DC/MD/NoVA Beer Updates (2024)

I think Dominion has gotten R+B at least once or twice before, but it hasn't really been a regular thing to-date, and it's only been draft.

Also, go Royals!

 

Roger that! I'll still stop by for a beer but I wasn't going in with high hopes. Been years since I've had their IPA's but I never trust that level of expansion. I'm shocked there isn't one small batch brewery doing legit NEIPA in DC. Plenty of other reasons to be excited about the visit, but the beer scene has been a bummer.

 

Nice thanks for letting me know. Second in the Central baby!

 

Aslin DC is like 2 blocks from Churchkey. Little League vs Major Leagues. Choose accordingly.

 

I wish I could respectfully disagree with cysiam and Beers-es, but I cannot. It's been a long, long time since Aslin has even remotely resembled the brewery that was generating national buzz seven or so years ago. If you're going for IPAs, I honestly wouldn't waste the money or the stomach space.

 

I wish I could disagree with myself here. But as you say, Aslin's early days in Herndon bear no resemblance to the shelf turds sitting in Safeway now.

 

Sorry, never been to that location. The original was a little brewery and taproom, the one in Alexandria is a huge warehouse facility with an enormous drinking area and expanded brewery. Doesn’t mean bigger is better.

 

So now I'm getting oh-so-excited about the impending opening of the Virginia Beach Aslin location near me. haha.

 

No doubt, Churchkey will be our primary local spot for a beer. I'll still give Aslin a stop one day just because I'm a curious masochist.

 

You may find a good beer. I would go with one of their OGs like Orange Starfish.

 

I've never had an Aslin IPA. Just the various Brown Cows and other styles.

Constantly reading about the downfall/lowering quality of Aslin, and general lack of canned dates for several years, contributed.

But I'll go when they open in VA Beach. It is a new brewery, and I must go.

 

Yeah I was mostly kidding. I'm well aware of their issues - I've tried plenty of Aslin beers, my brother was an OG mug club member that let it lapse for a number of reasons.
Will I still stop by there sometime after it opens...of course.

 

Thanks again for the input everyone. Hope to make it to Dominion, but in case we don't, does anyone have a recommendation on best bottle shop in Logan Circle?

 

There is a pretty good bottle shop in DuPont Circle, which is fairly close, called Connecticut Ave. Wine and Liquors, which has a small but quality selection.

 

Churchkey was a success. Grabbed R&B, Veil, Monkish, and the Parish/EQ Collab (not pictured), as well as a birthday bourbon. Thanks for the rec! I second that this is the big leagues location

 

Trillium and Root + Branch beers are on tap now at Dominion, with more tapping soon.

 

I like Aslin just fine.
Several of their offerings are great.
My favorite is Unicorn Vomit.
Never had anything out of a can from them.
I would definitely take some of this harsh criticism with a grain of salt. My bet is when you belly up to that bar in Va Beach, you will remember this post

 

I think most of the negative commentary stems from the fact that Aslin used to be SO good. Now, it's just like any average brewery with a few highlights.
I go to the Aslin in Herndon a lot, but I usually just drink pilsners and eat the food.
The normal IPAs like Orange Starfish or something like Cortes and His Men are good, but no longer great.

 

This is probably a fair take on Aslin's decline.

My perspective on what Aslin's IPAs should taste like was formed in their first year of business, drinking in the original Herndon taproom before they did any bottling/canning. The beer was exceptional back then. I loathe dealing with DC-area traffic, but I made what is, in ideal conditions, a 90-minute round trip an absurd number of times just to get that juice (side note: I did this on Fridays, and their 3:00 opening time back then coincided with the start of rush hour, so traffic conditions were rarely if ever ideal).

Now, their IPAs are squarely pedestrian. You'll find them in basically every grocery store in the area, and they're in perfect company among the other mediocre grocery store hop options. This may be why Aslin gets so much shade on this site. We probably all approach grocery store beers with low expectations, so most of those brews can't miss the mark by too wide a margin. For Aslin, their early days set the bar much high, creating the prospect for a much larger gap between expectations and results. It probably doesn't mean their beers are any worse than the other stuff in the grocery coolers, but it's just so disappointing that their beers fit right in in those same coolers.