Nobody buys more beer in DC than the Washington Nationals. Nats Park hosts 82 games a year–more if the Nats are good!–and a few other events as well. The team draws over 20,000 fans per game, so even if a quarter of attendees buy a beer, it quickly adds up. Local independent breweries are well aware of how much baseball can help their bottom lines, even if there are fewer District Drafts stands now than there were in 2019.
In 2023 we wrote, “It’s easier for breweries to package beer in kegs, and the profit margins are higher than cans,” with an additional quote from Atlas Brew Works co-founder and CEO Justin Cox: ”Draft beer is easier and there’s less quality control concerns with keg beer versus canned or bottled beers.”
There have been few substantive changes at the stadium since we last checked in with the team. The Craft Beer Corner near section 109 in left field still has the best selection of cans, but you’ll see some locals at Marketplace stands (Sections 141, 205, and 233), and an additional Craft Beer Corner near Section 306. District Drafts are located near Sections 110, 119, 129, and 141, as well as 223 and 309 on the top two levels.
To ensure that there’s a wide variety of styles, local breweries met at Nats Park earlier this month for what Port City Founder Bill Butcher calls “the District Drafts draft.” This group includes Atlas, DC Brau, Denizens, Other Half, Right Proper, and Solace. You’ll see beer from all these breweries on tap, as well as offerings from Aslin and Black Viking. The latter is the first Black-owned beer brand to be poured at the stadium! This early March draft “is where the local brewers participating in the District Draft carts get together to decide which beers are going in which carts for which months,” says Atlas’ Cox. “We all take turns to draft our choices so that there is good variety through the season, and we don’t end up with all IPAs on the carts, and there is good rotation for each home stand,” adds Butcher.
The draft draft also includes a good natured competition to see which brewery sells the most beer. In 2022 and 2023, that was Port City, but in 2024 it was Right Proper. “We’ll be back at it in 2025 to retake our crown,” vows Butcher.
On fancier parts of the 200 level, you notice a bevy of Atlas taps, separate from the District Drafts program. “Atlas collaborated with the Nats back in 2014 to create a locally brewed beer specifically for Nationals Park. We worked with them on the beer style, the name and the design. The result was 1500 South Cap Lager, a Helles Lager named after the address of the stadium,” says Cox. “In 2020, we reformulated that Helles into an American Pilsner and renamed it Bullpen Pilsner (and won a Bronze medal at GABF!). Due to the history of Bullpen, it enjoys placement in the park outside of the District Drafts program.”
Another notable beer appeared in cans late last spring, No. Eleven, a Kolsch-style ale from Middleburg, Virginia’s Lost Barrel Brewing. The brew is a collaboration with Ryan Zimmerman; the brewery owners are friends with the former Nats third baseman and proceeds from the beer support the ziMS Foundation, a non-profit dedicated to treating and curing multiple sclerosis. “The goal was for it [the beer] to come out in the summer, so an easy drinking, refreshing Kolsch was the pick,” Zimmerman told us last week.
The shift away from kegs and towards cans has altered what and how local breweries package. Port City will have 19.2 ounce “stovepipe” cans of Monumental IPA and tallboys (16 oz cans) of Optimal Wit in addition to their draft offerings, which will include Wit, Monumental, Hazy IPA, and Oktoberfest. DC Brau is going to lead off with Corruption on tap, but look for tallboys of Brau Pils around as well.
As for the on-field product, the team should be interesting this year. Without much power, they’re probably going to run a lot and the starting pitching will probably show flashes of potential, if not greatness. You’ll be provided with plenty of proverbial reasons to drink, and you can do so at Sections 109 and 206 for Craft Beer Corners; Sections 141, 205, and 233 for Marketplaces; and District Drafts near Sections 110, 119, 129, 141, 223, and 309.
As for before and after the games, we’ve got you!
600 Howard Road Southeast, Suite 100, Washington, District of Columbia 20020
1201 Half Street Southeast, Washington, District of Columbia 20003
10 N St SE, Washington, DC 20003
71 Potomac Avenue Southeast, Washington, District of Columbia 20003
79 Potomac Avenue Southeast, Washington, District of Columbia 20003
79 Potomac Avenue Southeast, Washington, District of Columbia 20003
1250 Half Street Southeast, Washington, District of Columbia 20003
300 Tingey Street Southeast, Washington, District of Columbia 20003
