DC/MD/NoVA Beer Updates (2019)

Anybody sign up for the Bruery DC Society?

I live in PA but wouldn't mind making the trip once a quarter to pick bottles. Thinking about signing up and wondering if it's worth it

 

Bluejacket today release cans of their new Galaxy DIPA "86 Years" commemorating the Nats' run to the World Series. They've been a bit hit or miss recently after a really good stretch with their hops, so I'm hoping it's as good as it sounds.

 

sooooo...I guess you're saying I shouldn't make a small detour on the way to a friends place to try their stuff for the first time?

I'm talking about the location out by Dulles to grab some cans...

 

I'm not trying to tell anyone how to drink their beer or anything, but everything I've seen and heard over the last few months suggests they're still figuring things out with the new system and larger batch sizes. I've been largely avoiding their brews as of late, and that's coming from a guy who has been spending unreasonable sums of money (and even more unreasonable amounts of time sitting in beltway traffic) on Aslin since they were about 6 months old.

And just to clarify, it's my understanding that it's the same beer at both locations. It's not a case where the beers in Herndon were brewed on the Herndon equipment and the beers in Alexandria were brewed on the Alexandria equipment. They brew a batch at one location and then split it between the two spots.

 

The problems at Aslin started before they began brewing in Alexandria, but I don't know the whole story. I'm sure scaling isn't making things easier. I have had a couple good hoppy beers from them recently though, so the worst may behind them/us.

 

Thanks for the info, I didn't know much about them, other than they had some pretty highly rated stuff and I always like trying some new beers/breweries. We hit traffic on the way down so I wouldn't have stopped anyway but your post was also enough to dissuade me from really considering it to begin with. Too much good beer out there to be spending $20 a 4ski on stuff that may have some issues, plus i have enough in the fridge anyway.

 

https://www.aslinbeer.com/barrel-select

Speaking of Aslin. Will most likely be dumb expensive but very very cool. If I'm wrong and prices are somewhat reasonable, I'll definitely be doing this.

 

Looks like there is some typos on the website (what's new) but sounds like you will end up with 250-300 500mL bottles, I'm guessing it will cost around $10/bottle to start. Sounds cool but unless I was going in with like 20-30 people, not something I'd be interested in doing.

 

Legit one of the dumbest ideas I have ever seen in craft beer. You spend $6000 and have to wait like a year and a half to get your beer. Will they even be around then? They make some pretty stupid business decisions.

 

Damn, tell us how your really feel

 

I guess they need cash, badly. They are essentially pre-selling beer that won't be ready until 2021. If it's really starts at $6k for 250-300 bottles, you're paying basically retail for every single bottle.

 

I mean, we can wait until they come out with pricing before we speculate about the state of their business

Breweries allowing customers to collab is nothing new

 

Then maybe they should provide that info, people are going to speculate when they make a announcement like this and don't disclose the pricing (I signed up to get more info, nothing was sent yet). Let me guess, they are still trying to figure it out.

 

Saw some pricing on Facebook. They were trying to do split 30 slots at $275 a piece with 12 bottles per person. You do the math and thats 360 bottles for $8250 or about $22 a piece.

 

Price is $6k per barrel and $500 per adjunct, plus tax.

Do 3 adjuncts and get 300 (yields are estimated to be 250-300) 500mL bottles, you end up paying around $27 per bottle. Doesn’t really seem worth unless you hit a home run with your beer or split it with a lot of people in which case you likely have little input on the beer.

 

This seems like something a handful of startups in Silicon Valley would do, but it seems shocking to me that there would be an audience for this. Speculators hoping their blend becomes much sought after?

 

Yeah at those prices, I’d rather just buy some Bottle Logic or one of the many breweries coming out with BA Adjuncted stouts in that price range than be stuck with way too many bottles of the same thing

however, I do like the idea of raffling off bottles for charity. However, I can’t see selling that many bottles unless Aslin helps you out

 

Are there any breweries in DC that make very good Pilsners/lagers or saisons?

 

I've often enjoyed Ocelot's Sunnyside Dweller pilsner. But I'd also be interested in hearing about other good locals. Not DC, but recently I've been getting Stone's Enter Night pilsner. Really good, and a good deal at $12 for a 6 pack of 16 oz cans.

 

I went there once. It's not bad. Beers are pretty good and they have some cider made exclusively for them by Distillery Lane that is really good. When I went (a Saturday, mind you) it was insanely crowded and pretty noisy. Actually managed to find a place to sit, that was something of a miracle. It's worth going to, but there are better options in DC (cough cough DC Brau).