Treehouse and trillium. Treehouse sees zero distribution. Trillium has some draft accounts in the Boston area but that's about it. Trillium may have had taps at Churchkey in DC for a special event or two but I'm not even positive on that.
Your other option is to go down to Richmond, stock up on a bunch cans from The Veil and trade for them.
Exactly. This guy going through a rite of passage. I remember soon after joining asking where the best place in NYC was to pick up Pliny
I would add that this is not an absurd question regarding DC and it's grey market alcohol laws. I think it was around this time last year that Cairo Wine & Liquor brought in a bunch of Trillium bombers (before they switched primarily to cans) and sold them at a somewhat reasonable markup. 1 West Dupont always has ridiculously priced (and usually not fresh) out of market beers and I believe they had some Treehouse cans at one point. You never know what out of market stuff will pop up around here, but you can guarantee that it will be marked up aggressively and may not be fresh or stored properly.
Great point. Wasn't Pliny but I remember going to a store in DC a few years ago (my b-in-law is from Maryland) and got some Russian River sours plus some FFF
Can you please explain this in more detail? Why is DC 'different' from other states in the distribution of beer? Are there 'loop holes' in the DC alcohol regulations? Cheers!
For future reference, bottles of the RR sours and Belgian styles are distributed to Philly. Pliny the Elder and Bling Pig are draft only.
Because the alcohol import permit system in DC allows bars, restaurants, and retailers to buy directly from suppliers. They don't have to go through a state-licensed wholesalers, like you do in all 50 states. So a store can drive up to Trillium, pick a bunch of beer up, come back to DC and sell it. I think they have to fill out some paperwork, pay a very small fee and it's 100% legal.
I m I met two dudes who spoke of this. Any specifics if you can share where these are draft only? Is this random on draft or more consistent?
If you happen to be in the Philly area, use phillytapfinder.com. You can search by brewery, or bar (amongst some other search options). So you can search by Russian River, and find which bars are pouring which RR beers. Monks Cafe tends to have Pliny, as well as a RR sour or two on tap almost all the time tbh. Blind Pig pops up as well with maybe just a bit less regularity.
In other words: "DC is more a place to share and celebrate, where the guidelines and regulations allow exclusivity to be harnessed and special profiles to be showcased. It’s like America’s craft beer show and tell." ...dates back to the famous scenario of when Shaun Hill reached out and essential said "to not serve the beer"
