DC Beer-Cember

What a fun beer year we’ve had in 2024, from memorable beer shares to the Snally Stage and TWO beer collaborations (People’s Pale & Corner Czech).

We have so much to reflect on and to be thankful for this year and of course it involves our wonderful beer family and community. As we close out 2024, please share with us your favorite beer (and maybe DC Beer) memory from this year. Here are ours, from Jacob, Mike, Brandy, Jordan, and Richard. May your December be merry, beery, and bright.

Jake Berg, Editor, DC Beer: “I’ve got two 2024 beer highlights to share. The first was the release of a beer I helped design, the Bitter Fruit-DC Beer collaboration People’s Pale Ale, brewed at Dynasty in Ashburn. Writing the hopping portion of the recipe and using as much Virginia-grown grain as possible was very cool, and all credit to Favio Garcia at Dynasty and Justin Broady at Bitter Fruit for how well the beer turned out. The second highlight involves brewery rebirths. Losing Black Narrows really hurt, but out of those ashes came Upweller, and we got to collaborate with their co-owner/co-founder, and head brewer Josh Chapman at Right Proper Shaw. Please Czech out our collaboration with Lost Lagers and the Womxn’s Brew Culture Club, Corner Czech: Czech-style Dark Lager, at Right Proper. No doubt someone out there feels the same way about their favorite Calvert Brewing Company beer, now brewed on the eastern shore by Burnish.”

Jordan Harvey, Beer Advocate, Writer DC Beer: “2024 has flown by, but a lot of good and awesome in the world of beer has happened this year. Two of the more notable things have been the collabs I’ve been able to witness or be apart of. Working with Bitter Fruit and Dynasty in VA to brew and release the People’s Pale is hands down a top highlight of 2024. Another highlight is Iron Simms, a peach chamomile Saison, that is the first major collab with the majority of the DMV Black Beer brands that also featured Dynasty. An awesome year for beer but these two collabs and releases top the charts for me! Cheers to 2025!”

Michael Stein, Treasurer, DC Beer Media LLC; President, Lost Lagers: “My top two 2024 highlights involve wins. 2024 was very good to me in the wins department (the loss department saw the death of my father, Dr. Peter J. Stein and saying that was awful is a gross understatement). I most recently won first place for Best Business Writing at the North American Guild of Beer Writers for my piece "When Beer Goes Flat" at Slate. It was edited by Jonathan L. Fischer, who first put me in Washington City Paper 11 years ago. Earlier in the year, a beer I brewed with beer historian Ron Pattinson, Company Porter, won second place in the Classic Style category at the 18th Annual Atlanta Cask Ale Tasting. We first brewed this beer with Bluejacket in 2018 (this link looks like Bill DeBaun wrote the article but I assure you that I, Michael Stein did!). This beer will be back on cask at Bluejacket soon and hopefully it will bridge 2024 to 2025 in terms of the cask beer I’ll be drinking. A bit more about the beer: Bluejacket Company Porter (East India Porter) is our interpretation of the 1858 Whitbread Contract Porter brewed in collaboration with beer historians Ron Pattinson and Michael Stein. Company Porter is heavily hopped with East Kent Goldings to punctuate malt-driven coffee, bread crust, and cocoa flavors with notes of tea, citrus, herbs, grass, and lavender. This remarkable 6.2% ABV dark brew finishes earthy and dry, with a pleasant lingering bitterness.”

Brandy Holder, Secretary, WBCC Founder, Social Media Manager, DC Beer: “This was a fun beer year indeed. For me it wasn't about one specific moment, but about the people who showed up event after event, and allowed our community to grow. Being the people person that I am, I had the most pleasure spending time with beer friends, making new ones, welcoming members, bringing all of those people together and capturing those memories with my camera. These connections allowed for beer collaborations, new friendships, and showing support to others. My proudest moment of the year was hosting and curating the most incredible and diverse group of women for the Women in Craft Beverage panel at Other Half in March. I cried happy tears seeing the sheer amount of people who attended to listen and meet these industry icons. Coordinating and MCing both the panel and the special pairing dinner with two of my favorite humans, Anne Choe of Lost Generation and Bonnie Branding of Wheatland Spring (who just happen to be badasses in the local beer scene) at Birch & Barley (now Mallard) further empowered me to continue advocating for the BIPOC, LGBTQA+, Deaf and Hard of Hearing and of course women and non-binary people in the craft beverage industry. I look forward to making more of an impact and growing the Womxn's Brew Culture Club in the years to come. I'm head over heels for our local craft beer community, and I feel lucky to have shared memories within it. 

Richard Fawal, President, DC Beer Show Producer, DC Beer Media: “It’s hard to believe, but the end of this year will mark five years since I became the publisher of DCBeer.com. It’s been such an incredibly rewarding experience. I’m so grateful to the brewers and owners who have been so supportive of our mission. I wish there was room to thank you all. Mostly, I’m so thankful to my partners, whose passion for the DC area and craft beer help make the local craft beer scene the best in the nation.”

Now…Check out some DC Beer events and other local beer to-dos.

DC Beer Events Spotlight

Saturday, December 14 –  12 Beers of Christmas with metrobar

Join us for the second annual BEERY Christmas event at metrobar. We’ll be pouring 12 seasonally inspired beers from all local breweries. Snag your tickets and come spend the afternoon with us, it’s going to be a blast.

Wednesday, December 18 – DC Beer Trivia Night at Other Half

Jordan (@BeersAroundTheWay) and Other Half transform their weekly trivia night into DC beer-themed trivia once a month, so show up, drink beer, and be a part of the beer community!

Thursday, December 19th –  Womxn’s Brew Culture Club Wine & Jazz Night @St. Vincent Wine Bar

We are changing it up this month by having… wine! Join us for a delightful evening of live jazz music and exquisite wines at St. Vincent Wine Bar. This event is very limited in space, so please RSVP sooner rather than later. Let’s come together, relax, bond and enjoy bevvies and jazz in the heated garden at St. Vincent. Reservations for 8 have been made under Brandy’s Name, and if we end up having more attendees, we can (hopefully) add more to the reservation. Please RSVP no later than Sunday, Dec 15th due to reservation/cancellation fees.

Friday, December 20 - December Beer Share at Right Proper

Join us for our first every Friday Night Beer Share hosted by our very dear friends at Right Proper Brookland. We know how insanely busy the holiday season is with family and friends, parties, visitors, etc, and our weekends are already packed with guests and seasonal stuff… So we decided to switch things up and do a FRIDAY NIGHT BEER SHARE!

Staff Picks - Local Events Spotlight

Dec 7 - COMING TOGETHER: A FUNDRAISER FOR KEEPING TOGETHER! Starting at 12:00pm Founded in 2019 by Averie Swanson, Keeping Together initially brewed its beers at Half Acre Beer Co. in Chicago while Averie and her partner, Pat Fahey, simultaneously planned to open their own brewery in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Both Averie and Pat are Master Cicerones and respected veterans in the craft beer industry, making this one of the most highly anticipated brewery openings. In 2024, however, a significant setback occurred when the company supplying their brewing equipment went under, taking nearly $500,000 of their funds with it. Despite this blow, Averie and Pat are determined to bring Keeping Together to life, and we want to help them achieve their dream. The Sov will be pouring five different beers from Keeping Together, with proceeds going to support their journey. These are some of the last kegs available until their new brewery opens — don’t miss this rare chance to taste them! There’s no admission fee for this event, with all featured beers available à la carte. A portion of the proceeds will be going to Keeping Together.

Dec 7 - Streetcar 82: Ugly Sweater cornhole tournament hosted by American Deaf Cornhole this Saturday! Check out more information

Dec 10 - Right Proper will be celebrating their 11th birthday on Tuesday, December 10th at both Shaw and Brookland with Happy Hour all night and free birthday cake. They'll also have bottles of beer to go with a special label created by their daughter Ollie.

Dec 12 - ABT 12 DAY 2024: AN EXCLUSIVE GUIDED TASTING WITH ST. BERNARDUS! An intimate guided tasting experience led by St. Bernardus CEO Julie Depypere and sales & marketing manager Marco Passarella, both visiting from Belgium. This exclusive ticketed event includes six exceptional St. Bernardus beers, including vintage Abt 12. Don’t miss your chance for an expertly guided tasting with Julie and Marco, who will share stories and insights into the brewery’s rich tradition. Plus, each attendee will receive a St. Bernardus glass to take home! Reserve your spot for this special evening. Tickets are $50 per guest, excluding taxes and fees./

Dec 18 - DENIZENS Holiday Karaoke Party. Join the fun and belt out a tune (or just watch others) while drinking all the delicious beer (we see you Gremlin IPA and Cool Breeze). Holiday tunes encouraged, but not enforced. Sing what you want. Be happy.

Dec 31 - Ring in the Near Year at Atlas. During the day, families are invited to partake in a special afternoon celebration at Atlas Alexandria. Enjoy festive music, Atlas’ award-winning beers and Andy’s Pizza, with a simulated ball drop at 7pm, so parents can get home for bedtime and still enjoy the midnight ball drop from the couch. For those looking to keep the party going, enjoy a special all-inclusive celebration at Atlas Navy Yard. From 9pm to 1am, for just $99, enjoy endless draft beers, select wines, and mixed drinks. Daniel Vilarrubi, Director of Brewing Operations, will dig into the cellar and pull out some limited releases special for the occasion. Enjoy exclusive barrel-aged beers and classic favorites on draft throughout the evening. The full award-winning Andy’s Pizza menu will be available for purchase. Tickets are now available on Eventbrite.

Podcasts: Tune in this month for special interviews and fun podcast episodes. First up, Joel Geier of Brewery Travels!

Articles: If you’re more of the reading type don’t snooze on these “hot off the press” articles written by our very own beer historian Mike Stein and Editor in Chief Jacob Berg.

Traveling this holiday season? Please welcome Atlas’ newest location at National Airport.

Better know Crisp Maltings, the company behind the grain in some of our—and your-favorite beers!

Don’t miss out on beer shares, ticket discounts, beer deals, and all the behind-the-scenes stuff our members get!

Cheers, The DC Beer Team