I will be heading into D.C. in a few days. What are some beers that I have to try and/or buy? Iam driving from Wisconsin so I will have a bit of room to bring stuff back. oh, and what are some good bottle shops in the metro D.C. area? Thanks in advance
Are you coming into town for CBC? Or are you just visiting? Unfortunately, there are not a ton of great beers out of the DC metro area that are close. If you're willing to drive there are a few places. What type of beers are you into? For restaurants I'd recommend going to ChurchKey for a nice diverse beer selection and Granville Moore's for awesome Belgium beers and AMAZING mussels and french fries. Granville Moore's is my favorite place in DC. As for bottle shops there's not too much in DC but the better one downtown is Craft Beer Cellars. Just north of DC you have Total Wine and Spirits in Laurel and a small little bottle shop Town Center Market in Riverdale.
We are coming in town to visit, my wife has some family in Aldie (I think) and we plan on spending some time in the city with the kids. Thanks for the info, might have to check out Granville Moore's. I love mussels. Thanks again.
Aldie isnt too close to DC but you have a lot of breweries around you. The closest one is Quatro Goomba, its also a winery. I've been once (right when it opened) and didnt care for it. Dont know if it got any better. This is probably your best list to research from http://www.brewdoun.com/active-list-loudoun-county-breweries-distilleries-cideries/ http://www.brewdoun.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/brewdoun-master-map-9-20-15.pdf You should check out Purcellville for Adroit Theory, Belly Love, Corcoran/B Chord, Old 690 and/or Jacks Run. I like all of them, but havent tried jacks run yet. Each are a little different in terms of beer and atmosphere so a little research should help you pick. Anthother option would be to go to leesburg for crooked run, barn house, loudoun brewing, dog money, macdowell's brew kitchen, and black walnut. probably the best trip for beer would be to do a lap including ocelot, old ox, beltway, and lost rhino. (these are all pretty much industrial sites, so the atmosphere is generally the same but beer is good) If you want the best view from a brewery in the area check out dirt farm. you could also drive to warrenton area and hit up old bust head and wort hog.
ashellen gave great info above. Close to Aldie, Total Wine in Chantilly and Whole Foods at Fair Lakes are good stores to find your favorites. If you're an IPA lover, Ocelot Brewery is a great place to start
Aldie is 40+ miles from NE DC, and on a weekday could easily take you 2 to 3 hours each way. I think you can find some better stuff out in Loudon or Fairfax counties.
If you're a baseball fan or find yourself in the Navy Yard area for any reason check out blue jacket, great spot to grab some unique brews and good food. Port City is also an option if you wind up in Alexandria. The other recommendations here are solid and closer to where you will be, used to live in the area and definitely do not miss the traffic so avoid driving if you can!
On shops... Schneider's on Capitol Hill has a smallish selection, but it's well curated. Chevy Chase Wine & Spirits up on Connecticut Ave. always seems to have a good selection, and the two other stores in that area are pretty good, although stuff can sit for a while at those latter ones. Calvert-Woodley farther down has recently developed a good selction. If you want to go gray market, there's DuPont Circle Wines and Liquors. I can't say anything there is priced to sell, but you can at least go for the experience, if you're into that. I'll second the ChurchKey rec. Most places in that restaurant group are usually pretty stacked, although I wish Bluejacket had better food.
Another rec for Bluejacket and Churchkey but take heed that Churchkey's open early (2 pm) Mon-Thurs for CBC. Also expect some long lines cause they're pouring fire.
