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Just in time for colder weather, Silver Spring’s Denizens Brewing Co. opened its downstairs taproom last week. The new space, part of a multilevel 7,500-square-foot facility that boasts a 150-seat beer garden and adjoining upstairs taproom, showcases a sunken bar that overlooks Denizens’ 15-barrel brew house. When warmer weather returns, a garage door opens to a patio in the arcade alongside the brewery, rounding out a host of options to enjoy Denizens’s house-brewed beer and barbecue by BBQ Bus.
Denizens, which opened in July, currently has seven house beers on tap. In addition to the brewery’s summer offerings, Southside Rye IPA and Lowest Lord ESB, head brewer Jeff Ramirez has developed three other flagship brews—Born Bohemian Pils, Big Red Norm Red Ale, and Third Party Tripel—since getting the brewhouse going in September. Also on offer: Ponch’s Patch Pumpkin Porter, full of the tasty pie spices you’d expect from an October seasonal, and Big Bad Bohemian, a juicier, hairier limited edition of the Pils dry-hopped with two new varieties, Waimea and Green Bullet, from New Zealand.
Looking for an excuse to check out Denizens’ new digs? Every weekday, “freedom hour” runs from 4 to 6 p.m. with $5 house drafts and $1 off small plates like wings, pulled pork tacos, and beer brats cooked in the pils. The upstairs taproom will have live music every Sunday this month and the brewery is planning a Halloween Party next Friday featuring D.C. roots band The Bumper Jacksons. Oh, and trivia starts at 8 p.m. every Tuesday night.
CORRECTION: The initial version of this story incorrectly stated that Denizens’ facility is 75,000-square-feet. That’s too many zeros: it’s 7,500 square feet. Also the Halloween party is next Friday (Oct. 31), not this Friday.
Denizens Brewing Co., 1115 East-West Highway, Silver Spring
Photos by Tammy Tuck