DC/MD/NoVA Beer Updates (2024)

Just picked one up! Fantastic beer - seems to be the only widely available wet-hop beer around, correct? Haven't seen Victory's or Founders' Harvest Ales for a few years now

 

Veil “Wet Ferrari” is pretty darn good

 

Lighthouse. They have 6-7 cooler doors of singles. Check dates as some can be older, but the first 2 door sections of IPAs get sold through quickly.

 

Feel like Trillium hasn't had their fastball since 2018 or so. Also the prices. Yeah. They were charging $10 for a 10oz pour of double IPA in a plastic cup. I'll never go there again.

 

Max's hasn't been a top beer bar for quite some time. High prices, bunch of old Belgian beers no one drinks. Quite the fall off. They don't hold a candle to Churchkey or the like

 

My only criticism of this year's batch is the lack of bitterness. Feels like it needs a little, but otherwise it's pretty stellar.

 

Dominion seems to be moving away from allowing single-can/bottle purchases. They used to let you break up 4/6 packs on basically anything, which I strongly favor as a consumer-friendly option. On each of my last two visits, however, they shot down my request to buy singles.

I used to view Dominion and Brew Shop as 1a and 1b in terms of the best bottle shops around NoVA, with Norm's trailing very closely behind, but this shift has Dominion losing its claim to that top spot in my mind. Brew Shop welcomes purchases of singles, and they have more fridge capacity. Dominion is moving to a less buyer-friendly stance, and they routinely have IPAs sitting out at room temperature. Doesn't feel like as close of a call anymore.

 

Three Floyds Broo Doo is around (not widely available, though). Still drinking really well if you can find some that’s been kept cold— had my last one recently. Even better than Born Yesterday, I gotta say. Unfortunately, we don’t get many other wet hop beers these days.

 

Yeah, that's a shame. I love those wet hop beers.

 

My guess is that their restaurant/bar side of things is getting most of their attention these days. Somewhat adjacent, but I feel like that's also been the case with Jailbreak Brewing. It seems like their focus is more on the cocktail bar/restaurant side of things and the brewing side has really taken a back seat. Got to do what you can to keep the lights on I guess.

I'm also happy to see that the Brew Shop is still there and regularly posting good beers coming in. I hope business is going well for them and they can remain a staple in Arlington.

 

So who buys the other three or five beers you leave behind?

 

Anyone else who, like me, wants variety, may not be confident in committing to a full 4-pack, and/or already has too much beer. There are a number of reasons buyers may want to buy individual cans, a fact Dominion used to acknowledge with what was once a robust wall of singles that has since dwindled to a shelf or two. I'm glad other area shops are still interested in satisfying that demand.

 

+1 on this — I shop more at The Brew Shop as they will let you buy any beer as a single.

 

I'm almost always hard pressed for time, and Dominion is easier for me to reach due to its highway proximity and later operating hours, so they've generally received much more of my business than either Brew Shop or Norm's. However, I'm not happy with some of the business practices I'm seeing from them, and I anticipate shifting more of my dollars to the other two going forward. In addition to their abandonment of single-can purchases, their prices have been creeping up significantly above their competitors. I'd been noticing that for at least a few months now, but the price they posted for original BCBS ($14.99) earlier this week really drove the point home. I don't think I've seen original go for that much anywhere else in the entire metro area, including in DC. Best of luck to them, but I think I'm moving on.

 

It seems like you travel in 66, and if so, ArlBrew Shop is also very accessible to 66. There is an entrance to 66 off Spout Run parkway, which is off Langston Blvd, and also close to the GW Parkway.

 

Maybe the wall was so robust because they had trouble getting rid of your leftovers? I enjoyed that wall, but I rarely saw anyone else buying singles.

 

We obviously don't know each other in real life, but it hasn't gone without notice that your posts appear to direct animosity at me personally based on my preference for single-can purchasing options.

And nowhere in your posts do you articulate a reason customers shouldn't have the option to buy their desired quantity. That has me wondering what's motivating your seemingly hostile responses.

If I go to a grocery store to but, say, Coke, I'm not limited to a sixer. There are single cans in the fridges by the check-out lanes. I can grab a 16-oz or two-liter bottle. They have mini cans, 12-packs, and 24-packs. Why so many options? Because I may want this quantity, and you may want that quantity. Coke wisely recognized that and sought to give their customers options to suit their own individual preferences. And Brew Shop and Norm's recognized the desire for flexibility extends to other beverages as well. I don't think its unreasonable to favor that, and the likes racked up on my posts above suggest others here share that view. I think you're on an island with this.

 

Staying the topic, Ive always been a frequent shopper of craft beer stores that allow you to break sixers or 4 packs to buy single cans. I’m ok to pay a reasonable markup for variety. I’ve found in the DMV (and perhaps this is a national trend), that the number of stores that do this model have decreased considerably over the last 5 years. I live in Frederick Co MD and seen this shrink from 3-4 stores in Frederick Co alone per-pandemic to 0 today. Closest options I have are a store up near Hagerstown (haven’t been there yet) and Perfect Pour near Ellicott City. My theory on this…past consumers (ie older guys) of craft beer were more exploratory and enjoyed the craft beer “hobby” aspects that led to more interest in the 6 beers of different styles by 6 different breweries on a store purchase. The hobby aspect of craft beer seems to be in decline and it’s become more of a “grab and go” shopping trend today where new generation of consumers knows their style preference and brewer preference and more likely to buy the 4 pack/6pack of their choice and get out quickly. Plus rising prices and inability to keep the beers fresh also contribute to the decline in single purchase options I’m sure. Just a theory.

 

You may want to visit Downtown Crown Wine and Beer in Gaithersburg, Maryland (which is closer to you than both places you mentioned),which is off I270, as they have a wide selection of singles.

 

One word of warning about Downtown Crown: almost all of their singles are warm and some have been there a while. Gone are the days of every fresh OH single in the cooler.