OK, so we’ve discussed restaurants nearby, but MWLUG includes so many beer lovers that I know some of you will be eager to venture further afield for interesting beer. None of these are in walking distance.
What we already know
In Friday’s post, I mentioned the Cap City Brewing Company in Shirlington as a viable dinner option in the midst of a good restaurant scene. Shirlington is either a short Uber/Lyft ride from the hotel or just across the footbridge out the back of Wednesday night’s brewery tour at New District Brewing.
Where everyone knows your name
OK, at Fat City Kitchen, they won’t already know YOUR name, but they know mine. There are a dozen taps, mostly microbrews (the others are Guiness and Yuengling, IIRC) and probably 80 other beers by the bottle or can. Matt can mix anything you can think of (I go for the ‘City 75’, which is similar to the French 75, while Melissa digs the Grapefruit Collins), Farrah and the rest of the staff keep you smiling with full glasses. The food is excellent and we love about half a mile from it.
Where I can get some beers to bring to the hotel
Our favorite wine shop, Unwined, is just across the highway off King Street. Besides the excellent wine selection, they have a large selection of beers, including a growler filling station. Yes, bring your own growler in and fill it up, or buy a growler there. According to the link , they’ve got a saison and 3 IPAs on tap right now. Another place where mentioning that you know Dave and Melissa will make them smile!
Where else could we have gone for a brewery tour
Another place that’s near my house (stumbling distance?) is Port City Brewing Company. Way back in the day, Alexandria was actually nicknamed “the Port City” because so much trade came in over it’s docks. Then the 19th century started…. The brewery was named Small Brewery of the Year in 2015, so likely worthy of a pilgrimage. I love their Porter, though it’s not exactly an August beer. The tap list is less heavily weighted towards IPAs than it was a few years ago, but they’ve got 11 beers on it.
Arlington, please!
Some of the fellows that I’ve played softball and baseball with are into beer as much as I’m into wine. They had a happy hour at Crafthouse over in Arlington and the draft beer selection was very nice.
Maybe not yet
Earlier this year, Portner Brewhouse opened about a mile from our house. We went during the ‘soft opening’ and loved the food. The brewery inside seems to have been a gimmick or something that they thought “couldn’t be that hard”. Sitting next to a fellow who sells brewing equipment, he let us know that what he could see wasn’t the top grade equipment. No, that’s too polite. He said that he thought they did it on the cheap. He heartily recommended New District, so we’re on the right path for Wednesday night.
Final thoughts
Of course, there are other options further afield, but I generally haven’t been there, so wouldn’t have useful input. The best beer spot in the DC area closed recently. The Brickskellar in Dupont Circle had hundreds of beers on their menu and they even had live music on the weekends. Feel free to questions about certain parts of town, as I’ve been here for 27 years and used to go everywhere in Arlington, Alexandria and DC.
I’ll be out of town before MWLUG, returning on Monday night. If you’re interested in some assistance with getting beer and wine from Unwined or beer from Port City (they do have Sixtels, which are only 41 pints), I may be able to help. Otherwise, or for evening adventures, getting to any of these should be easy via Uber, Lyft, or some other conveyance.
Lost in Code 