Welcome to What We're Drinking! Every week, DCBeer staff members will tell you about the beer highlights they had from the previous week. Have a highlight from the last week? Let us know what it was via editor@dcbeer.com, and you might just find your post in another new segment, which is aptly named What You're Drinking.

Jacob Berg, Staff Writer

As the weather gets warmer, the beers I like to drink get lower and lower in alcohol by volume. Last Thursday's contender was Victory's Summer Love, a golden ale that falls outside most accepted definitions of "session beer" at 5.2%, but nonetheless I had three pints of it at Doge City while beer rep extraordinaire Matt Heffernan played chef, with the proceeds going to charity. Good food for a good cause, and a good beer, well-balanced between biscuity German malts, noble hops, and just a kiss of lemony Citra for good measure. 
 
Paul Josuns, Staff Writer

This week’s entry serves as a cautionary tale: treat your beer well (or make sure your friends aren’t jerks). 

I went to VA for a friend’s birthday last Saturday.  As part of the celebrations, every year they have a “beerster egg” hunt where participants find mini-shots or hidden beers in the backyard.  During my search, I thought I lucked out – I found a KBC IPA – one of the reasonably-priced IPAs at Trader Joes.  I typically like this beer just fine – there’s a bit of graham-crackery malt and pronounced Northwest hops bittering character. 

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Little did I realize my friend hid this particular bottle was a “backyard bomb.”  I believe it had been sitting in the sun followed by a couple years in the fridge.  Have you ever expected a coke, then actually were served a diet?  Picture that only with a couple-years stale and light-struck IPA.  The malt and hop character I had come to expect was replaced by cardboard notes and sherry-esque sweetness.  The carbonation was almost entirely gone and was replaced with flat and syrupy mouthfeel.  It was a shock to say the least, and I had some choice words that are not suitable for print.  I followed-up with a plain-ol’ Yuengling that was delightful in comparison.

This one was brutal.  I’d have been really mad had my friend not followed up the hunt with delicious home-smoked brisket – it almost made up for my suffering….almost.

Chris Van Orden, Co-Editor

This past Sunday, a friend's guest bartending shift finally brought me to Pop's Sea Bar, the Adams Morgan shrine to the Jersey shore towns in which I spent my childhood summers.  Thinking back to my younger self's scouring of the scarce craft offerings at the little liquor stores, I opted for a Pilsner from Brooklyn, one of the few decent breweries I could find back in the day.  The pils pours a brilliant straw with a moderate head and sticky lacing.  The hops are undoubtedly noble, and the German malt provides a mellow, crackery sweetness.  On a warm, sunny afternoon, it was a welcome reminder that summer is on its way.