Local beer nerds have been atwitter for months over the long-anticipated arrival of beers from New Belgium Brewing in the DC market. In particular, there seemed to be a lot of curioristy about two newer beers in the brewery’s Lips of Faith big-bottle series, Clutch and Kick.

I like a lot of the beers I have tried from the Lips of Faith series and when I was at ChurchKey on Wednesday wanted to try one I had never had. They had the dark sour ale Clutch available which sounded very interesting, and so I gave it a try. The beer surprised me immediately by being more chocolately and less sour than I was expecting. There is a sour element which makes the beer brighter than many traditional American stouts, but it is very approachable even to those who do not consider themselves fans of more Flemish sour styles. As the beer warmed a little, I found it opened up and became a bit richer and more nuanced, so if you order it in a bar you might want to hold it in your hands for a bit before drinking.

Ultimately, Clutch is not my favorite of the New Belgium beers I have tried. I prefer the La Folie and the Le Fleur Misseur of the ones currently in production. Clutch is solid, but when I want a sour beer (and, really, I usually do) I want the sour quality to be more defining. I look forward to tasting the Kick sometime soon, but that cranberry-pumpkin beer in a bottle with jack o’ lanterns on the front feels a little more autumn than I am ready for right now while I squeeze the last bit out of summer. Ask me about Kick again in October and I will probably love it.

There will be a release party for the Clutch beer on Monday at Red Palace, notable because it will feature the Maryland-based band Clutch who collaborated on the creation of the beer. The New Belgium beers are available at a number of bars now and will be showing up on more menus and store shelves within the coming days. Currently, most places only have 22oz bottles, but smaller bottles and draft kegs will be their way over the fall.

Chocolate City Beer officially launched Thursday night, with a party at RFD which was among the most-anticipated events of 2011’s DC Beer Week. The new “nano-brewery” based in the Edgewood neighborhood of Northeast brought all four of their beers for the occasion: Big Chair IPA, Cornerstone Copper Ale, 1814 ESB, and Cerveza Nacional de la Capital. The room was packed full of brewery friends and supporters and what seemed to be every beer writer in the city, everyone wading through the crowd to get their taste of the new beer and then, of course, dutifully Twitter their reactions.

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One of my favorite things about Room 11 is the taste of the folks behind the bar. On any given evening, there are only a couple of featured cocktails, but they are consistently interesting (as are the wine selections which take prominence on the menu). Wednesday evening, as they celebrated their second anniversary in business, was no exception. There was special strawberry-allspice birthday punch. And, painted on the window, the GNR Lies.

The GNR Lies turns out to be very nearly my spirit drink.
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I was at the 9:30 Club on Wednesday night for Gilt’s private Yeasayer show, which was totally great but ended really early – right around 10:15 or so. As it wrapped up, my friend and I walked the half-block over to American Ice Co. and settled in at the bar for some post-show drinking and carrying-on.

While the staff there are well-prepared to make elaborate, creative cocktails (and, indeed, bartender/manager Patrick started my friend and I off with a riff on a blood and sand that was pretty delicious), when they get slammed after a concert, it just makes sense to stick to simpler things. Things like beer, whiskey, and pickle juice.
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It is the season of the Rickey cocktail. Recently proclaimed the official potable of the District, everybody has been talking about Rickeys. As July, aka Rickey Month draws to a close, many bartenders around the city are featuring variations on the classic summer refreshment, culminating in an event at Jack Rose on Monday night. (Our team will be covering that for you next week.) In that spirit, I felt compelled to tell you about my favorite recent Rickey – the Riquitita at Estadio.
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On a hot late-afternoon this week, just settling down at the long, cool, marble bar in (very air conditioned) Blackbyrd Warehouse was a pleasure. Having a tasty, interesting drink to sip on made it even better.

Blackbyrd Warehouse opened last week to a fair amount of buzz – without even doing too much to promote. Everybody in town had been eagerly awaiting the new Hilton Brothers project for over a year, though several considerable delays and even concept changes. At one point in the process, Blackbyrd was seen as an all-day place, more like Tryst, with a specialty coffee program for day time, transitioning to more of a nightspot in the evening. As it has been realized, though, it is primarily a lounge with a seafood-focused menu of dinner options. (As with American Ice Company and Patty Boom Boom, with whom Blackbyrd shares owners, food is principally prepared in the kitchen at Marvin, next door.)
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It is pretty out of the way for me, but I do enjoy stopping by Againn over on New York Ave for an early evening drink. Especially if one can beat the after-work happy hour crowd and grab one of the outside tables, it makes for a nice summer sundowner.

To drink on at that sunny table, I suggest the Reddrum. Evocative of a Hemingway style daiquiri, the coral-colored mix includes grapefruit-infused rum, maraschino for a hint of sweet, lime juice, and bitters. This is the perfect fruity drink for me because it is juicy without a lot of sweetness.

Of note, on a recent visit I asked our server if I should order the Reddrum or another original drink off their list, Pineapple Express. The server was quick to say he would go Pineapple Express. When he came back to the table with the Reddrum, he apologized that they were out of an ingredient for the other drink. I guess this means I need to return soon to try that one as well – though I might need to have another Reddrum, too.

Do you know there are places that do not serve things like sangria at lunch on weekdays? Or technically will serve it, but you might be the only table in the place drinking while everybody else is sipping Diet Coke because they have to go back to the office? Apparently in DC this is pretty widespread, which I think is just ridiculous. How will we ever be taken seriously as a top-tier international city if you cannot pass a couple of hours with friends and wine in the middle of the day at any charming little cafe? That is pretty basic “civilized lifestyle” stuff.

Luckily, the people at Estadio have things figured out, which makes them one of the go-to spots for me to meet a friend for lunch. (The other, notably, is Proof, which is by the same team.)
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Do you see that cappuccino in the photo? That is a cappuccino made with love. How, you might ask, do I know it was made with love?

Because I told the kid making it to make it with love.

It helps, of course, that the barista in question is one of my very favorite people/best friends – who just happens to also be the general manager of Mid City Caffe on 14th St. (If you have been following this column, you might recognize him as the cute boy drinking in the background of many of my photos.)
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If there is a better spot in DC to go with a friend for a drink and a lot of talking than the courtyard patio of Bourbon Steak, in the Georgetown Four Seasons, I do not know where it is. The spot is utterly peaceful – there are comfortable outdoor sofa things to lounge on, amazing staff who are attentive but laid-back, and actual birds chirping. It is not exactly a banging dance party scene, mind you. On an early Wednesday evening, the crowd seemed skewed toward hotel guests and Georgetown Ladies – but with weather that gorgeous, a setting that pleasant, and delicious drinks to sip, it did not matter at all.

And delicious all our drinks were. Perhaps slightly under the radar, the cocktail program at Bourbon Steak is really top-notch. Sure, with a name like that, one might focus on the whiskey section of the substantial binder that serves as a menu – and there are many fantastic choices available individually or in curated flights. However, flip toward the front of that binder and you will find several pages of seasonal cocktail suggestions which include classics and newer creations, all well-selected and well-executed.

The bar had just switched over to a summer menu, punctuated with a few tropical touches which make for fun things to sip on in the sunshine and I decided to go with their version of a painkiller, called PNKY.
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