Price: $14.99/750ml bottle
Where Spotted: Whole Foods, 1440 P St. NW
Just Do Wit: This Belgian-style witbier is the first release from the brand new Anchorage Brewing Company, which just opened its doors in June. I can dispense with the trope of calling them “promising” because this beer is flat-out amazing. Upon pouring, lemon peel and Sorachi Ace hops unleash their signature citrus bouquet, blending with green-grape pucker and farmhouse funk produced by aging in Chardonnay barrels with a dose of wild yeast. With each sip, peppercorns and coriander raked my palate of sweetness, begging me to go back for more. And you’ll want to, again and again.
Great Expectations: That may seem like a lot of flavors to pack into a beer, but brewmaster Gabe Fletcher has a spectacular touch for harmony, leaving no rough edges. He spent more than a decade manning the tanks at Alaska’s Midnight Sun before starting his own boutique shop to focus on wild yeast and barrel-aging. The boom of D.C.’s hometown brewing scene aside, this is the year’s most exciting release. Look out for Anchorage to join such favorites as the Bruery and Jolly Pumpkin in the elite ranks of farmhouse brewing. —Orr Shtuhl