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Bigscience

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I'm taking a short trip out to DC and NYC and am looking to try out what the East Coast has to offer. Can anyone recomend any brewerys there? Any beers that I just have to try that I can only get there? Thanks in advance.
 
There's a ton of great beer here but instead of giving you a huge list I'll just name what I think are the top breweries: Troegs, Victory, Allagash, Flying Dog.

If you haven't had FD's Raging ***** you need to try it.

Overall I would say PA is the best beer state on the east coast.
 
+1 for Troegs and Victory. Favorite Troegs is the Nugget Nectar. Favorite Victory beers are the Hop Devil, Golden Monkey, & Twelve.

Another good PA brewery is Weyerbacher. I like their Double Simcoe IPA and their Quad(called "Quad").
 
Are you flying in to DC, Driving to NYC and flying out? Maybe a few of us could help plan a road trip. Guys above have made great nominations. I grew up near DC/Baltimore and now live in PA (2 miles from Victory). I'd be glad to help you get around.

If your in DC try in order Bricksellar, Capital City Brewing, Brasserie Beck and RFD. the middle two brew their own, the other two are resturants with a ridiclous selction of beer from all over the country and world. google them

+1 on Victory and Troegs.
 
It's too bad you're not making it farther north; Maine has, IMO, the best brewing scene on the east coast, and 2 of the premier beer bars in the country in the Great Lost Bear and Novare Res. ( http://www.novareresbiercafe.com/ and http://www.greatlostbear.com/ )

Some premier east coast breweries:
Allagash (ME; wide distro)--their wit (Allagash White) is widely available, but it's really worth trying any of their other beers that you can find.
Cigar City (FL; has NY distribution)
Maine Beer Co (ME; limited New England)
Brooklyn Brewing (NY; wide)
Ommegang (NY; wide)
Portsmouth Brewing (NH; wide)
Clipper City (MD; regional)
Flying Dog (MD; pretty wide)
Troegs (PA; wide)
Victory (PA; wide)
And, of course, the ever-divisive Dogfish Head in Delaware.

In DC, Churchkey on 14th is probably the best beer bar in DC at the moment http://www.churchkeydc.com/ . Their beer steward (Greg Engert) is really great. Rustico in Alexandria is a viable alternative if you're not in the city proper (Greg also does the beer buying for them, they have a similar though slightly smaller selection--no need to visit both of them), and if you're down that way but stuck in Old Town, Bilbo Baggins has a reasonable selection as well ( http://www.bilbobaggins.net ).

Brickskellar is overrated, IMO; it was a god-send when it opened as the only place with a wide selection, but there are much better options these days and it usually doesn't have more than half of what I try to order. RFD is the same ownership as Brickskellar but much nicer with a lot more taps; it's worth a visit.

Other highlights along the way:

Max's in Fell's Point Baltimore is a definite must-visit ( http://maxs.com/ ).

Monk's Belgian Cafe in Philly should also be on the list ( http://www.monkscafe.com/ )
 
More Philly area brewers (defining the area pretty broadly), in addition to those mentioned by others:

Sly Fox
Philadelphia Brewing
Yards
Stoudt's
Lancaster Brewing
Flying Fish
Weyerbacher
River Horse
and of course, Dogfish Head

And Philly and 'burbs brew pubs:

Dock Street
Manayunk Brewery
Nodding Head
McKenzie's
Gen. Lafayette Inn
Iron Hill
Earth Bread + Brewery
Spring House Brewery

[Edited to add a few more that had slipped my mind.]
 
Hey, finally something I'm qualified to talk about! Regarding DC, at least....

+1 on Churchkey, which is attached to a restaurant (Birch & Barley) that is definitely worth going to, if you can get reservations. Brickskeller is indeed overrated. Their beer list looks pretty good until you discover they're generally out of about 2/3rds of it.

DC doesn't have a ton of local microbrews, unfortunately. There's Hook & Ladder in Silver Spring (just over the DC line in MD), which is okay but unexceptional. I'm a big fan of Franklin's in Hyattsville, MD; if you get the chance, run by there and grab a growler of pretty much anything. Good stuff. There are also several Dominion Brewery pubs scattered around, but I'm not a huge fan.

Fordham has roots in Annapolis, MD but I believe is now brewed in the ungodly state of Delaware. Still, it's pretty good, and you can generally find it in the DC area.

All that PA stuff is excellent (mmm ... Troeg's) too, of course.

If you are looking for a beer store, and want to make a drive out to the far suburbs, The Perfect Pour in Columbia, MD has a truly excellent selection. Probably the best beer (& wine & liquor) store I've ever been to. Some people will tell you to go to Chevy Chase Wine & Liquor in DC, which is definitely good, but TPP is better and the prices are lower. The only downside that that nobody in MD carries Bell's.

Sorry this is so disjointed, it's just that I've been conducting beer research.
 
DC has a couple of Dogfish Head tap rooms - they don't brew on the premises, but they are still fun. I don't know why they don't open on or two in Philly - too much competition, maybe? I'm sure they would do well.
 
Are you flying in to DC, Driving to NYC and flying out? Maybe a few of us could help plan a road trip. Guys above have made great nominations. I grew up near DC/Baltimore and now live in PA (2 miles from Victory). I'd be glad to help you get around.

If your in DC try in order Bricksellar, Capital City Brewing, Brasserie Beck and RFD. the middle two brew their own, the other two are resturants with a ridiclous selction of beer from all over the country and world. google them

+1 on Victory and Troegs.

I'm flying into Newark, taking a train to the Baltimore area today and then another train to DC tomorrow. I'm visiting a buddy in DC and SWMBO is seeing her friend in Baltimore. A few days later well meet up in NYC. I asked my buddy about the brew scene in DC and he said it wasn't that great. Thanks to everyone and their input. Maybe I can show HIM the good places to go.

FYI, in flight WIFI on Alaska is like a stuck sparge, slow and you have to keep restarting.
 
DC doesn't have a ton of local microbrews, unfortunately. There's Hook & Ladder in Silver Spring (just over the DC line in MD), which is okay but unexceptional. I'm a big fan of Franklin's in Hyattsville, MD; if you get the chance, run by there and grab a growler of pretty much anything. Good stuff. There are also several Dominion Brewery pubs scattered around, but I'm not a huge fan.

Dominion is now brewed in Delaware, too. And they pretty much discontinued anything that wasn't a top-seller, as they're pursuing an aggressive expansion of a very few lines via a distribution partnership with Anheuser-Busch.

They closed the brewpub a couple years back, though as you noted there are a few (off-site-brewed) Dominion-branded pubs around--one's by the convention center, IIRC.

All that PA stuff is excellent (mmm ... Troeg's) too, of course.

If you are looking for a beer store, and want to make a drive out to the far suburbs, The Perfect Pour in Columbia, MD has a truly excellent selection. Probably the best beer (& wine & liquor) store I've ever been to. Some people will tell you to go to Chevy Chase Wine & Liquor in DC, which is definitely good, but TPP is better and the prices are lower. The only downside that that nobody in MD carries Bell's.

I think DC places carry Bell's, and I know that Total Wine in Alexandria does.

EDIT: And go to Churchkey! It's worth it.
 
Definetly get to dogfish head if in deleware. In NY, Brooklyn Brewery is a must tour. Other great NY breweries include ommegang, captain Lawrence, Chelsea and blue point. Top beer bars in NYC - Gingerman, rattle and hum, pony. Enjoy!!
 
Think I might be too late to the party but for breweries in NYC, check out Brooklyn, Six Point, Chelsea, Blue Point, and Captain Lawrence. For great beer bars, seek out Pony Bar, Burp Castle, George Keeley's. Haven't been to Gingerman or Rattle 'N Hum, but NY beer geeks swear by those places, too.
 
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