Washington, D.C. area and the Delaware coast!

Beer Travel
1

My wife and I will be headed to D.C. at the end of this month for a much needed vacation!  I am sure there must be tons of great places to eat and drink down there, but I simply don’t know where to start!  The only places we’ve decided on so far is the Bier Baron (previously Brickskeller) and the Dogfish Head brewpub in Fairfax, VA. (It’s only 15 minutes from our hotel in Manasses, woo!)

Over memorial day weekend we will be visiting the DFH brewery in Milton, DE.  We’ll certainly be going to the brewpub in Rehobeth Beach, but I don’t know that I’ll want to go there for 2 meals a day for 3 days straight!

Any further recommendations would be greatly appreciated, this will be my first time in the D.C. area since I was 14 so I really don’t know much about it!

2

I’m not sure how far you’re willing to travel but there’s Victory Brewing in Downingtown, PA. Philly has some great beer bars like Monks, Dock Street, Yards and Nodding Head to name a few. In Wilmington, DE there’s the famous Iron Hill Brewery which has great beer and food…highly recommended. You could also hit Baltimore which has Clipper City and Max’s for a start.

3

Fins Raw Bar in Rehoboth is a cool place with great food (if you like seafood).  Definitely have some Evolution beer while you’re on the Eastern Shore as well.

In DC there’s RFD, ChurchKey, and the other usual suspects you’ll find highly rated on Beer Advocate… they have good beer, but you’re going to pay for it.  If you do come up to Baltimore, you have to hit Max’s, which is up to something like 120 taps now and has reasonable prices for such great stuff. For brewpubs there’s Brewer’s Art and Pratt St. Ale House (although I’d avoid Pratt Street if there’s a baseball game).

SE Pennsylvania has a bunch of microbreweries, with Victory, Troegs, Stoudts, Lancaster, Sly Fox, Yards, and others.

4

Churchkey is well worth a visit, but get there early. I love that they have 4oz pours and 4-5 cask ales. I went there for lunch when I was in DC for a conference and was able to try 3 beers and still function during my afternoon meetings  ;D

5

I want to also add the following links for some other area breweries that are awesome.

Fordham Brewing is in Dover, DE sports some really fine craft ale.

http://fordhambrewing.com/wp-content/plugins/age-verification.php?redirect_to=http://fordhambrewing.com%2F

Also 16 Mile Brewing Co. in Georgetown, DE is right around the corner from DFH Brewery.

http://www.16milebrewery.com/

Evolution Craft Brewing in Delmar is on the rise in the Delmarva Peninsula. They have an awesome East Coast IPA. “Lot #3”

http://www.evolutioncraftbrewing.com/home.htm

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RFD, Belga Cafe, for sure…for fun step into Kramerbooks…I’d head to Mad Fox if you can…

7

Looks like, so far, everyone’s sending you north.  How 'bout heading south?  Check out the Virginia “Brew Ridge Trail”…

http://brewridgetrail.com/

…includes Starr Hill, Blue Mountain, Wild Wolf, Devil’s Backbone, & South Street breweries/brewpubs.  Also, start out your day with breakfast (with draft brew, of course) at Beer Run (fantastic bottle shop).

As for Manassas itself, pretty slim pickings…  Old Town has Okra’s with great Cajun food and Abita on tap, Philadelphia Tavern has good cheesesteaks and Sierra Nevada on tap, and Mackey’s has good pub grub and Guiness, Newcastle, and Sam Adams Seasonal (should be the Summer Ale here pretty soon).  Believe it or not, the best craft selection in town is probably at Hard Times even though it is a chain.

And, of course, the best beer in all of Manassas is found in my basement  ;D

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It’s been about 15 years or more since I’ve been to either place, but I liked Ireland’s Four Provinces and The Big Hunt.  No idea what they’re like now.  If you’re near the zoo it might be worth stopping in.

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My best man actually lives in Philly so we’ve been there a few times on visits.  We havn’t hit Victory, yet.  It’s a shame really, they make some of my favorite beers!  That’ll be on the menu for next time. :slight_smile:

Thanks for all the other tips folks!  Hokerer, if you’re inclined to meet another internet creeper IRL I’m sure my wife and I would like to partake in some homebrew!  We’ll be bringing a small supply with us to share with the DFH crew and I’m sure I could spare a bottle or two. :wink:

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If your going to be in Delaware I would go to the original Dogfish head pub (320 Rehoboth Avenue, Rehoboth Beach, DE 19971) rather then there small chain ones. The original is where they do test batches and it has much more atmosphere in my opinion. Also if you get into DC i really enjoyed the beers at Capitol City. My fav was the Kolsch. Its the best taste of the style i had since i went to Germany 6 years ago.

Matt
GISBREWMASTER

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We’re doing both.  We’re going to the chain alehouse in Fairfax, VA while we’re in the D.C. area, it’s 15 minutes from our hotel.  When we get to DE we’ll be going to the brewpub in Rehobeth Beach several times.  We are signed up for the DFH 360 experience, it’s a joint tour package with DFH and The Inn at Canal Square in Lewes.  It includes, amongst other things, a boat ride to the brewpub in the SS Dogfish (a dinghy) and a free cab ride back to the hotel, plus a $50 gift card for the brewpub/gift shop.  It’s a pretty damn cool package, if a bit pricey.  We got the first one of the season! :slight_smile:

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+1

I always look forward to going. In fact we hold our LHBC meetings there. I’ll be there tomorrow night asking for the latest creation on tap.  :)

DFH is the bomb diggity-dogg!  ;D

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Don’t know what schedules will be like by then but meeting up could certainly be a possibility.

14

Pizza Paradiso in DuPont Circle (Wash DC.) and I think Alexandria has a awesome selection of craft brewed beers, both on tap and in the bottle. Their food is very good too.

15

Don’t listen to anybody that advises you to eat Grotto Pizza whilst in DE. I lived there for 5 years and still couldn’t figure it out.

On rehoboth beach, there is a great small fish-n-chips place. I think it’s called the london underground, but I’m not 100% certain about that. In addition to fantastic fish and chips, they have a battered, deep-fried sausage that’s to die for.

16

Well, we just arrived in Manassas last night at around 8pm.  We would have gotten in 45 minutes sooner if not for the horrible traffic on 495, we were in stop and go traffic from roughly where the Mormon temple is until after we crossed the Potomac, ugh.  We hit the DFH alehouse in Fairfax last night after we got in, it was great!  Wonderful food and some stuff on draft you don’t see very often at all!  They had Red & White, Chicory Stout, Shelter Pale Ale (awesome stuff) Lawnmower and Alehouse 75 (half 60 minute half 90 minute) just to name a few.  Well worth the visit, and it was only a 15 minute drive from our hotel!

At any rate, we’re headed into D.C. today!  I have a list of 3 places I plan to hit in the next two days; The Bier Baron (used to be called Brickskellar) Churchkey and Capitol City Brewing Company.  Friday we leave for Delaware, we’ll be doing a brewery tour at DFH at 3:00 and probably eating dinner at the Rehobeth Beach brewpub.  There are several other eateries that looked great as well, Go Fish! and Fins Raw Bar are both on the menu.

If anyone in either area wants to meet up and trade homebrew I brought a cooler full of the stuff, don’t make me take too much home! :slight_smile:

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I was just at the Dogfish Brewpub Brewpub in Rehoboth for the Madbrewers Competition on Sunday. Just missed you.

I live in Smyrna about an hour north of Rehoboth. If you happen to head north you’re welcome to stop in for a some pints. I have about a dozen different beers on tap. Shoot me a pm if it works out for you.

18

We just got back 2 days ago, what a great trip!  We hit the following places while enroute;

-City Steam Brewing, Hartford, CT, went there for lunch on the way down and Dinner on the way back!  Tried all of the brews on their menu, all were excellent.  The Naughty Nurse amber ale and the American Wheat were both especially good!

-Capitol City Brewing, Washington D.C., went to both locations, the Kolsch, Hefeweizen and Amber Waves (a hoppy brown ale) were both outstanding, everything else they had was also wonderful!

-The Dogfish Head Alehouse in Fairfax, VA.  The food was great and some of the blends you can do with all the draft DFH were really neat.  My wife got a 1/2 Red and White, 1/2 Chicory Stout.  I got an Alehouse 75, 1/2  60 minute IPA and 1/2 90 minute IPA.  It was a nice mix of the crispness of the 60 minute and the floral/sweet flavor of the 90 minute.  Shelter Pale Ale on draft is outstanding, by the way.  We also had a variety of other delicious draft DFH including Sah’Tea and Theobroma, both hard to find on draft near our place in MA.

-The Bier Baron, dowtown Washington D.C., near Dupont Circle.  Great traditional bar food with some cool Bavarian twists.  I got a 21st Amendment Back in Black, a black IPA, I can’t recall what my wife had.  They had an extensive collection of bottled beer from all over the world, a few hundred at least.  They were also having movie night, everyone in the restaurant was treated to watching The King’s Speech!

-Last but not least by any means, Dogfish Head Brewing and Eats in Rehobeth Beach, DE.  The place was mobbed, but the service was excellent and we were treated to some truly hard to find DFH brews.  Jenna had a Red and Black, an imperial stout with a TON of mint in it.  Definitely a great slow sipping dessert beer.  I had a Zeno, a nice light Saison without much explanation on the menu.  It was definitely spiced with something good, I just couldn’t put my finger on it.  The treat of the night was definitely the 120 minute IPA on draft.  It was truly outstanding, a bit sweeter than the bottled version I’ve had but it packed a hell of a punch.  Unfortunately they were out of Johnny Cask, they’re 75 minute casked IPA, Noble Rot a strong saison fermented with wine grapes infected with Botrytis, and their new brew Hellhound On My Ale.  I would have loved to try all of them but alas, it was not meant to be.  We picked up a bottle of their Peanut Butter flavored vodka and a bottle of their “Jin” made with juniper berries, coriander, cucumber and something else which currently escapes me, I’ll edit when I get home and check the bottle.

The DFH brewery tour was excellent, one of the best I’ve been on.  They also sell a lot of their bottled product on the cheap, I picked up 4 bottle of Squall for 8 bucks apiece, amongst other things!

Thanks for the advice everyone, we had an awesome vacation!

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Sounds like you and your wife had an ale of a vacation. Sorry I missed you but maybe next time around. Glad to hear you made it back safe.

BTW…I had a chance to sample the peanut butter vodka and was amazed at the awesome roasted peanut flavor. I don’t know how Sam can pack that much peanut flavor in that bottle but he does.

I had a chance to try the 75 min IPA on cask a couple of months ago and can tell you that the hop flavor and aroma is wonderful. Fresh out of the cask is a beautiful thing.  :slight_smile: