On this site we used to get excited about new arrivals to the DMV market(s).* Then we got cynical, and the local breweries got better. A lot better. But especially if you’re a hophead, the recent batch of breweries available in the area has us taking notice. Let’s go!
Brujos: We don’t know if this is a one-off or a regular occurance, but both DC and Virginia are getting IPAs from this very hypey Portland, Oregon brewery. In DC, everything is going through Neighborhood Restaurant Group, starting with a launch party at Churchkey on Saturday, August 1. Friend of the site Wort Wrangler notes that Brujos is his first stop in Portland, writing “Brujos reminds us that every sip holds a little magic. Their greatest act of sorcery isn’t just brewing remarkable beer, it’s bringing remarkable people together, showcasing the magic of the modern craft beer scene.”
Half Acre: Finally! Daisy Cutter is a world class pale ale and at long last DC has regular access to it. Here’s what we’re getting, hopefully on a regular basis, at better beer stores.
• Daisy Cutter West Coast Pale Ale with Simcoe, Centennial, CTZ & Chinook
• Pony German Pilsner
• Half Acre Light American Light Lager
• Bodem West Coast IPA with Mosaic, Cashmere & Idaho 7
• WayBird Hazy IPA with El Dorado & HBC 586
• Slow Melt West Coast IPA with Citra & Mosaic
• Vallejo West Coast IPA with Simcoe & Nelson Sauvin
Available at Metro Wine & Spirits in Adams Morgan and Hop, Cask, & Barrel in Georgetown.
Pure Project: Is it possible to describe this San Diego brewery as “quietly hypey?” Let’s say yes. Our own Brandy Holder has been to California twice in the last few years, hitting Pure each time. Here’s what she has to say: “I can confidently say that it’s my favorite California brewery. I’ve never had a bad beer at Pure. Beyond the beer, the service is exceptional every time I’ve stepped into a Pure Project location, I’ve been greeted with a kind, and helpful person. I obviously look forward to my West Coast visits, and will always stop into the closest Pure Project for a beer, or two and a suitcase full to bring back home. I’m so jazzed to see their beer making an appearance.”
Want more praise? Here’s Jordan Harvey, who cites “not only how crisp, clean and ‘pure’ their beers are, but the attention to details they showcase in showcasing their spaces and taprooms. One of my favorite breweries to visit in SD that offers hazies for the lay consumer but also oak barrel aged saisons and mixed fermentation beers for the aficionados.”
We start with cans of Rain Pils, Rewild West Coast Pale Ale, and Pure West West Coast IPA.
Toppling Goliath: Best known for their series of hoppy “Sue” beers, named after the tyrannosaurus rex at Chicago’s Field Museum, this Iowa brewery’s entry into DC and Maryland would have had us losing our minds in 2018 or 2019. Now we’re just happy to have access to Pseudo Sue, King Sue, and other IPAs. The brewery has been intermittently available in northern Virginia for a few years now, but is fully entering the DC and Maryland markets as well. If you got excited about Three Floyds a few years ago, you should feel similarly about Toppling Goliath.
On top of that, we’re in the midst of another Northern Virginia drop of The Alchemist. Heady Topper is plentiful, Focal Banger less so. Seeing Heady in a NoVA Harris Teeter is some cognitive dissonance in the best kind of way.
* Look at this blog post from 2009. It’s a whole ass article about 21st Amendment’s Monk’s Blood. That brewery has changed ownership at least twice since 2018 and they no longer make that beer. We’re spoiled!
