Between browsing this forum & a couple other unnamed sites, I have a good grasp on what y'all have to offer, so I have a more specific question. I'm flying into D.C. to meet up with my beer-loving wife late Wednesday & will be around until Monday afternoon. We're staying just off of Dupont Circle with no car, so it'll be either bikes or Uber for us. We've already penciled in a few great-looking places to hit, but is there anything special going on in the next few days that we shouldn't miss? Or is everyone waiting for Savor next week? Thanks.
It doesnt look like there are many special events happening until mid next week. DCBeer site has a well-curated calendar that is useful for this purpose. You're in pretty easy walking distance for the usual spots (Bier Baron, Red Apron Burger, Churchkey, Smoke and Barrel). Anything activity-wise you were thinking of doing? Locals could provide some pretty good pro tips on things to do or avoid.
Connecticut Avenue Wine, nice bottle shop with a small but strong selection, is right off Dupont Circle (north side). Pizzeria Paradiso is nearby as well.
I've been haunting DCBeer, great website, every city should have one! I've been using the map there, so we're planning on hitting Red Apron, Churchkey, & possibly Pizza Paradiso. I'll check out the others you've mentioned, too. Activity-wise, we're going to do the regular D.C. stuff - walk the Mall & it's various monuments, hit the Air & Space Museum, Holocaust Memorial, & go to a Nationals game for my baseball fix. But if there are any less obvious things, I'd love to hear them.
Keep your eyes peeled for Rolling Thunder and any traffic delays it could cause getting to the Mall or Nat's Park. For Blue Jacket near Nat's Park, it gets crowded before games, but you can reserve a table before (or after) the game, and they have really good table service and not have to fight crowds at the bar. Here is a beer guide to Nat's Park, hit up the District Draft Carts for local offerings. http://thenationalsreview.com/the-nationals-park-beer-guide/
If you're going to be down by the mall, you might want to check out Partisan. Good lunch place on D and (I think) 9th Street. Two blocks north of the mall. Excellent drafts. Look them up on Untapped to see what people are drinking, the menu on their website is usually outdated.
Good call RE: Rolling Thunder on sunday. Walking the mall then will be a giant pain, unless youre into motorcycles, then it'd be a good time. Also be sure to eat before the mall walk, since the western half is a food wasteland. For the Nats, I like to pregame at Bluejacket, but it does get packed. Whaley's is another nice option if you want to class it up a little bit with the wife. Get some oysters and such, or just grab a drink at their bar. Another new spot is Bardo Brewing, which is an outdoor brewery located between the south side of the ballpark and the river. It's a pretty huge area, with OK suds, and even though it looks sketchy is pretty cool. One thing I like to do (though it may not be an option on a busy holiday weekend) is hit the park early and get a $5 ticket at the box office for the nosebleeds. I never go to the seats and just grab drinks and walk around the first concourse, which has high top rails all along the first deck. Super good views, shade or sun. Similar to Target Field, but I give Nats park the edge.
Great info, thanks, hadn't seen any info on Nationals Park yet. Good to know there are a few local options.
Good call - was gonna mention this. We'll be likely be there for a good portion of the day. Just down the street from S&B at the bottom of 18th St, Jack Rose has had some good stuff on recently since CBC, including Modern Times, Wakefield, etc. A bit further afield, the new ANXO facility is opening in Brightwood Pk (711 Kennedy) on Saturday. It's a bit of a hike, but it should be a good time - I'm excited to see the new facility. FWIW, they are focused mostly on Basque cider, but they have a great beer/spirits program as well. It sounds like the new spot will be similar to the original location in Truxton Circle in that regard. This might be more of a locals thing to do though, as it's pretty far from you and there are a bunch of stellar (and more obvious) places much closer to your starting point.
Anyone have more detail on the City Tap House Shuckfest beers on Memorial Day? It just says "Beers from the best breweries out of New England". If it's NE IPA's with $1 oysters, I'm there
Jack Rose looks great, I hadn't run across this place yet. I'd love to get a mouthful or two of J. Wakefield.
Inside the stadium in section 223 and 310 are district draft carts (last few years at least) that feature local beers. Usually 4 or 5 options
^ They are all over the place now. In the 100s, left field line, behind the plate, and right field. Decent/different selection out in left field at the Red Porch, but they are all ABInbev-owned products I believe.
Across from PP there is the DC Museum of Beer Wine & Spirits also known as 1 West Dupont. The prices are comical but I've been pretty amused a couple of times I've gone in there.
I happened to stop in yesterday for amusement. Some salez on whalez that I noticed: Fou Foune - $199.99 Darkness - $129.99 Singles of KBS - $29.99* Aslin cans from January- $15.99 each *Sidenote: KBS was on at Paradiso across the street for $4 during HH
Greetings, we had a great long weekend in D.C. Smoke & Barrel was awesome, though I'm not sure the 11AM pours of Parabola were the best idea we ever had. The best food we had was at Red Apron Burger & Birch & Barley, though I couldn't afford to go there very often. Nationals Park was very nice (though Target Field is superior!) & other than the nosebleeds, isn't a bad seat in the house. D.C. Craft Beer Cellar reminded me a lot of a place (now closed) in Minneapolis, & I brought back a pretty good haul from Modern Times, SingleCut, & Aslin cans a local buddy was kind enough to pick me up. Thanks for all the recommendations. Y'all made a superb weekend even better!
