Washington DC is one of my family’s favorite towns. We love the history, we love the ease of getting around (Jacob has the Metro memorized), we love the sights, and we love the options for eating. And for me, I do love the beer. My company had a meeting with the government at the Navy Yard (by the way, the new home for the Washington Nationals), and although a hate making presentations, I was looking forward to heading down this week. Our travels are right out of “Plains, Trains and Automobiles” and I didn’t adventure out my first night due to nerves (did I say that I hate to make presentation?), but I was ready to explore on our second day.
We went out to dinner as a group to the Ugly Mug (http://www.uglymugdc.com/), a sports bar on 8th avenue. The nachos were basic but tasty, and they had a decent beer selection. A pleasant surprise was the Coors Batch 19, a limited release (5 cities in the USA) pre-prohibition lager on draft. Companies are finding some of their (or someone else’s) old classic recipes, and this was a lager that was full of flavor. I hope they make it available in this area. The next was a steady classic, Spoetzel’s Shiner Bock on draft, which rewarded me with 2 thumbs up by the waitress. We were then going to go to my favor bar in town, the Brickskellar, but as people started backing out I chose to try to find something new that was closer to the yellow line so I could get back to the hotel easily.
DRAFT magazine recommended Brasserie Beck (http://www.beckdc.com/) for a unique selection of Belgian beers, so I headed over to check it out. The selection was great, but not anything that I couldn’t get at Mahar’s. The place was crowded, I mean really crowded, and it was hard to find a place to stand. The crowd was all yuppies on dates, not at all my taste. I ordered a Schlafly Pumpkin Ale on draft, and had to wait a long time for it. I had enough, so I headed over to the Brickskellar’s sister bar, RFD (Regional Food & Drink). Where the Brickskellar specializes in bottles, RFD ( has quite a draft selection. I got a sampler and a bowl of French onion soup and watched the Red Sox play the Rays. I tried Harpoon’s Leviathan Triticus (a high octane wheat wine), Founder’s Nemesis (a barleywine), Evolution’s Haymaker Strong Ale, and Sierra Nevada Tumbler. Great selection, great to relax with. I then took the yellow train back to Crystal City and slept good for the night since I had already given my presentation.
The next day’s meeting went long (missed lunch at the District Chop House), so we were rushing to get back to BWI. I did notice that just to the left of the Southwest Airlines check-in was DuClaw Brewing company (http://www.duclaw.com/), so logically I popped in for a sampler. I really enjoyed the Euphoria Toffee Nut Brown Ale (the sweetness of the toffee was outstanding) before getting through security for dinner at Phillip’s. I had the Mahi Mahi with an Evolution Exile ESB.
It was a successful trip, and I made it back just in time for the kick-off of the NFL season. - 5587/9980
"Sleep late, have fun, get wild, drink whisky, and drive fast on empty streets with nothing in mind except falling in love and not getting arrested." - Hunter S. Thompson
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