Lost Generation Brewing Co. - "Tiger Spirit" witbier

If you haven't been to Northeast DC's Lost Generation Brewing Co., you should. Led by an ensemble cast of experienced brewers and restauranteurs, Lost Generation just celebrated its first birthday and has quickly become a fixture along the Metropolitan Branch Trail (or, as it is coming to be known, the Metropolitan Beer Trail.) 

One of their standout brews lately is “Tiger Spirit”, a 4.80% ABV witbier made with chrysanthemum tea, coriander, orange peel, and Szechuan peppercorns. They're flavors not usually found it a witbier, so what's the story??

Anne Choe, the principal owner, wanted to brew something special for Asian-American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) history month last May. Lost Generation is partnering with Chefs Stopping AAPI Hate, a group started by DC chefs Tim Ma and Kevin Tien to "spread awareness about anti-AAPI violence and AAPI racism, and raise funds in support of AAPI victims, AAPI organizations and other social justice issues that support AAPI solidarity." This organization started during the pandemic when the world saw an elevated amount of anti-Asian racism. 

Anne and the team wanted to make a food friendly beer that would pair with Asian cuisine, so in partnership with Chefs Ma and Tien (and DC's own Bluejacket!) they created Tiger Spirit. The standout ingredient here are Sichuan peppercorns by 50Hertz, which Lost Generation serves as bar snacks. "The witbier style lends it self as the best vehicle for the spices we are using," said Jared Pulliam, who runs the brewery with his wife Anne. And so they popped in the peppercorns, and "we amped it up with some tea and more orange blossom fragrance. We wanted to make something you want to drink with your meal."

They brewed it last year and loved it so much they re-brewed for their anniversary, and increased the amount of peppercorns. Let's dive in.

It's straw-yellow in the glass and generates a soft aroma, with some notes of baking spice and orange oil. So far so good!

If you're worried about this being too spicy, fear not - it's soft, approachable, and not overpowering at all. The 50Hertz peppercorns certainly add a snappiness to the beer, providing a nice highlight to the base of flaked wheat / orange oil / tea. The peppercorns linger a bit on the short finish, but present more flavor than spice. 

I think they hit the mark here, looking to create an approachable beer that's crisp and light enough to enjoy with food but also something that's unique. They also sell it in pint cans, which of course I grabbed a few 4pks to enjoy / give away to friends. 

There's an evolving part of this story – the 50Hertz team (Yao Zhao and Lois Goh) are friends with famed author Amy Tan. The 50Hertz team gave Tan some Tiger Spirit and loved it, taking a photo for the Lost Generation team. "This was a nerd moment for [me], as [I] grew up reading Joy Luck Club...the way she normalized the first-generational upbringing in an Asian household really defined the person I have become," said Anne. 

So make it a point to head out to Lost Generation and have yourself a dose of Tiger Spirit, pronto! They've also got a new music series coming up, called "Live at Lost Gen", which takes place every Friday and Saturday night from 8-  11pm. You can check the events calendar here!

Beer Flight at Churchkey - A Visit to DC's Best Beer Bar

Last year, I worked Snallygaster, the big DC beer festival. As a thank-you for working in the pouring rain, setting out glassware, pouring beers, and skipping lunch, I got a $50 gift card to the Neighborhood Restaurant, which includes places like Birch & Barley and Churchkey. Churchkey! This place has the best beer program in DC, nestled in a second-floor spot just west of Logan Circle. Aside from a huge amount of drafts, they've got an extensive aged beer collection and a list of some pretty rare stuff. 

So armed with gift card, and appetite for delicious craft beer, I made my way to this oasis to try some interesting and unique beers for my first post of the new year. I wanted to get a nice spectrum of beers, and I made a point to try stuff I'd never had before and things which I thought were somewhat fun. 

Bluejacket Brewery - "Art of Almost"

This is a 3.70% ABV English dark mild-style ale, in collabortion with Good Word. Bluejacket is based here in DC. Let's take a look!

Appearance: Deep brownish red, with a bone-colored head. 

Aroma: A little sweetness, with some woodiness. 

Palate: Very soft, flat, a little thin, with some malt and a touch of smoke. 

It's actually a nice representaton of English dark mild ales - essentially beer-flavored soft drinks meant for every day consumption. This one is a cask pour, so the flatness is to be expected and in fact somewhat welcome. Don't take my comments to mean it's somehow bad; this is a faithful representation of the style.

Ritterguts Leichtenhainer Spezial

So this is a first for me - trying a Leichtenhainer, which is a historic beer style originating in Leipzig, Germany. I didn't get a chance to visit Leipzig when I was in Germany last year, but maybe next time.  It's a sour, smoked wheat beer - an interesting mashup of styles, and one I've never seen before. 

Appearance: light gold, some sticky foam. 

Nose: a bit of fruit, white peppercorns. Fresh!  

Palate - a bit sour and puckery up front; lemony, definitely a gose-adjacent style. Not funky. But here's where it gets neat - after that initial burst of sour, it smooths out and fattens up into more like a farmhouse ale. A little spice, some woodiness on the finish. White peppercorns, some dried flowers. 

Yum - very good. Not too sour, not too bitter, and a nice round character. At 4.3% ABV, it's basically a soft drink. 

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Live Oak Brewing Co. - "Pre-War Pils"

Live Oak is out of Del Valle, Texas, just outside the state's craft beer capital, Austin. This beer is based on 1912 German-American recipe and is mashed with 35% corn grits. They call it "Pre-War Pils" as it originated prior to the Great War in 1914. Tip: if you're buying spirits, you may find this timeframe called "Pre-Prohibition." 

Appearance: Very light yellow

Nose: not much here - maybe a bit of malts. 

Palate: Very light, attenuated, decent balance between crisp and buttery. I get a little bit of the corn sweetness in the back end, but nothing crazy (unlike a cornbread sour I had a few years ago that was *wild*.) 

Crushable, and would go very well with, naturally, some bratwurst. I had it with some of Churchkey's housemade tater tots. 

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Dewey Beer Co "Secret Machine: Blueberry Cranberry Vanilla Crumble"

OK, OK, bear with me - I love these kitchen-sink approaches, because more often than not, it works. The Bruery used to make weird stuff like this and I'm always a fan, even if it's not an every day beer. I get it that it's not for everyone, and that's fine, but why not try it?

Appearance: electric burdgundy, thick cap of bone-colored foam. Super sticky lacing. 

Nose: Wow, smells like candy. Vanilla and fruits! 

Palate: Smooth as silk, nice and full, but not overly sweet. Tastes like a cobbler. I get some puckery from the cranberry, naturally. It's like fresh cranberries, not the sweet pie filling kind. Almost a little tart. There's a vanilla backbone here - there but not overdone. 

It's interesting how in-balance these ingredients are. I'm not getting anything overweighted or out of whack. That being said, I could have one of these, but just one. It's a fun and funky one to try and at 7.00% ABV, not a bad sipper. 

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Wheatland Spring Farm & Brewery - "Noble Light"

This is a 5.90% ABV oak-aged export lager from Virginia. Export lagers are an older style, originally fortified for export (i.e. to survive many months in a ship's hold.) 

Appearance: Thick cap of foam, deep gold body

Nose: Not much, but some dark malty wheat

Palate: It's honestly like a dark golden ale, soft and straightforward with nice accents of malt. Pretty clean as far as that goes, with not a lot of spice. It's also not as sweet as it could be, which is a relief. 

I've been seeing Wheatland Farm around a lot lately, and am curious to see what else they've got

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The Veil Brewery -  "Apple Brandy Toast-e Coilz Imperial Oatmeal Stout"

A trip to Churchkey wouldn't be complete without trying one of the palate-wreckers they have on draft. They've got plenty of "big" beers and lots in bottles. 

This one was off the draft menu, and is a collab with Monkish, Trillium, Other Half, and Cloudwater. Occasionally you see a long list of breweries collaborate to create a beer; I always wonder how they come to a decision. 

This beer is a double oatmeal stout inspired by French toast with maple syrup. It's 12.00% ABV, likely to be super sweet and a palate wrecker, so here goes.

Appearance: Jet black with some brown menisucus. No head to speak of. 

Aroma: Bourbon barrel scents from two feet away. Strong sweetness. 

Palate: Thick, heavy, with a noticeable flavor like an apple crisp, with a heavy aftertase. I will say the finish is refreshingly short; some of these things just linger and stick. Not something you can probbaly have more than one of. Not as heavy as the Abraxas, of which I also had a taste on the house. 

Deifnintely the last one of the night! Another great visit to Churchkey.