What Are You Drinking?  Washington DC Edition

After months of not traveling to a new city, I decided it was time to take my talents on the road for another baseball and beer trip.  This time, instead of going to watch our lifeless White Sox, I was refreshed by going to Nats Park in Washington DC to watch the Brewers play the Nationals all while sampling the variety of beers that our capitol city has to offer.  Here’s what I discovered and enjoyed the most.

Juicy Magic IPA (7% ABV) Devil’s Backbone Brewing

I ventured my way to the upper deck and discovered a beer stand featuring a wide variety of beers from Devil’s Backbone Brewing Company.  On a hot summer day in August, Juicy Magic was easily the most appealing beer from this stand.  Loaded with four different types of hops, Juicy Magic was in fact magical from the highest point in the ballpark.  Author’s Note: I had a video review of this, however after the review ended the sound did not work, but take my word for it, the video was great!

Blue Jacket Brewery

On day two of my adventures I decided to do a brewery visit.  My good friend and DC resident, Bennett recommended this brewery as it is a five minute walk from the ballpark.  The first beer I had at Blue Jacket was a classic hazy citra IPA called Lost Weekend.  While I enjoyed this juicy IPA, it didn’t stand out from other similar hazy IPA’s that I have had in the past.  I did find the name very appropriate as I did in fact not know what day of the week it was while drinking this beer.  

Next I went to the lighter side with a helles lager, Small Conversations.  This lager was a crisp and refreshing lager featured authentic, home grown malts and barley.  I definitely appreciate when a local brewery taps into their backyard to brew a beer.  At 5.2% ABV, I could enjoy Small Conversations while in fact chatting it up with locas at the brewery all day.  I highly recommend checking out this beer and brewery when you’re DC.  As a bonus, as you can see in the picture above, they offer a 30 percent discount on Nats tickets when you go in for a beer pregame.  Check out Blue Jacket when you’re in the nation’s capitol, you won’t regret it.      

Raised By Wolves (5% ABV) Right Proper Brewing

As I was walking the concourse in search of my next craft beer stand, I discovered a smaller stand tucked away on the concourse with options from several local breweries.  Raised By Wolves caught my eye due to the low ABV and being a hoppy pale ale.  Next thing you know, I’m drinking this beer out of a 32 ounce baseball bat!! WHAT??!!  That’s right, Nats Park has beer stands that offer craft beers in a 32 ounce bat for 30 dollars!  Not only was this an amazing price for a ballpark beer, I was drinking beer out of a bat!!  Back to the beer, it was delicious and I would drink this beer in a baseball bat 10 times out of town!  Go to Nats Park and drink a craft beer out of a daggum baseball bat, you won’t regret it!

Power Moves Hazy IPA (5.5% ABV) Aslin Beer Company

Nats Park also has a nice grab and go stand similar to what we see at White Sox games, while it might not be as extensive as the Craft Kave, it still gets the job done.  This is the perfect combo of a low ABV beer to go along with the hoppiness of a juicy IPA.  The next time I make a trip to Nats Park, this will be my beer of choice.  Of course, there’s always the possibility I will be drinking a Raised By Wolves beer out of a Nats Bat as well.  Check the video below for a full review of Power Moves.  

I had zero expectations going into this trip as far as beer reviews and walked away impressed with what DC and Nats Park had to offer.  Job well done, I will be back for more in the future.  

-Brew Hand Luke