Burgeoning Brewing Scene in Our Nation's Capitol

UPDATED VERSION IS HERE

Version 9, as of May 3, 2012

This is a great time to be a craft beer fan in the Nation's Capitol! Here's my list of breweries and brewpubs in a 100-mile radius of the Capitol Building. Have you heard of all the breweries, brew-pubs, and tied houses below? Have you been to a few to sample the wares?

>> Comment below about any new discoveries or to share your impressions! <<

Here is a summary of changes from the previous version, published Dec 3, 2011:

·         Total venues up to 142 from 126.

·         Added 16 breweries.

·         Updated 12 breweries.

·         Processed 39 comments.

·         These contributors were helpful: BeerMe.com, Keith Chamberlain (10); On Tap Online, Dan Brown (9); Chuck Triplett (6); bob (3); Martin Morse Wooster (2); All We Can Eat (1); ARL Now, Dan Brown (1); DC Beer, Dan Brown (1); deathblossom (1); John, Chuck (1); J.T. Thomas (1); Mike Horkan (1); Tammy Tuck (1); and Unknown (1).

While I am mainly interested in LOCAL brewers, the list includes some categorized exceptions:

·         Non-locally owned chains are included separately for completeness.

·         I have a short list of tied houses which are retail outlets for particular brewers with no on-site brewing.

·         I also show a list of breweries and brewpubs that are not open but coming soon.

·         I added a select group of current and future breweries and brewpubs outside the arbitrary 100-mile radius and worth a road trip.

·         Finally, I even included former breweries and brewpubs (both local and non-locally owned) for reasons of nostalgia.

>> Questions or updates are welcome in the Comments section. <<

Note: some brands you can buy are brewed by contract. One cannot visit the Stillwater Artisanal Brewery, for example, because Stillwater beers are currently brewed using facilities at DOG Brewing. "Currently Open" means a physical place you can go and visit, like DOG Brewing. Look for Stillwater under "Coming Soon."

A. CURRENTLY OPEN BREWERIES AND BREW-PUBS (LOCAL)

·         3 Stars Brewery, Washington, DC

·         Barley and Hops Grill and Microbrewery, Frederick

·         Battlefield Brewing at The Pub, Fredericksburg, VA

·         Baying Hound Aleworks, Rockville, MD

·         Blue & Gray Brewing Co, Fredericksburg

·         Brewer's Alley Restaurant & Brewery, Frederick

·         Brewer's Art, Baltimore

·         Burley Oak Brewing Co., Berlin, MD

·         Capitol City Brewing Company, Arlington  (now brews for all Cap City locations)

·         Chocolate City Brewing Co.,  Washington, DC

·         Coastal Brewing Dover, DE (Old Dominion and Fordham brands)

·         Corcoran Brewing Co., Waterford, VA

·         DC Brau, Washington, DC

·         DOG Brewing Co, Westminster, MD (DOG and Stillwater Artisanal brands)

·         Dogfish Head Brewery, Milton, DE

·         Dogfish Head Brewings and Eats, Rehoboth, DE

·         DuClaw Brewing Company, Bel Air

·         DuClaw Brewing Company, Bowie

·         DuClaw Brewing Company, Hanover

·         Ellicott Mills Brewing Company, Ellicott City

·         Evolution Craft Brewing Co., Delmar, DE

·         Flying Dog Brewing Regional Brewery, Frederick (Corporate HQ in Denver)

·         Franklin's Restaurant, Brewery & General Store, Hyattsville

·         Growler's of Gaithersburg

·         Heavy Seas Beers, Baltimore (Clipper, Pyrate, and Mutiny lines)

·         Holy Brew, Leesburg, VA

·         Iron Hill Brewery & Restaurant, Wilmington, DE

·         Legend Brewing Company, Richmond

·         Lost Rhino Brewing Co., Ashburn, VA

·         MacDowell Brew Kitchen, Leesburg

·         Mad Fox Brewery, Falls Church

·         Port City Brewing, Alexandria

·         Pratt Street Alehouse, Baltimore

·         Red Brick Station, White Marsh, MD

·         South Street Brewing, Charlottesville

·         Starr Hill Brewing Company, Crozet, VA

·         Sweetwater Tavern, Centreville

·         Sweetwater Tavern, Falls Church

·         Sweetwater Tavern, Sterling

·         Vintage 50 Restaurant and Brew Lounge, Leesburg

B. CURRENTLY OPEN BREW-PUBS (LOCALLY AVAILABLE BUT NOT LOCALLY OWNED)

·         Chophouse & Brewery, District, Washington, DC

·         Gordon Biersch, McLean

·         Gordon Biersch, Rockville

·         Gordon Biersch, Washington, DC

·         Hops Grill & Brewery, Alexandria

·         Rock Bottom, Arlington

·         Rock Bottom, Bethesda

C. TIED HOUSES (FRESH, LOCALLY MADE BEER NOT BREWED ON SITE)

·         Capitol City Brewing Company, New York Ave

·         Dogfish Head Ale House, Fairfax

·         Dogfish Head Ale House, Falls Church

·         Dogfish Head Ale House, Gaithersburg

·         DuClaw  Brewing Company, BWI Airport, Southwest Terminal

·         Fire Station 1, Silver Spring (outlet for Red Brick Station)

·         Gordon Biersch, Dulles International Airport (IAD-Terminal D, Gate D14)

·         Gordon Biersch, Ronald Reagan National Airport (DCA-North Pier)

·         Lee's Retreat, Fredericksburg (outlet for Blue & Gray)

·         Old Dominion Brewhouse, Hyattsville (Outlet for Coastal's Old Dominion line)

·         Old Dominion Brewhouse, Washington, DC (Outlet for Coastal's Old Dominion line)

·         Pub Dog Pizza & Drafthouse, Columbia, Maryland (outlet for DOG)

·         Pub Dog Pizza & Drafthouse, Federal Hill, Baltimore (outlet for DOG)

·         Ram's Head Roadhouse, Annapolis (Outlet for Coastal's Fordham line)

·         Ram's Head Shore House, Stevensville (Outlet for Coastal's Fordham line)

·         Ram's Head Tavern, Annapolis (Outlet for Coastal's Fordham line)

·         Ram's Head Tavern, Savage (Outlet for Coastal's Fordham line)

D. COMING SOON (LOCAL)

·         Adroit Theory Brewing Company, Sterling, VA (2012 or 2013)

·         Beltway Brewing, a brewery for hire, coming to Loudon County in late 2012

·         Bluejacket, aka NRG's Brewery and Restaurant at the Yards

·         Cabinet Artisianal Brewhouse, Alexandria

·         Hellbender Brewing Company, DC

·         Logan Shaw Brewing Company,  Washington, DC (will brew Logan Shaw and Wild Goose brands)

·         Low Brau DC

·         Robert Portner Brewhouse and Beergarden, Alexandria, VA (Portner's great-great-grandchildren plan a revival as a brewery incubator. Coming in 2012).

·         Stillwater Artisanal Ales, Baltimore (currently contract brewing at DOG)

·         Washingtonian's Brewing Co., Washington, DC

E. CURRENTLY OPEN (ROAD TRIP!)

·         Blue Mountain Brewery, Afton, VA

·         Devil’s Backbone Brewing Co., Roseland, VA

·         Eastern Shore Brewing, St Michaels, MD

·         Hardywood Park Craft Brewery, Richmond

·         Mad Hop Brews, Ellicott City, MD

·         Monacracy Brewing, Frederick, MD

·         River Company Brewery, Radford, VA

·         Ruddy Duck, Solomons Island, MD

·         St George Brewing Company, Hampton

·         The Flying Barrel BOP and Homebrew Shop, Frederick, MD

·         Williamsburg Brewing Co., Williamsburg

·         Wolf Hills Brewing Company, Abingdon, VA

F. COMING SOON (FUTURE ROAD TRIP!)

·         Bedford Alehouse, Bedford (near Roanoke)

·         Charm City Brewing, Baltimore

·         Milkhouse Brewery, Mt Airy, MD

·         The Raven, Baltimore

·         Union Craft Brewing, Baltimore

G. FONDLY REMEMBERED LOCAL BREWERIES OR BREWPUBS (Chronological)

·         Consumer Brewery (1896-1904, became Arlington Brewery)

·         Robert Portner's Tivoli Brewing Co., Alexandria, VA (Closed in 1916--possibly being revived?)

·         Arlington Brewery (1904-1920)

·         Olde Heurich Brewing Company (1872-1956)

·         Queen City Brewing Company, Cumberland, MD (1901–1976)

·         National Brewing Company (National Bohemian) (1885-1978)

·         British Brewing Co., Glen Burnie (1988-1992), sold to form Oxford Brewing

·         Potomac River Brewing Co., Chantilly, VA (1993-1998)

·         Brimstone Brewing Company, Baltimore, then Frederick (1994-1998)

·         Blue-N-Gold Brewery, Arlington (1996-1998)

·         Virginia Brewing Co (Bought by Founders in 2000)

·         Sisson's Restaurant and Brewery (1979-2002) sold brewing equip to Mountaineer

·         Founders Restaurant & Brewing Co, Alexandria (Closed 2002)

·         Virginia Native Brewing Co., Alexandria  (1998-2003).

·         Baltimore Brewing Co., aka DeGroen's (1989-2004)

·         Bardo Brewing (Closed 2004)

·         Rock Creek Brewing, Richmond (1996?-2005?)

·         Capitol City Brewing Company, Baltimore (Closed 2007)

·         DuClaw  Brewing Company, Fells Point, Baltimore (Closed in 2009)

·         Fordham Brewing Co (Bought 2009 by Coastal Brewing)

·         Frederick Brewing (Bought by an Ohio brewery that itself was bought by Flying Dog in 2009)

·         Old Dominion Brewing Co (Bought 2009 by Coastal Brewing)

·         Oxford Brewing Co., Linthicum  (1992-1998, then part of Clipper City 1998-2009)

·         Wild Goose Brewery (Cambridge > Frederick > Flying Dog > Closed 2010 and sold recipes to Logan Shaw)

·         Clipper City (reorganized in 2010 as Heavy Seas Beers)

·         Capitol City Brewing Company, Massachusetts Ave (Closed Jul 2011--possibly reopening in Union Station?)

·         Shenandoah Brewing Company, Alexandria  (Closed June 2011)

H. GONE BUT NOT FORGOTTEN NON-LOCALLY OWNED BREWERIES OR BREWPUBS (Chrono)

·         Dock Street Brewing (1994-1997)

·         John Harvard's Brew House, Washington, DC (1997 - 2006)

I. ONCE ROAD-TRIPPABLE BREWERIES OR BREWPUBS NOW CLOSED (Chronological)

·         Globe Brewing Company (Arrow Beer) (1748-1963)

·         Chesapeake Bay Brewing Co., Virginia Beach (1982?-1989?)

·         Globe Brewing (Key Hwy) (1994-1996)

·         Calhoun's, Harrisonburg, VA (Closed 2011)

·         Mountaineer Brewing Co., Martinsburg, WV (Closed Apr 2011)

·         Shooting Creek Farm Brewery, Floyd, VA‎ (Closed May 2011)

J. DYNAMIC REGIONAL HOME-BREWING AND BEER APPRECIATION CLUBS

·         Baltibrew

·         Brewers United for Real Potables (BURP)

·         Chesapeake Real Ale Brewers Society (CRABS)

·         Cross Street Irregulars (CSI)

·         DC Homebrewers

·         Frederick's Original Ale Makers (FOAM)

·         Fredericksburg Area Brewing and Tasting Society (FABTS)

·         Fredericksburg Brewing Insiders  (FBI)

·         Goddard Zymurnauts

·         Libation Association

·         Maryland Ale & Lager Technicians (MALT)

·         Midnight Homebrewers' League

·         Society for the Preservation of Beers from the Wood (SPBW)

·         The Killer Ales

·         The Wort Hogs, Herndon

·         Wootown Brewers, Northern Maryland

By this count, there are (40) currently open local breweries and brew-pubs within 100 miles of the Capitol, plus an additional (24) non-local brew-pub chains and "tied house" brewery outlets with no brewing on premises.  Added to these establishments, we have (10) more breweries and brew-pubs coming soon to this area. Lots of choice, and more on the way!

Going slightly further afield, I highlight (17) current and future breweries that are not far outside the arbitrary 100-mile radius and well worth a road trip.  And because brewing, like any other business, follows a lifecycle, I list (35) breweries or brewpubs no longer in operation, gone but not forgotten.

And while we're at it, let's not forget to highlight the amateur brewers who meet, greet, and compete in (16) local home-brew clubs.

In all, this list highlights (142) past, present and future fresh beer outlets, each an important part of the lively and growing beer scene in the National Capitol Region. Today's brewers are enhancing and extending the American brewing tradition from our Nation's frothy founding to its foam-filled future.

Hoist a pint in support of the burgeoning brewing scene in our Nation's Capitol!  Cheers!

Rock on, DC-Area Brewers!  We're thirsty!