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It’s already the middle of the week but there is still plenty of beer fun to be had. Read on for my picks, or click on any event in the D.C. Beer Events Calendar above for more details.
LAGERHEADS PICK: The featured event this week is not in D.C. but is well worth a trip to the neighboring beer city of Baltimore. Saturday Pratt Street Ale House will host over 20 of their beer-making buddies, including their very own Oliver Breweries, for an afternoon of real ale featuring three dozen rare cask brews. (The list leaves me speechless, so you will have to check it out for yourself.) The festival goes from 1 to 6pm. You can buy tickets, $50 at the door or $40 in advance, here. The $60 VIP tickets for early entry and a commemorative t-shirt are likely sold out, but Olivers brewmaster and cask ale aficionado Steve Jones promises to have plenty of beer to last the day so there is no need to rush. Worried about how to get there and back safely? Bring a D.D. Designated drivers get in for $10 with all the free soda they can stomach and a 25% discount on food.
Looking for something more local? Read on.
On Tuesday DC Brau unleashed their second release, Penn Quarter Porter, on the District. The new local brewery has posted several places the robust porter will be on tap this week. The brewery knows when kegs are delivered but not when they go on tap, so call ahead. Venues include Meridian Pint, ChurchKey, R.F.D., The Argonaut, The Pug, Smith Commons, Brasserie Beck, The Big Hunt, Capitol Lounge, Iron Horse Tap Room, Little Miss Whiskey’s, The Passenger, and Pizzeria Paradiso in Georgetown and Dupont Circle.
You can get some for sure at Rustico in Alexandria Wednesday, when both DC Brau and Port City Brewing Company and their beers will be featured as part of Rustico’s week-long 5th anniversary celebration.
Also on Wednesday, ChurchKey will be pouring two special selections from smoke beer capital Bamberg, Germany: Brauerei Heller-Trum‘s Aecht Schlenkerla Fastenbier and Rauchbier Oak Smoke. As if that weren’t cause enough for celebration, the beers will be poured from wood-clad gravity kegs, a process which allows the beer to mimic the flavor of cask ale.
Public House No. 7 in Falls Church is bringing in Steve Jones of Oliver Breweries for a hump day treat, his Ironman Pale Ale dry-hopped with Bramling Cross. Pay $15 for a glass and get unlimited (within reason) refills from the cask.
On Friday, Rustico and DC Brau dominate again, but separately this time. To end their week-long birthday party, Rustico is offering an all-night happy hour with $2 off all drafts, college cans for $2, craft cans for $3.50, and all wines by the glass are $5 (but who’ll be drinking wine?).
Inside the District, Brau boys Brandon Skall and Jeff Hancock will be at Solly’s on U Street Friday evening with several of their brews. The 5 to 8 p.m. happy is a warm up for an air guitar contest later that evening. It could get…interesting.
Finally, on Sunday Brooklyn Brewery brings The Taco Experiment, one in a series of amateur cook-offs, to Rock & Roll Hotel. Tickets are $10 in advance or $15 at the door and include tasting samples and Brooklyn beer, including Brooklyn Lager, India Pale Ale, and Summer Ale. A portion of the proceeds will benefit the Capital Area Food Bank. Tacos, beer, and charity? Yes, please.
For the complete list of beer events, check out the calendar above. If I missed something, let me know.
Send submissions for the D.C. Beer Events calendar to thelagerheads@gmail.com.