Anyone who fancies themselves a “beer enthusiast” should plan to spend an upcoming happy hour with the brewmasters at Atlas Brew Works. In January, the D.C. craft brewery launched a monthly Virtual Tasting Series to help give participants a useful refresher on some hoppy fundamentals — what distinguishes a lager from an ale, say — in addition to helping familiarize everyone with Atlas and some core pours of the brewery.
Each month, those who buy an advance ticket ($20 at www.toasttab.com/atlasbrewworks) will be sent home with a six-pack of all of the beers up for tasting as well as the private YouTube link needed to join. The upcoming April event — Friday, April 9, at 6 p.m. — will be led by Head Brewer Daniel Vilarrubi as well as Alec F. Rivera, general manager of the brewery’s original Ivy City location, who doubles as the tastings’ host.
The tasting will showcase Atlas’ stylistic range, from the hop-heavy Ponzi IPA — colorfully advertised as a brew whose “aroma writes checks that its flavor cashes” — to the brewery’s O.G. beverage the District Common.
A “super-easy-drinking” craft lager in the “steam” beer style popularized by German immigrants during the 19th-century California Gold Rush, the brewery’s founder and CEO Justin Cox described it, at a recent tasting, as “one of the only truly American-originated styles of beer.”
Also up for consideration is the hearty stout Silent Neighbor, the slightly sour and summery Blood Orange Gose, and the brewery’s easiest quaffing beer, Bullpen Pilsner, brewed in partnership with the Washington Nationals.
In addition to the virtual tasting, April is shaping up to be a banner month for Atlas, with the debut of significantly expanded patio seating at both locations, including the now one-year-old Capitol Riverfront venue located directly across from Nationals Park.
The day after the virtual tasting (April 10), Ivy City will offer all-day Grand Reopening specials, including $5 pours of all core and seasonal beers served in pints, as a way to commemorate the return of on-site dining and drinking. In addition to the brewery’s own menu, guests will be able to purchase lactose-free pizzas from the new, niche-filling Sommer Street pie shop.
Atlas Ivy City is at 2052 West Virginia Ave. NE. Open daily from 1 to 9 p.m. Atlas Half Street is at 1201 Half St. SE. Open from 11 a.m. to midnight daily except Sundays, until 10 p.m. Visit www.atlasbrewworks.com.
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