whiskey Barrel Stout
-Ocelot My Only Friend

 

[brees6221]

Thanks for the heads up. We were looking at possibly stopping here on our way to the Bruery tomorrow. I just made a reservation for 1:30.

I know the way this is gonna go...we are gonna hit this place, grab our **** at the Bruery, check out the Sovereign for (please still have Fantome on tap) and then we were planning on making our way west hopefully checking out Ocelet as previously suggested. But in all reality, we will probably drink too much at stop #1 and 2 and not make it to the others we intend to.

Well.....what happened??

 

[thewimperoo]

Long overdue report on my trip to NoVa/DC from a few weeks ago.

Friday, we hit a few spots in NoVA. Started at a Crooked Run. Tacos and beers were all solid. Corn fritters were the absolute highlight of everything.

From there we hit Old Ox. Alt Bier & Mexican Hot Chocolate Porter were really good. Hit or miss on most everything else I tried.

After that we grabbed cans at Aslin. DDH Neutrino was the highlight. Johann the Mango Thief was no gouda, especially given the price. Everything else was fine, but not worth the price tag.

From there, the next stop was Ocelot. My favorite place of the day by a big margin. A wide variety of styles with lots of winners. Home*, Big Cat, Float On, Powers of Observation, Sunnyside Dweller being the cream of the crop. Met civicsitodamax & neorunner In true Talkbeer fashion, Max hit me with an unannounced bag of goodies. Bottle of Ocelot Barrel Aged Painless, HF Anna, & an Ocelot 2017 Anniversary taster. Payment is coming back your way this week, Max. Let me know what days you're working so my buddy can make sure you get it.

After Ocelot, we hit Solace, which was a bit of a disappointment coming off the highs of Ocelot. Did a flight of 6 beers. Nothing was awful at Solace, but nothing was very good either.

 

[thewimperoo]

On Saturday, we took the Orange line metro into DC and walked everywhere despite the light rain. Started off at Sovereign. Honestly could have spent the entire day here and been more than content. Great draft list, insane bottle list, and excellent food. Fantome Saison & Pissenlit, various HF, plus many other delights on draft. To keep from spending a ton of money we decided we'd only do 2 bottles and entered a bunch of them into a spreadsheet for a random number generator to decide which ones we'd pick. Charcuterie plate, pork rilletes and Fries w/carbonade were all delicious.

After Sovereign, we made our way to Churchkey. More Fantome and HF on tap. Plus a bunch of other great beers. Highlights included HF Arthur & Florence, Veil Special Combo #1, and Coniston Blue Bird Bitter on cask.

Next spot was Right Proper Brewpub. Place was packed so there wasn't really anywhere to post up for a good session. Grabbed a few beers from the bar, but it was a less than an ideal experience. None of the beers were super exciting, but overall decent.

After that we walked to Jack Rose, but that place was super busy so we didn't get to experience all of the bourbon goodness. Probably better for my pocketbook and decisions as adding bourbon to the day would have only led to bad decisions.

Smoke & Barrel was the consolation prize, but I'm not complaining about that. Chill atmosphere. Nice beer list. Great food. Smoked wings and meat platter hit the spot at that point in the day. Ocelot Talking Backwards was the highlight of the beer list.

 

[thewimperoo]

One final note, on the tip from neorunner Cerrito's Pupuseria in Chantilly is the goods. Hit that place up on Sunday before heading out of town. Pupusas revueltas were straight up amazeballs.

A solid 48 hours, but could have used another week at least to do everything I wanted to do. Thanks to everyone for the recommendations.

 

[stakem1]

Well.....what happened??

Stop 1: South County Brewing Co
We were there from 11-12:30. Nice little spot thats kinda out in the sticks. They had 7 beers and a cider on tap. Their hoppy stuff seemingly all tastes the same to me, im not a big fan. They also had one of their gelato beers on tap which was basically like drinking coffee with cream and sugar added to it. Kinda tasty for what it is but I dont think drinking more than 8oz of it is possible unless you have a real sweet tooth. The bartenders didnt seem like they knew much about beer, just slinging it. They were bragging about how when they have special can releases, 150-200 people line up 3-4 hours before opening time. K?

Stop 2: Manor Hill Brewing
We arrived almost 30 mins late to our 13:30 reservation. Talk about a family that is loaded? Yikes, I immediate felt daunted driving down there half mile long driveway to their enormous mansion. Place was filled with St Patricks day patrons dressed up like green clowns. They had 14 beers on tap plus a firkin. Nice spread of styles to pick from that pleased my buddies. IPAs, porter, BA stouts, pils, sours, saison, etc. Citra splendor and citra stupor were the highlights.

Stop 3: DC Brau
A good buddy of mine said this was a must stop. Im now left questioning our friendship, I dont need to go there again. My coherts were not impressed, we each had a beer and got outta there with the quickness.

Stop 4: The Bruery
Its now 6pm? What a ****ing lilacflowers this place is in. Every building surrounding it was barred or bricked off, broken down and decrepid or abandoned. The street is under construction with no markings so navigating where the hell I was even suppose to be driving was interesting. Inside the store though, the place is immaculate.

Final stop: The Sovereign
We were drastically under-dressed and entirely too laid back/redneck for this place. Everyone around us were in suits like they just left the pentagon or got off the set of a CNN broadcast. We got a menu infront of us and I immediately popped a boner. 3 Fantomes on draft.... and “March Madness” 1/2 off select bottles. We drank several $12 bottles of Cantillon, Drie Fonteinen Doesjel and Boon Black label.

 

[bramsdell]

Stop 1: South County Brewing Co
We were there from 11-12:30. Nice little spot thats kinda out in the sticks. They had 7 beers and a cider on tap. Their hoppy stuff seemingly all tastes the same to me, im not a big fan. They also had one of their gelato beers on tap which was basically like drinking coffee with cream and sugar added to it. Kinda tasty for what it is but I dont think drinking more than 8oz of it is possible unless you have a real sweet tooth. The bartenders didnt seem like they knew much about beer, just slinging it. They were bragging about how when they have special can releases, 150-200 people line up 3-4 hours before opening time. K?

Stop 2: Manor Hill Brewing
We arrived almost 30 mins late to our 13:30 reservation. Talk about a family that is loaded? Yikes, I immediate felt daunted driving down there half mile long driveway to their enormous mansion. Place was filled with St Patricks day patrons dressed up like green clowns. They had 14 beers on tap plus a firkin. Nice spread of styles to pick from that pleased my buddies. IPAs, porter, BA stouts, pils, sours, saison, etc. Citra splendor and citra stupor were the highlights.

Stop 3: DC Brau
A good buddy of mine said this was a must stop. Im now left questioning our friendship, I dont need to go there again. My coherts were not impressed, we each had a beer and got outta there with the quickness.

Stop 4: The Bruery
Its now 6pm? What a ****ing lilacflowers this place is in. Every building surrounding it was barred or bricked off, broken down and decrepid or abandoned. The street is under construction with no markings so navigating where the hell I was even suppose to be driving was interesting. Inside the store though, the place is immaculate.

Final stop: The Sovereign
We were drastically under-dressed and entirely too laid back/redneck for this place. Everyone around us were in suits like they just left the pentagon or got off the set of a CNN broadcast. We got a menu infront of us and I immediately popped a boner. 3 Fantomes on draft.... and “March Madness” 1/2 off select bottles. We drank several $12 bottles of Cantillon, Drie Fonteinen Doesjel and Boon Black label.

I’ve been to the Sovereign a million times, but I never go in the evening, really only lunch/afternoon. Surprised to hear you felt out of place; it’s always been pretty chill there.

 

[mrk_d]

Final stop: The Sovereign
We were drastically under-dressed and entirely too laid back/redneck for this place. Everyone around us were in suits like they just left the pentagon or got off the set of a CNN broadcast. We got a menu infront of us and I immediately popped a boner. 3 Fantomes on draft.... and “March Madness” 1/2 off select bottles. We drank several $12 bottles of Cantillon, Drie Fonteinen Doesjel and Boon Black label.

1) **** how did I not know about this March Madness thing and 2) welcome to DC, so many suited-up people here. I feel out of place essentially everywhere as a CA native.

 

[mrk_d]

Also, anyone here want to split a bottle or two of lambic at Sovereign before April 1? I’ve been eyeing St. Lam on the list but don’t really feel like drinking it solo.

 

[Stevedore1]

Also, anyone here want to split a bottle or two of lambic at Sovereign before April 1? I’ve been eyeing St. Lam on the list but don’t really feel like drinking it solo.

Don't feel like solo-doming a St Lam?

All seriousness, I wouldn't mind doing some studying at the bar and splitting bottles of Fou and Lam. When are you thinking about going over to Sovereign?

 

[mrk_d]

Don't feel like solo-doming a St Lam?

All seriousness, I wouldn't mind doing some studying at the bar and splitting bottles of Fou and Lam. When are you thinking about going over to Sovereign?

Maybe Sunday? I’m thinking a St. Lam / Tilquin Pinot Noir comparison could be fun too. I’m flexible on timing, and will be around the weekend of the 30th as well.

 

[Stevedore1]

Maybe Sunday? I’m thinking a St. Lam / Tilquin Pinot Noir comparison could be fun too. I’m flexible on timing, and will be around the weekend of the 30th as well.

I'll be up in Baltimore on Sunday unfortunately but maybe tomorrow afternoon (Saturday) before I hop on the train to Baltimore? I was thinking of going to Churchkey for Peche Mortel day (Ticking BA Peche Mortel has somehow eluded me for the last 6 years) but after that, I'm down to split some lambic. I'll be around the weekend of the 30th too, which may be a better bet. I'll PM you shortly.

 

[Stevedore1]

Good times with mrk_d - going to have to make some more trips to Sovereign, even if I have to walk through that sketchy alley again. But I'll do it for lambic.

 

[reidjoshua1]

Any recommendations for food to grab and take to Ocelot coming from IAD?

 

[neorunner]

Any recommendations for food to grab and take to Ocelot coming from IAD?

https://www.yelp.com/biz/cerritos-pupuseria-chantilly