Beer in August

August carries a lot of meaning for the brewers here at Cap City; for some it means a trip to the book store to purchase the Cliff Notes to your summer reading list, or it’s time to flake out on the college intern you’ve been seeing before she flakes out on you. And for others it simply means the last chance you have to ride your new Huffy to the pool before the season ends.

Well according to us, and the Oxford English Dictionary, august is anything venerable or awe inspiring, which sums up the way we see ourselves here at Cap City. Two rather august beers on tap that will command your attention. The first, a Czech Pilsner, is an unfiltered lager that has been dry-hopped with 11lb's of German Tettnang hops, creating an assertive yet well-balanced hop flavor. Come try the pils at either our Shirlington or 11 and F locations. Our second seasonal is an incredibly smooth and unfiltered Extra-Special-Bitter. With a caramel sweetness and an herbal aroma of EKG hops, this ale makes the perfect cure for the summertime blues.

The Brewhouse is busy as always. Like every other August, we’re preparing for the Great American Beer Festival and our Octoberfest. The expanded O’fest is expected to be the largest to date; including more beers, vendors, and helping hands. If you’re interested in volunteering or becoming a vendor at the festival, please contact Head Brewer Mike McCarthy at mike@capcitybrew.com.

News From Around Town

Last week several brewers attended the resurrected “Rubber Boots Society” meeting at Old Dominion Brewing Co. in Ashburn, VA. Referred to by one anonymous source as, “Skull and Bones, but with more facial hair,” the group’s goal is to allow area brewers to exchange ideas, pose technical questions, and participate in secretive, misunderstood rituals of the brewhouse. Head Brewer Favio Garcia of Old Dominion discussed yeast management for the small craft brewer and had some excellent insight to share. Thanks again to Old Dominion and all the other brewers that attended.

News from Postal Square

The dog days of summer have their grip on the DC area, but brewmaster Ryan Curley at the Postal Square location will be livening everyone up with his American Brown ale. This is a hoppier version of the long ago favorite, Nut Brown ale. Ryan took the hop profile and flipped it upside down, instead of traditional English hops he used American Galena, Centennial and Cluster. The malt bill is enhanced with Chocolate, Crystal and Aromatic malts to help balance this sure to be classic. So stop in on August 13th and give your olfactory senses and taste buds a work out!

Sports fans on the hill can rejoice! Capitol City has upgraded its current TV’s to 6 new HDTV flat screens. Perfect timing for the start of the Olympics and the college and NFL seasons.

See you on the Hill!! Go SKINS!

Ryan Curley
Head Brewer-Postal Square

Notes from the Beer Trail

Cap City brewer James speaks:
Last week in a desperate attempt to escape DC’s grueling heat and humidity, I traveled to my home state of Maine for relaxation, cold beverages and to say hi to mom, of course.

The first stop on my way to central Maine was Portland, or, as I occasionally must refer to it, “the other coastal Portland”. Maine’s largest city boasts at least seven breweries, but I only had the chance to stop by one of my all time favorites: Allagash Brewing Co.

We began the tour with a tasting of some of Allagash’s finest Belgian style ales, followed by a walk-through of the brewery and bottling line. Afterwards I chatted with Allagash head brewer Jason Perkins, who showed me their brewery’s new toy: a Belgian fermenting vessel called a “cool ship” used for spontaneous fermentation. We’ll see Allagash again soon at Cap City’s fall Oktoberfest.

Next stop: hometown Skowhegan, Maine, where the moose and beer gods roam freely. Aptly named by the great Abanaki Indians as “a place to watch”, Skowhegan is blessed to have Oak Pond Brewery nearby to entertain the locals while they “watch” the peaceful surrounding nature (get torn up by ATV’s). Owner of OPB, Don Chandler, brews an tasty array of lagers and ales in an old converted chicken barn in the woodsy outskirts of town. His secret? It could be the natural Maine well water. Poland Springs, you got served!

Last stop on the tour brought me back down to Freeport, Maine, outlet mecca and home to Gritty McDuff’s brewpub. To brace ourselves for the Freeport tourist frenzy to come, my family and I sat down at a table on the deck next to the tall hops vines to enjoy fresh lobstah rolls and sample Gritty’s delicious Vacationland Summer ale and Original Pub Style pale ale. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to get a proper tour of the brewery, but I’ll leave that for my next trip to the Vacationland.

Get to Know Your Brewery Staff

In an ongoing effort to de-mystify the pasts and personalities of your Cap City brewing team, this week we are bringing you an exclusive one on one interview with the newest member of the staff, brewery assistant John Dykstra. Recently, John sat down for a revealing and hard-hitting interview....with himself.

John: Thanks for sitting down with us today, John.
JD: Very happy to be here John, thanks for having me on.

John: Can you tell us a little about your background?
JD: Sure thing. I was a politics major in college and moved out to Washington DC shortly after graduating to work for a congressman from my home state of Kansas. After about a year working on the hill, I found a job doing Marketing and PR consulting for a private firm in the DC area.

John: And how did you get into brewing?
JD: Well, I actually received a home brewing kit as a gift one Christmas . I had always been enamored with craft beer, but as soon as I started making my own, it really grew into an obsession. So much so in fact, that I yearned to fly the corporate coup and pursue a career in brewing. I contacted our head brewer Mike just to learn a little more about how he got into the profession and talk about possible opportunities. About 6 months after initially speaking with him, he called me up and let me know there was an open position. I of course jumped at the chance. Its been about 5 months now and I'm absolutely loving the work.

John: Can you tell us a little about your favorite beer style?
JD: Hmm...tough call. I really love all styles, but I'm a sucker for a good Pale.

John: What would you be doing if you weren't working at a brewery?
JD: I've always liked more creative endeavors, so possibly cooking...I'm a bit of an amateur chef. Either that or I'd be CEO of Microsoft.

John: We've heard reports from other members of the Cap City brewing team that you once let out a very high-pitched, almost feminine sounding scream after spilling a pitcher of mostly water. Is that true?
JD: Wha...what did you just ask me?

John: Just answer the question.
JD: Well, there was a small amount of cleaning solution in it....and I mean some went in my eyes and it kinda stung and...

John: Sources tell us that the cleaning solution was mostly diluted, and that only a true cry-baby weakling would have let out the banshee-like shriek that you did.
JD: Look, when I agreed to do this interview, my agent told me there wouldn't be any questions about the incident. This is a complete ambush.

John: Why don't you cry about it, pansy boy?
JD: That's it! I'm done with this interview! It burned, alright? It burned my eyes. And that scream was an expression of my pain! This interview is over! You call this journalism?

(A this point, JD stormed out of the interview room, ripping his mic off and kicking over a folding chair on his way out)

That's about all we can muster for this round. Check back for some great festival pictures next month!

Cheers