Technically the smallest beer Atlas regularly makes is their Blood Orange Gose, but because I am completely biased towards lager I always lean towards The 1500 South Cap Lager. At 4.7% alcohol by volume, it’s stronger than Pilsner Urquell (4.4%) and weaker than Budweiser (5%).
Billed as a Helles Lager, this pale beer is a throwback to the pre-prohibition lagers made in DC from the 1800s up until 1917, when prohibition began here. Ironically, back then this beer would’ve been considered strong. This small beer (by modern standards) is bigger than the historic DC lagers of the 1850s when lagers came in at around 3.5% abv and bocks at 4% abv.
The beautiful thing about this beer is its carbonation. If you like the fizz of cola or selzer, the carbonation in The 1500; the bubbles keep you coming back for more. It’s why I love to crush The 1500 South Cap Lager.
A pint of The 1500 goes for $TK in the Atlas taproom and $TK a 4 pack. You can also get it at Nationals Park where it’ll run you $12.
