2009 was a great year for beer in DC with Founders, 21st Amendment, and Duck Rabbit making their presence known. The trend continues in 2010 with the debut of a new brewery to the DC market.
On Monday, January 11 the first keg of Great Lakes Brewing Company beer will be tapped at an exclusive event at The Big Hunt in Dupont Circle. Great Lakes Brewing Company is a Cleveland, Ohio-based regional brewery well known for fresh and well-balanced craft beer and it’s sustainable practices.
The inaugural tapping at The Big Hunt will start around 8:00 PM. The Big Hunt’s bar manager, Dave Coleman said the event will include sample tastings and brewery representatives who will discuss the featured beers. Coleman and the staff are also cooking up a special “Cleveland Menu,” highlighting the different ethnic neighborhoods and flavors that make up Cleveland. The Big Hunt will be pouring three Great Lakes brews, all of which won Gold Medals at the 2008 World Beer Championships:
Dortmunder Gold: Dortmunder Lager (a specific German style)
Commodore Perry IPA: an English-style IPA
Eliot Ness: a Vienna Lager
Great Lakes Brewing Co. will be available at other bars in DC beginning Tuesday, January 12 and more Great Lakes Brewing Co. beers will follow in the months to come, including the Edmund Fitzgerald Porter and the Burning River Pale Ale. Great Lakes Brewing Co. seasonals will be available on tap in area bars beginning in April with their Holy Moses White Ale. Great Lakes Brewing Co. hopes to make 6-packs and variety 12-packs available in stores in the very near future.
DCBeer.com interviewed Mark Weinmann, DC Area Sales Manager for Great Lakes Brewing Co. who said that the brewery was simply reacting to the interest of customers in the Washington, DC area who contacted the brewery asking when they would start sending their beer to DC. But it wasn’t as simple as loading up a truck and sending it east. Because Great Lakes Brewing Co. beers do not contain preservatives and are not pasteurized, the beers must travel cold and stay cold once they arrive. Great Lakes Brewing Co. did not agree to ship to DC until they identified a distributor (Hop & Wine) who met their quality control requirements, including a refrigerated warehouse. You can read about the brewery’s green initiatives on their website: http://www.greatlakesbrewing.com/companyEnvironmentZW.php
Great Lakes Brewing Co. will also stage tapping events at Birch & Barley on January 12 and at RFD on January 13. If you get a chance to sample any Great Lakes Brewing Co. beers, please report back via the comment section and let us what you think.
Great Lakes Brewing Co. inaugural DC tapping
Monday, January 11 @ 8:00pm
The Big Hunt
1345 Connecticut Avenue, NW
202-785-2333
Tags: beer tasting, Burning River Pale Ale, Cleveland, Commodore Perry IPA, Dortmunder Gold, Dupont Circle, Edmund Fitzgerald Porter, Eliot Ness, GLBC, Great Lakes Brewing Company, Holy Moses White Ale, Ohio, The Big Hunt
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Awesome news! Great Lakes is one of my favorite breweries. I always stock up on the porter when I’m in Ohio.
Thanks for posting the details of the GLBC DC launch. So psyched to finally have Commodore Perry available locally!
That is great news for you guys. I love the stuff the Great Lakes makes. Their Porter is a solid A beer.
Yay, Cleveland’s favorite export (now that most of our industrial capacity was lost to Communist China). I look forward to attending Monday night at the Big Hunt. Hooray for the new best-beer-in-DC!
This is fantastic news! Being a transplant to the area from Cleveland, I always had to fill my trunk with Great Lakes for the return trip. Having it at stores and even at my local bars will be a huge treat.
This news has practically brought tears to my eyes. This is quite possibly the greatest day of my life.
being from cleveland, and having enjoyed great lakes beer for more than a decade since working there in college…i am thrilled that i don’t have to donate any more money to the money pit known as the pennsylvania turnpike commission. i agree with bennynojets…this is the greatest day of my life!!!!! i can’t WAIT to get some blackout stout or some grassroots ale fresh from the keg. wooooohoooooo!!!!
This is amazing news!! Here’s hoping we get Christmas Ale next year… that will make my year!!
I am from the midwest and this is one of my favorite beers of all time. I’ll be there tonight.
I couldn’t make it to The Big Hunt for last night’s tapping, but made sure I stopped by after work to catch up with their Bar Manager Dave Coleman and enjoy my first taste of Great Lakes brews.
Dave said that the night was a huge success. They quickly reached capacity and eventually had a line extending 70 yards up Connecticut Avenue reaching the Sun Trust Bank at Dupont Circle. By the end of the night they had drained 7 kegs and pleased hordes of new and long-time Great Lakes Brewing Co. fans.
Did you attend this tapping? What did you think?
PJ, DCBeer.com