Bethesda Bars/Breweries?

I'm heading to Bethesda, MD in July (great weather right?). Any good breweries or Bars around town? I'll be staying near the metro stop around East West Highway.

I'm from CA so a good selection of East Coast brews would be nice to see.

Hi,
Here is a starter list for you. I don't know if you will have a car, but some of these are near a METRO stop.

1. Capital City brewing company (pub)
This place has O.K. beer and food

2. DC Brau (new)
Bladensburg Rd. NE Washington D.C. 20018

3. Port City Brewery (new)
3950 Wheeler Ave Alexandria, VA 22304

4. Dog Fish Head
two hour drive from DC (no traffic)

Thanks for the help. I'm sure we are taking a field trip in the car, I'm thinking we are going to Newington if that sounds right. Maybe one of these places is on the way back.

It's weird that Bethesda is such a beer wasteland since they have so many restaurants.

There's a Dogfish Head alehouse in northern VA and in Gaithersburg, MD. Don't need to go so far to get their stuff on tap.

If you haven't eaten at a Ruth Chris's Steak House now is the time since there is one right in Bethesda.

Growlers in Gaithersburg. Not too far from the Dogfish Alehouse. Is Rock Bottom Brewery still around? There's also a restaurant I recently went to with some friends in Bethesda called the Mussel Bar. They had a very good selection of craft beer.

For the record though I will state that Montgomery County, MD is possibly the worst place in the country to buy beer. You'll find the same products for half the price in northern VA. The Montgomery County Government holds a 100% monopoly over alcohol sales and distribution within the county. They are the only county in the nation that holds control over alcohol distribution in the manner which they do (there are 19 states that operate as "control jurisdictions", but Montgomery County, MD is the only county).

You can also check out Baying hound aleworks in rockville MD. It's a a nano brewery ( only brew 1bbl at a time) in a small warehouse space. The beers aren't uber amazing, but they always have 3 experimentals on tap ( currently they are trying out rye). Worth a trip if you have the time

enohcs said:

You can also check out Baying hound aleworks in rockville MD. It's a a nano brewery ( only brew 1bbl at a time) in a small warehouse space. The beers aren't uber amazing, but they always have 3 experimentals on tap ( currently they are trying out rye). Worth a trip if you have the time

Click to expand...

I heard about them several months ago and picked up a single at Gilly's in Rockville (wasn't very impressed with it though). I was wondering though, are they open to the public? I'd be interested in checking out the brewery sometime. Their address is on the bottle label.

TheBroonery said:

I heard about them several months ago and picked up a single at Gilly's in Rockville (wasn't very impressed with it though). I was wondering though, are they open to the public? I'd be interested in checking out the brewery sometime. Their address is on the bottle label.

Click to expand...

Like I said, their stuff isn't amazing, but you have to see their setup to appreciate it. They're open most weekdays until about 4pm, and most of the day Saturday. If the garage door is open, walk on in. If it's shut, they're likely closed. I live near by so it's no trouble to stop in and get a weekly growler fill. The place is slightly larger than my garage setup.
As long as I'm in the area, I'll be a customer. Got to support the little guys. And they mix up their in house selection every week.

And +1 for gillys. Best selection in the selection deprived Montgomery county.