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Here’s a good reason to go out in the snow: Shaw’s newest addition, Right Proper Brewing Company, opens tonight at 5 p.m. The long-awaited brewpub by Thor Cheston is located at 624 T St. NW, next to the Howard Theatre.
My last post on Right Proper has plenty of details, but here are some updates on the beer and food, including full menus and photos of several dishes.
Head brewer Nathan Zeender‘s opening lineup includes Ornette, which is a Grisette, a kind of Belgian farmhouse wheat beer. A brew that’s only 3.7 percent alcohol, it’s refreshing, spicy, and masterfully flavorful. Zeender plans to put some in an apple brandy barrel he loaned to New Columbia Distillers for it to age its gin-aquavit hybrid.
Zeender’s equally quaffable Kellerbier, named Being There after the Peter Sellers film shot in D.C., is a creamy, unfiltered Pilsner with a clean, dry finish. The Duke (as in Duke Ellington, whose history crossed paths with Right Proper’s building) is a medium-bodied Belgian-style strong golden ale with fruit flavors and a spicy, dry finish. Zeender’s “aromatic pale ale” Raised by Wolves, brewed with three hops from the Pacific northwest—Cascade, Columbus, and El Dorado—is juicy and satisfyingly bitter.
The best news of all? Each 12- to 16-ounce pour of house beer is only $4 or $5, lower than most District drinkers are used to paying for draft brews, including locally produced ones.
In addition to the four beers brewed on site, Right Proper is pouring two collaborations: a Wee Heavy with buckwheat honey called Lost and Proper brewed with Lost Rhino, and Bête Noire, a silky Baltic Porter with loads of oats brewed with DC Brau. The drink menu also includes guest beers, one on draft and several in cans and bottles.
Scroll on for pictures of some of chef Matt Richardson‘s comfort food-themed cuisine and the full food and drink menus.
Virginia ham biscuits with poppy seed butter
Fried chicken parts with Mateo’s mumbo sauce
Bacon-fried kale with slab bacon
Wood-grilled burger with smoked brie and red wine sauce
Meatloaf over whipped potatoes with white mushroom gravy and winter squash
Chicken and dumplings over whipped potatoes
Eight-hour lamb French dip with English mustard, Gruyère and red wine dipping sauce
Chocolate pudding with burned crème brûlée top
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Right Proper is also serving a bananas foster pudding and pineapple upside-down cake. Hours are 5 to 11 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 5 to 12 a.m. Friday and Saturday, and 5 to 10 p.m. on Sunday, with lunch service starting later.
Photos by Tammy Tuck