DCBeer’s Local Beer Fantasy Draft: 2015 Edition

Last year, in honor of the NFL season kicking off, we took a stab at picking our local beer fantasy teams. It was a fun exercise and thought experiment, and it only got more difficult this year. The local beer fantasy draft answers the question: "Given the chance to pick up beers from area breweries to pack into one ultimate fictional brewery, which would make the cut for each of us?"

Like last year, we abided by a few parameters: 

• First, any production brewery or brewpub as far north as Frederick or as far west as Ashburn was available to select from. Anyone who felt the need to include Baltimore breweries/brewpubs was free to do so, but was encouraged to pick from the more traditional DC market.
• Next, any beer, past or present from any of the aforementioned breweries was available for selection. \\
• Another rule that we all abided by was that when picking a beer, you could choose to make it more rare but not less rare. For example, DC Brau's On the Wings of Armageddon is a limited release now; those of us who picked it could choose to make it a limited release or a seasonal, but not a flagship. Conversely, if someone wanted to make DC Brau's The Public, currently a flagship, into a seasonal or a limited release, that's their permissible prerogative.
• Finally, we were restricted to pick no more than five flagships, four seasonals, and three limited releases

Those rules established, we each set off to pick our own fantasy brewery. We invite, and actually strongly encourage, you to email your own fantasy picks to us at editor@dcbeer.com. Make sure to play by the rules outlined above and give us a brief explanation of your picks (if you care to)! Next week we'll collect all of these and publish them in one big community post to see what some other members of #dcbrews think are the choice local beers. Here's what we came up with!

Jacob Berg, Staff Writer

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I could just go with my picks from last year, maybe swapping out Right Proper’s Ornette for Diamonds, Fur Coat, Champagne, but what would be the fun in that? I was also told I could add beers for Baltimore, but to me that’s a separate post, so I decided to try this again, without repeating any beers in their previous positions. Here goes.

Flagships: Flying Dog – Raging Bitch Belgian IPA; Ocelot – Home IPA; DC Brau – Brau Pils; Capitol City – Amber Waves; Franklin’s – A Modest ProposALE Irish Stout

Last year I went IPA-less in the flagship category, a bold move. So this year I have two, which is a much more “normal” choice in beer in 2015. Flying Dog’s Belgian IPA almost made the cut last year. This year it’s in, along with a newcomer, Ocelot’s Home, an homage to Alpine’s famed Nelson rye ale. A bit more cereal in the grain of the former is all that separates student from teacher. I'll also add DC Brau’s Brau Pils to the year-round list. It’s only been out for a few months, but it is already one of their better beers, and a sessionable pilsner never goes out of style. While American amber ales aren’t trendy, this one took the silver at last year’s Great American Beer Festival. A hit of Columbus and Cascade hops separates it from some of its more rote brethren. Finally, clocking in at 4% ABV, I could drink Franklin's dry stout, regular or nitro, pretty much all year-round.

Seasonals:

• Winter – Right Proper’s Comrade, an “imperial stout” that is somehow only 2.4% ABV
• Spring – Bluejacket’s Vignette, an American wild ale made with tart cherries
• Summer – Port City's Optimal Wit, extra-crushable now that it’s in cans and the only repeat from last year, though it was a flagship then
• Fall – Mad Fox’s Reynard Black Saison offers up some oaky, grape-y, and funky dryness thanks to Cabernet wine barrel-ageing, a nice beer for the changing of the seasons

Limited Release:

• Hellbender’s Southern Torrent Saison – This brewery’s best, in my opinion, is a hoppy saison that mimics the best qualities of white wine with tart grape flavors and a bit of minerality.
• Right Proper’s Diamonds, Fur Coat, Champagne Berliner Weisse – Maybe their best sour, no small feat.
• 3 Stars’ Zombie Date Night Imperial Porter – Riffing on their Pandemic Imperial Porter by adding raspberries and cocoa nibs, this beer is the high-gravity beast needed to round out the portfolio. Pair it with barbecue, game meats, chocolate desserts, or a cigar.

Chris Van Orden, Co-Editor

Flagships: Port City – Porter; Hellbender – Southern Torrent Saison; Mad Fox – Kellerbier Kolsch; Bluejacket – Lost Weekend; Atlas Brew Works – Rowdy
Seasonals: Spring: District Chophouse – Uberhop Czech Pilsener; Summer: Right Proper – Diamonds, Fur Coat, Champagne; Fall: Lost Rhino – Tmavy; Winter: Flying Dog – Barrel-aged Gonzo
Limited: DC Brau – On the Wings of Armageddon; 3 Stars – Harvester of Sorrow (Cabernet-Barrel-Aged Saison); Atlas Brew Works – Red Wine Saison de Brett

Rather than reinvent the wheel, I went back to my picks from last year and made substitutions where I thought they were merited. I still tried to cover a wide range of styles rather than assemble a thematically consistent portfolio; I respect breweries that go all lagers or all farmhouse, but I wanted to appeal to the widest audience possible here.

Like last year, my approach was to carry at least one flagship for every palate. I kept my choices in the dark and roasty, delicate lager, hop-forward, and wildcard categories. My only change was to use Hellbender’s saison, a great representation of the style, for the yeast-driven slot. Pretty much anyone who likes beer can find something up their alley from this core five.

For seasonals, I chose beers that hold a special seasonal appeal to me. Winter is the only time of year that I crave something massive, so I went with a classic: the barrel-aged version of Flying Dog’s Gonzo. At the end of winter, I’m dying for the weather to mellow, so I thought a nice clean pils would get me thinking of sunnier days. Bright acidity and low ABV do the trick in DC’s sweltering summer, while the fall’s rapidly cooling temps calls for a beer that you can enjoy equally in shorts and in sweaters.

Last but not least, the limited releases. I only changed one beer here from last year’s draft. I stuck with OTWOA, which remains “a world class hop bomb and, just as important, is crazy fresh when you drink it here,” as well as Harvester, the wine barrel-aged saison from 3 Stars that’s still one of the most memorable beers made in DC to date. And my new pick, the barreled and funked version of Atlas’s Saison des Fetes, gives me that Brett hit I need every so often.

Paul Josuns, Staff Writer

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Bill DeBaun, Co-Editor

Flagships: Bluejacket – Lost Weekend, DC Brau – Brau Pils (replaces DC Brau – The Public), Port City – Porter, Port City – Optimal Wit, Fair Winds – Siren's Lure (replaces 3 Stars – Peppercorn Saison)

Seasonals: Spring: Mad Fox – Kolsch (replaces Bluejacket – The Twit); Summer: Right Proper – Kick.Kick.Snare (replaces Mad Fox – Kolsch); Fall: Atlas – Rowdy Rye (replaces Lost Rhino – Rhin’Ofest); Winter: District Chophouse – Nut Brown (replaces 3 Stars – Pandemic Porter)

Limited Releases: Lost Rhino – Bacterium Blondus (replaces 3 Stars – Harvester of Sorrow); Bluejacket – A Little Golden Gem (replaces DC Brau/Union – Yonder Cities); 3 Stars – Pandemic Porter (replaces Port City – Tidings).

It was decidedly more difficult to pick my fantasy beer lineup than last year. Not only are there more local breweries to choose from, but existing breweries continue to expand their portfolios, and of course the beers that were good last year haven’t exactly decreased in quality this year. Challenging to say the least is picking from the abundance of riches in the local market.

Bluejacket’s Lost Weekend remains my favorite beer in the market and the first beer in my flagship lineup. In the last year, the recipe has been tweaked a little bit and has moved slightly away from the softness of white peach and nectarine and toward a more assertive Citra flavor. DC Brau’s Brau Pils replaces the brewery’s Public, not only because I’d like a lager in my flagship lineup, but also because I just prefer it overall. Port City’s Porter and Optimal Wit both retain their places. These are the best examples of each of their respective styles in the area and, given the GABF hardware they just picked up, the country. Fair Winds, which opened in the last year, cracks the flagship with its Siren’s Lure saison. This is easily one of the best local beers I’ve had in the past year, and apparently the GABF judges agree because the newcomers picked up a gold medal in 2015.

My seasonals have definitely been shaken up since last year. Mad Fox’s Kolsch (the unfiltered one!) slides one season earlier into spring and heralds the break from winter’s cold. It makes way for Right Proper’s frankly addictive Kick.Kick.Snare which is a Berlinerweisse heavily hopped with Citra and Cascade whose 3.1% is is better than Gatorade for a hot summer day. Although there are a number of great marzens in the area (Port City, Lost Rhino, and Flying Dog have all won medals for theirs and DC Brau will certainly get one sooner or later), I turn fall over to Atlas’s Rowdy Rye IPA. The intense rye flavor balanced with assertive bitterness eases the slide from summer’s scorch to autumn’s chill (and appeases hop heads, you’ve got to make what sells). Moving into full winter, I move the District Chophouse’s Nut Brown Ale in. Its comforting maltiness is a joy in front of a fire or on a chilly day, and if you manage to catch it on cask with hazelnuts all the better.

All three limited releases are switched up for me this year. 3 Stars’ Pandemic remains one of the most impressive imperials in the area, especially when it’s finished one of the multitudes of barrels the brewery has acquired. It is a high gravity treat that doesn’t disappoint. Pandemic replaces Port City’s Tidings, which remains an underrated holiday beer (and my favorite one each year). Although Union produced Royal Farmhouse, which is similar (in both style and excellence) to their collaboration with Brau of a few years ago, I bounced it from my list because it’s a Baltimore brewery. It’s replaced by Bluejacket’s kumquat gose, A Little Golden Gem, which is resource intensive and consequently expensive but ultimately something I can’t wait for the return of next year. Lost Rhino’s Bacterium Blondus, from its Genus Loci series, is one of the most impressive beers in the area. It is the only beer I’ve purchased a case of in the past two years, and it is every bit as tasty as most Belgian lambics I’ve had. Although they’ve added local fruit in other renditions, the straight up lambic remains my favorite of the bunch and decidedly worthy of a spot in my lineup.

Honorable Mentions: Right Proper – Kodachrome Dream(ing); 3 Stars – Above the Clouds; 3 Stars – Harvester of Sorrow; Lost Rhino – Rhin’Ofest; Hellbender – Red, White, & Gluten; Hellbender – Southern Torrent Saison; Bluejacket – Fields of Friendly Strife; Atlas Brew Works – Le Saison des Brett; Ocelot – Home

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