Is October the 14th anniversary of the biggest, bestest, beer festival in DC? Can attendees expect 450 prized and hard-to-find draft, gravity kegs, bottles and cans of beers? Will 166 of the US and international brewers and blenders be pouring alongside the best cuisine local food trucks have to offer? Will there be two stages of live music? If you answered yes, we’re talking about Snallygaster 2026! Will we see you on October 10, 2026 for the merry monster, aka the finest festival DC has to offer?

You may have noticed Oktoberfest beers showing up on draft taps, in shops, and on shelves. Our own Michael Stein lets us know Senate Marzen is on offer at Right Proper and the Heurich House Museum’s 1921 biergarten. Stein’s beverage research firm, Lost Lagers, worked with the two DC organizations to bring modern drinkers the beer from a 1933 Christian Heurich Brewing Company recipe.

Our August Beer Share is at ChurchKey, Sunday August 16th. From 1-4pm we expect a robust turnout for DC Beer members. Not a member? Join us on Patreon and come on down to 14th Street for our share.

What beer news have you heard? Check out some of our upcoming events and some other noteworthy brew events this month. 👇

Our dearest editor Jake Berg has a birthday in the second half of August alongside his birthday twin, Julie Verratti, co-owner of Denizen’s. So does our very own beer historian Michael Stein. Rounding up our August birthday wishes, please include our WBCC OGs Lauren Cary & Amber Farris! Wish them a happy birthday if you see them around town!

Sunday, August 16th. 1:00-4:00pm: August Beer Share @Churchkey: We’re back at Churchkey this August! It's the perfect chance to share some awesome brews, swap stories, and enjoy great vibes with the DC Beer community. Whether you're a craft beer newbie or a seasoned taster, come hang out and discover something new.

This is a members only share, please read the rules and RSVP if you’re coming, seriously. You can easily become a DC Beer member for only $5 a month... and get a monthly beer share worth at LEAST $75 with all the rare, special beers. Sign up on Patreon.

Seriously, RSVP.

Wednesday & Thursday, August 19 & 20. 6-8pm - Back to Back SPRK Trivia x DC Beer Nights @ Other Half Brewing, Ivy City and Third Hill Brewing in Silver Spring.

Come party with Jordan, listen to good music, enjoy some hazies, and play trivia. It’s seriously fun, but not too serious.

Saturday August 22nd. 2-4pm: WBCC Mead & Brewery Visit in Hyattsville. Join the Womxn's Brew Culture Club for an exciting in-person jaunt in Hyattsville! Explore the amazing locally made meads from Maryland Meadworks and then the crew will head right down the road to Streetcar 82 for some locally made brews at the area's only Deaf-owned brewery!. It's all about good vibes, tasty brews, and great company. Don’t miss out on this fun-filled gathering to sip, savor, and socialize! RSVP & More info!

For August, we have appropriately lion-adorned cans of Lost Generation’s newest hazy IPA for our Beer of the Month. Dreaming of Lions is an 8% hazy DIPA with NZ Cascade, Alora, and Krush hops. Expect bright notes of candied peach rings, papaya, citrus, and grapefruit rind.

"He no longer dreamed of storms, nor of women, nor of great occurrences, nor of great fish, nor fights, nor contests of strength, nor of his wife. He only dreamed of places now and of the lions on the beach. They played like young cats in the dusk and he loved them." - Ernest Hemingway - Old Man And The Sea

If you’ve missed our articles check out Mike Stein’s examination of Frederick beer in the wake of Flying Dog’s departure from Maryland; hoppy new releases from Jake Berg; and the closures of City-State, Pizzeria Paradiso Georgetown, and Tap 99.

Port City Brewing’s Port to Port festival returns Saturday August 8. There are some VERY exciting breweries pouring alongside each other in the port city.

Also on Saturday, August 8, Silver Branch is hosting their Great British Beer fest in Silver Spring.

On Monday, August 10, Eat the City does a dinner event with Rooster & Owl at Aslin Beer Co., in Alexandria. Be on the lookout for more from Aslin on the food front!

Thurs, August 13: Henceforth Pairing Dinner & Tap Takeover at Hill East Burger! Tickets are available through Hill East Burger. After the pairing dinner, you can find Henceforth beers on tap at HEB through the following week (or until they are kicked). “Come out and support our first pairing dinner event outside of our brewery.”

𝗣𝗶𝘇𝘇𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗮 𝗣𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗼 𝗗𝘂𝗽𝗼𝗻𝘁 𝗖𝗶𝗿𝗰𝗹𝗲 will host a special Happy Hour celebrating the winner of the fifth Annual Homebrew Competition on Saturday, August 22, for 𝗖𝗵𝗿𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗮𝗻 𝗠𝘂𝗰𝗸𝗲𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗻, the homebrewer behind Paradiso Pils. His winning recipe is a textbook example of a clean, crisp pilsner that immediately stood out among this year's entries. Paradiso partnered with 𝗔𝘁𝗹𝗮𝘀 𝗕𝗿𝗲𝘄 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗸𝘀 to scale it up and bring it to taps across the city. Stein was at the launch of the program six summers ago.

DC’s summer Restaurant Week is in August, and some friends are participating, including Bluejacket, Henceforth, and Pizzeria Paradiso. Beer pairings are probably available!

Tune in to the The DC Beer Show for our latest episodes with beer icons and local brew news. Most recently we had Greg and Karl of Brewers Alley on the DC Beer Show to discuss three decades in the industry and the rich history of their building. Prior guest, Brad Humbert of Bear Branch Malt chatted with us about sheep, and of course craft malt. You can find all of our past shows here.

Join DC Beer’s Patreon for exclusive beer invites, discounts at breweries, and ticketed events, and more, for as little as $5 a month! Our members are the best. HELLO to our new members, Sarah, Marshall, Deborah and Chris!

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

Do us a solid and forward this to someone who might be interested, thanks.

Cheers, the DC Beer Team