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Thursday, October 23, 2014

Field Trip: 2014 Capitol City Oktoberfest in Shirlington

Two Saturdays ago was the annual Capitol City Brewing Co. Oktoberfest, held in Shirlington, VA. Yours truly has been every year he's been in DC, and every time I go I'm exposed to awesome new beers and great food. Like last year, I'm going to give a quick rundown of most of the beers I tried.


Joined by compatriots Jon, Jill, Sonora, and Will, and armed with a water bottle, it was time get started!

Victory Brewing Co. - "Old Horizontal" barleywine (11.00% ABV)


Started the morning off right with a 11.00% ABV barleywine. Nice amber color to it, very little aroma, smooth and a bit sour. Flavor opens up nicely, balanced very well, good deep woody flavors to it. Delicious.

Crooked Run Brewing Co. - "Summer Night" dark raspberry saison (7.5% ABV)


Couldn't resist trying such a unique beer. It's a 7.5% ABV beer made with raspberries in the farmhouse style. It's dark, sweet, and fruity, with an intriguingly-sweet, stout-style finish. It's a great beer to have for dessert - nothing I'd drink session.

Brooklyn Brewing Co. - "Fire & Ice" American porter (7.2% ABV)


Swung by the Brooklyn tent to grab their new "Fire & Ice" smoked American porter. It was dark, not too strong, with notes of chocolate and smoke. I liked it - it wasn't too gimmicky and had a solid taste profile that I enjoyed. I'd be curious to try a pint of this at some point and get deeper into it. 

DC Brau - Oktoberfest marzen (5% ABV)


DC Brau's tent was right next door and so I had to grab their Oktoberfest, which is only available on draft. The beer had a very pleasing orange color, with a cool crisp aroma and full, smooth, hoppy flavor. Not too heavy. DC Brau uses lots of hops in their beers so it was cool to see a super-hoppy Oktoberfest.

The Schlafly Tap Room - Pumpkin Ale (8% ABV)


Next up is Schlafly's famed Pumpkin Ale. Look at that clear red color! Schlafly's pumpkin ale was delicious. It smelled great, with lush pumpkin and allspice flavors. That flavor quickly slid into a warm cinnamon finish. I may investigate a six-pack of this in the future - very delicious. 

Firestone Walker Brewing Co. - "Wookie Jack" American black ale (8.3% ABV)


The Firestone Walker Wookie Jack is dark, deep, and strong with sharp rye flavors. It has tasty roasted malt flavors and chocolate notes and is very drinkable. There's also a Double Jack version, which I may have tried with my extra tickets at the end (towards the end I stopped keeping track.)

Forge Brew Works - Imperial Oatmeal Pumpkin Stout (9.5% ABV)


This beer, made by local brewer Forge, was rather interesting. Like some of the other pumpkin stouts I've had, it had more flavors from the allspice / pumpkin spice end of the spice drawer. There was a whole mix of spices in there, nice and warm and smooth. Deep flavors at the end. I can get into this!

Devil's Backbone Brewing Company - Schwartzbier (4.9% ABV)


Ran past Devil's Backbone for a taste of the schwartzbier, which is German for "black beer." It's a rather-light 4.9% ABV. This, I think, was the most disappointing out of all of them. The taste was sweet but not very flavorful at all. Pretty thin, no real aftertaste. It didn't leave me wanting to try another one.  

DuClaw Brewing Co. - "Sweet Baby Jesus" American porter (6.5% ABV)


Again, another beer that was highly recommended by my beer-sipping comrades. It's DuClaw's chocolate and peanut butter American porter, the "Sweet Baby Jesus." Friends Sonora and Will seemed to really like it, so I had to give it a try. And I did.

Whoa.

Peanut butter! It really tastes like peanut butter. It was rather sweet, and smooth, with definite chocolate / peanut butter flavors mixed in. Nice and smooth on the way down with a warm aftertaste of sweet chocolate flavors. I'm definitely getting this again!

Founder's Brewing Co. - "Breakfast Stout" American double imperial stout (8.3% ABV)


I've heard tell of this beer. It's one of the only beers that scored a perfect 100 on BeerAdvocate, Sonora spoke reverently of it when we scoped out the taps before the place opened.

The beer pour dark, and with a nice khaki-colored head. The beer was smooth, flavorful, and strong, with interesting chicory tastes and a hint of dark chocolate. The flavor was nicely polished with a finish of warm, earthy hops. A great way to round out my beer tasting experience!

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