Some friends of mine got married in Maryland, and since I haven’t spent much time on the east coast, I headed out a few days early to check out the DC area.  I got a lot of walking in, saw some museums, toured a few government buildings, and visited three breweries.  The first was Capitol City Brewing, where I had lunch, as well as their beer sampler.  Pretty fancy brewpub, but I guess that’s how it goes in DC, and I was pleasantly surprised by beers they had.  The food was pretty good, too.

More patriotic drinking at Capitol City Brewing — Washington, DC

Rob’s Picks
• Capitol Kolsch – 5% – Light and fairly crisp.  Subtle bitter finish, with nice light malt and bready balance. Interesting subtle oiliness on the tongue.
• Pale Rider Ale – 6.1% – Great malt-caramel-bitter balance.  Pretty crisp, too.
• Amber Waves Ale – 5.6% – Big! Lots of malt, strong initial and finishing bitterness, and subtle floral notes.
• Prohibition Porter – 5.3% – Fairly rich chocolate and coffee flavors.  Mellows to a dry finish.

The Rest
• Hefeweizen – 5.2% – Fairly strong banana/clove flavor that masks the usual breadiness.  Pretty smooth, too.  Banana/clove flavor too strong for my tastes.

After American Brewing and now Capitol City, I might be getting a little carried away by nationalistic fervor — perhaps a road trip to some Canadian breweries is in order.  Hmm.  Anyway, I was a little disappointed Capitol City didn’t have an IPA.  Maybe I should write my congressperson and demand equal IPA representation.