Whether you ’re drinking a lager , a saison , or a off-key , a in truth great summer beer is usually characterized by its crispiness , cleanness , and how brisk it is . In other words , it ’s easy - drinking . The kids call it " crushable . " And by " child , " we mean brewers of completely legal age . In the greater DC area , these brewers are producing a wide kind of beers perfect for the year ’s warmest months . We ’ve rounded up the good of them below .
Port City Brewing Company Derecho Common
California common , 4.8 % ABVAlexandria , VAPort City ’s Derecho Common is the intersection of divine intercession . Four summers ago , the Alexandria cognitive process was brewing a clutch of pilsner when a quick and violent storm knocked out its electricity for five daytime . Like most lagers , pilsners ferment at cool temperatures , so without power – and in the middle of a heating system waving – Port City was in a bind . In response , head beer maker Jonathan Reeves decided to extemporize and turn the beer into a California common . Historically known as " steam beer , " this distinctly American style combines a lager barm strain with an ale ’s shorter , warmer fermentation , resulting in a crisp but fruity beer . California common is n’t what Reeves had ready out to make , but it ’s what he cease up with . As far as origin news report go , it ’s a good one . But what ’s most notable about Derecho Common is how every summer since , Port City has not only reproduced the beer , they ’ve actually made it near . Part of that comes from the foresight ofplanningto make a California coarse , of course . A big part , though , is that Reeves is a perfectionist , and he ’s steered Derecho Common to a marvelous seat . only hopped with Centennial , this class ’s loop has a distinctly citrusy and slightly racy finish . Its gilded physical structure is full than it looks , too . in the end , Derecho Common will please hopheads in search of lighter fare , and laager fans that need to walk on the wild side . There ’s plenty of room in its big tent – weather condition permitting .
Atlas Brew Works Home Rule
India pale lager , 5.8 % ABVWashington , DCThe beer of Atlas Brew Works often feel guided by an old saw : " Keep it simple , dazed . " From their Rowdy rye ale to the 1500 South Cap Lager , the Ivy City brewery ’s beer are a will to the complex flavour that can be absorb from simple malts , record hop , and barm . Home Rule , a saltation and summer seasonal , might be the avatar of that approach . One malt . One hop . household yeast line . That ’s it . Adjuncts need not apply . Home Rule is also a great example of the India pale lager , an emerge style that combines a lager beer ’s barm and fermentation with the generous hopping of an American IPA . The in effect of these cross - pollinated brew are low-cal and nappy ( like a laager ) , with fruity aromas and flavors ( like an IPA ) . That ’s sure as shooting the case with Home Rule , which uses Pilsner malt to highlight New Zealand ’s tart , citrusy Waimea hop-skip . Be warned , though : it ’s a deceivingly smooth beer for 5.8 % ABV .
Right Proper Brewing Kodachrome Dream(ing)
Farmhouse Radler , 4.5%Washington , DCTwo age ago , Nathan Zeender noticed can of imported Radler popping up around DC legal community . The German shandy , ordinarily an even commixture of beer and sparkling lemonade , can be refreshing in the summer heat . So the Right right chief beer maker decide to have some fun with the style : working with longtime Quaker , former homebrewing partner , and current beer scholar Mike Tonsmeire , Zeender get his own Radler – or something like it – call up Kodachrome Dream(ing ) . name after the shining colors drawn from old Kodachrome 64 picture , Kodachrome Dream(ing ) is a skimpy , funky saison brew with a good morsel of wheat . It ’s fermented with Right Proper ’s house hazardous yeast ( a combining of two Brett strain , two Saison tense , and some Lactobacillus ) , plus the piquance from grapefruit , lemon , and lime skin . To further ram home those citrusy flavors and aromas , Right right dry - hop the beer with Citra and Galaxy . They call the unfiltered , slenderly acid beer a " Farmhouse Radler , " but Zeender admits that ’s a playful stretchiness . After being limited to Right right ’s brewpub in preceding summer , Kodachrome Dream(ing ) sees a full dispersion this week . Zeender state the release is intended to sync up with the starting time of the Tour de France . " Radler , " after all , is German for " cyclist . "
Bluejacket The Jam
hemangioma simplex - pieplant Berliner weisse , 3.9 % ABVWashington , DCMost summertime seasonals are strategically limited to the year ’s warmest months . In other words , there ’s nothing stopping a brewery from producing a wheat IPA in December . But who wants a wheat IPA when it ’s 10 level out ? In some representative , though , a beer canonlybe brew for the summer . Such is the pillow slip with The Jam , Bluejacket ’s hemangioma simplex - rhubarb plant Berliner weisse . The Navy Yard operation makes its sour wheat ale with locally grown green goods , and since strawberry time of year only runs from late May to late June , that imply the windowpane to produce it is fairly narrow . But Bluejacket earn it count : this year , head brewer Josh Chapman and beer managing director Greg Engert source a humongous 750lbs of strawberry from Pennsylvania and Virginia . Due to an unusually cool growing season , those strawberries were especially sourish , which imply Bluejacket was able to apply more of the fruit than usual without masking the tartness from the lactobacillus - produced acidity and the 40lbs of Delaware rhubarb used in the boiling point . It ’s an intensive beer to make – some inadequate soul has to puree all of that hemangioma simplex – but the end product is incredibly well-heeled to drink : bright , extinguishing , and zesty on a warm good afternoon .
Union Craft Brewing Old Pro
Gose , 4.2 % ABVBaltimore , MDThere ’s no two way about it : Kevin Blodger is the DMV ’s passe-partout of gose . Union ’s head brewer has been bring out a version of the sharp German wheat beer since 2009 , when he was still working at Chicago ’s Gordon Biersch . Granted , the flair itself date back to the Middle Ages , but Blodger was well ahead of the recent spike in gose production that ’s sweep through American foxiness brewing . Since then , he ’s hone the art of tympanum souring – the method of using lactobacillus bacteria to convey clean , light-headed sour into a beer . This year , he ’s flex those acquisition with soured twists on a Vienna laager and a school term ale , but Old Pro remains his masterpiece . Whether you ’re well - versed in the fashion or not , Old Pro is a wonder : an effervescent , refreshing beer with a signature of salt and a lemony maize finish . There are n’t many other goses that keep the average imbiber coming back for another sip , have alone a second glass , but Old Pro does . In fact , when Union put the beer in cans for the first meter last May , the brewery figured its order of atomic number 13 receptacle would last them a few days . The reality : the brewery blew through them all before the end of that summer . Despite Old Pro ’s monumental pursuit , Union is keep the beer a summertime seasonal , so snag a six pack and ruck up while you may .
Hellbender Brewing Co. Southern Torrent Saison
Farmhouse ale , 5.5 % ABVWashington , DCWhen Hellbender launched a little over a year and a one-half ago , it envision Southern Torrent Saison as a summer seasonal , and it ’s not concentrated to see why . Like most of the DC brewery ’s offerings , the Farmhouse ale is ironical , thirst - quenching , and only moderately boozy – all of the qualities you ’d want in a terrace sipper . But there ’s a net ton of flavor packed into that light trunk . Head brewer Ben Evans ferments the beer at unco low temperature using Hellbender ’s rustic house yeast strain , a compounding that bestow Southern Torrent Saison floral and foetid scent , with notes of mild fruitiness and spiciness , making it arguably the area ’s finest saison . Unsurprisingly , Southern Torrent Saison quickly became Hellbender ’s best - selling beer , too . This springiness , the brewery wisely decided to make it a flagship . Now you’re able to toast the beer in whatever season you ’d like , but make no mistake : Southern Torrent Saison pairs perfectly with summer .
Union Craft Brewing Steady Eddie
Wheat IPA , 7 % ABVBaltimore , MDBaltimore ’s Union Craft did n’t need to make one IPA , so it made three . The twisting ? It let go of each seasonally , with malted and hop profiles that complement the conditions . That means a red IPA when the leaves grow a similar shade , a rye IPA to warm the wintertime quiver , and Steady Eddie for the yr ’s longest , hot days . urge by 3 Floyd ’s Gumballhead , Steady Eddie is a hoppy wheat ale that ’s delightfully hard to immobilize down . wheat berry and honey malt liquor give the slightly foggy beer a clean , crisp base . Its hop visibility , meanwhile , is distinctive without being overwhelming : there ’s Green Bullet for bittering and Azacca for a touch of tropical fruit , but the asterisk of the show is Sorichi Ace , which imbues the beer with a fusillade of herbal and Citrus limon calibre . At 7 % ABV and 80 IBU , the spring and summertime seasonal is definitely an IPA , but it tastes different than any IPA make locally . More significantly , you ’ll have no trouble throwing back a few on a cheery day at the ballpark . Ironically enough , Union times Steady Eddie ’s release to cooccur with baseball game ’s scuttle sidereal day .
DC Brau Space Reaper
Double IPA , 9.2 % ABVWashington , DCDC Brau long ago cemented their reputation as the District ’s resident hopheads . From The Corruption , a Northwest IPA , to the in demand On the Wings of Armageddon , an Imperial , brewmaster Jeff Hancock ’s touch with Humulus lupulus is unimpeachable . Whether they ’re working on a winter seasonal or a one - time collaboration , Hancock and his squad love making unabashedly hop-skip - advancing brew . " It ’s always a good time for a double IPA , " co - founder Brandon Skall once told me . " It ’s like Champagne . " Of all these effervescent potable , perhaps DC Brau ’s most awaited get each summer solstice . In year by , it was called Solar Abyss ; now it ’s been rechristened as Space Reaper . Whatever the name , the 9.2 % dual IPA is a favorite both in and outside of the brewery . With a more or less sweet but unobtrusive malt bill , the orange - copper beer serve as a vitrine for its single hop , Mosaic . Mosaic can acquire a complex patchwork of flavors – hence the name – but DC Brau and its three - tiered dry - hopping technique suck up out notes of strawberry match with a dank pineness . While such a rich beer is n’t exactly what you ’ll want to compact for a picnic , it only arrives once a year , so do n’t fear the Space Reaper ; snag it while you’re able to .
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Bluejacket
Courtesy of Port City Brewing
Courtesy of Right Proper Brewing
Courtesy of Bluejacket
Courtesy of Hellbender Brewing
Courtesy of DC Brau
