Local Adams Morgan area go-to beer store, DeVinos, is always packing a serious list of beers. On one side they have a nice big wall of Belgians including lots of Trappist as well as some famous tasty beers like Cantillon. On the other side they’ve got a great cooler filled with a bunch of nice domestic craft beers. Here a few notables:
Freaktoberfest: From Coney Island brewing, I am just including this because I like the name. Well also because this is the last weekend of the true Oktoberfest so you should probably get your fill of this style before they disappear from the shelves. This version comes in the handy 22oz style and I think it was like $5! They also have Brooklyn’s Oktoberfest if you don’t want to get freaky.
Stone Sublimely Self Righteous: This big boy from Stone brandishes the classic Stone gargoyle on the bottle and inside is a surprising black substance. It’s a black IPA with lots of hops but also lots of bitter roasted malts. This is a re-branding of their 11th Anniversary Ale.
Stone Vertical Epic 9.9.9: A Belgian-style Porter? Sure, such a style really doesn’t exist yet, but that’s not stopping this envelope pushing series from breaking barriers. Makes you wonder what a night of vertical tasting of the past beers would be like once you hit this oddity. For me it went down much like a Belgian dubbel.
Mikkeller Beer Geek Breakfast: This Denmark-based brewery is rather prolific if DeVinos’ selection of their beers is any indicator. Lots of styles to choose from on the shelves of the Adams Morgan shop. This one caught my eye because I figured the target audience here would appreciate it. A hearty stout (to pour on your Beer-ios perhaps?) with oat and coffee flavors made perfectly for all your morning needs. Probably a weekend breakfast drink as drinking a 7.5% ABV beer before going in to the office is not really recommended… unless you write for DC Beer.
Founders Breakfast Stout: Speaking of Breakfast, I think I saw someone on Twitter describe this beer as “so good we do not deserve it.” Well it is delicous and should also be considered part of a complete breakfast. This one is brewed with flaked oats, bitter and imported chocolates as well as Sumatra and Kona coffee. At 8.5% ABV, I’d say you should make Mikkeller’s your Saturday beer and Founders your Sunday Brunch–stretch it out a little.
I also saw a few Pumpkin beers popping up at DeVinos including the Blue Moon one, Dogfish Head’s Punkin and Weyerbacher’s Imperial Pumpkin.
