13 June 2011

Changes to Capitol City Brewing

The Washington Post's Greg Kitsock (also Mid-Atlantic Brewing News' editor) reports on changes coming to the Capitol City Brewing Co. chain, which has evolved so far from its origins as a brewpub that it's somewhat hard to quantify what they really are anymore.  Among the latest news:

The opening of a new company-owned restaurant, 901, which will feature four of its own house beers brewed for them at the chain's Shirlington brewery;  not listed on their website yet, plus guest beers:
901 Lager is a clean, smooth amber lager, no rough edges, a gateway to the craft beer universe for the cocktail crowd. A Belgian-style pale ale is more interesting, with a yeasty character and notes of citrus, banana and pear. The IPA has a dry, lingering, tropical fruit flavor; if you like Sierra Nevada Torpedo Extra IPA, you’ll recognize the hops, a variety called Citra. The oatmeal stout goes down smoothly with lots of bittersweet chocolate and a hint of burnt molasses.
The company is proceeding with plans to close its location in the Post Office building across the street from Washington Union Station on July 18th, but all is not lost for thirsty commuters and Amtrak riders:
Capitol City, says [Capitol City brewer Travis] Tedrow, will move across the street to Union Station, with a tentative reopening set for October in the space formerly occupied by the restaurant, America. But no beer will be made there. The Capitol Hill site’s nine 15-barrel fermenters will be shipped to the company’s Shirlington location to augment production there. (The rest of the equipment, including the brewhouse, will be sold or scrapped.)
Opportunity may knock for any further local brewery start-ups.............

Finally, read the article for news of a Cap City bar coming to a fitness gym.  Or maybe it's a fitness gym coming to a Cap City bar.  Either way, you may be able to work off your beer gut.

(All of this comes after the weekend that news broke that Phillips Seafood, a pioneering restaurant at Baltimore's Harborplace and a one-time neighbor of Capitol City's erstwhile Baltimore branch/outlet, would be closing this fall.)

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