Washington, D.C.'s brewery scene exploded after DC Brau opened in 2011, and the capital now punches well above its weight in craft beer. Ivy City, NoMa, and Brookland are the neighborhoods leading the charge.
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Washington, D.C.'s brewery scene exploded after DC Brau opened in 2011, and the capital now punches well above its weight in craft beer. Ivy City, NoMa, and Brookland are the neighborhoods leading the charge.
Other Half Brewing (Ivy City)
Brooklyn's celebrated hazy IPA powerhouse operates its largest brewhouse in Ivy City, a 22,000-square-foot facility with a covered patio and rooftop deck. Opaque, tropical hazy IPAs, barrel-aged stouts, and limited collaboration releases are the core draw.
Aslin Beer Company (Logan Circle)
A Virginia brewery with a vibrant Logan Circle beer garden in a converted gas station, serving 21 rotating house taps including world-class experimental IPAs and sours brewed on a dedicated one-barrel DC system. The space shifts from a daytime coffee bar to a high-energy evening garden.
Right Proper Brewing Company (Brookland)
A Brookland production brewery and taproom that helped define DC's craft beer renaissance, best known for Raised by Wolves, the top-selling American pale ale that has been on tap for 12 years. The Senate Beer, revived from a 1948 lab report of the city's former hometown lager, is a beloved local tribute.
Lost Generation Brewing Company (Eckington)
An Eckington brewery opened in 2022 inside a 120-year-old factory with exposed brick, high ceilings, and a bar made from the original floor. The speakeasy-themed taproom pours up to 16 taps specializing in hazy IPAs, crisp lagers, and bright sours.
Crooked Run Fermentation (Union Market)
A Union Market taproom from Virginia's Crooked Run, specializing in spontaneously fermented beers, sours, ciders, natural wines, and the Native Culture line of foeder-aged and wine-beer hybrids. Award-winning pizza from a Michelin-recognized chef is on the menu.
DC Brau (Woodridge)
The first production brewery to operate in Washington, DC since Christian Heurich closed in 1956, founded in 2011 by Brandon Skall and Jeff Hancock. Flagship beers including Corruption IPA and The Public pale ale helped ignite the modern DC craft beer movement.
Bluejacket (Navy Yard)
A landmark three-story brewery and restaurant in a 1919 Navy Yard boilermaker shop, serving a rotating selection of 20 drafts and cask ales spanning lagers, hop-forward ales, barrel-aged rarities, and fruited sours. Built to be a brewery without boundaries.
Atlas Brew Works (Ivy City)
A 100-percent solar-powered Ivy City brewery founded in 2013 by award-winning homebrewers, earning the title of DC's most awarded brewery in 2023, 2024, and 2025. The Dance of Days wheat ale and District Common California lager are city-wide favorites.
Red Bear Brewing (NoMa)
DC's first 100-percent gay-owned brewery, open in NoMa since 2019, known for its inclusive atmosphere, highly regarded West Coast IPAs, and creative specialty beers like ginger carrot saison and peanut butter chocolate porter. Drag brunches and trivia nights are weekly fixtures.
City-State Brewing Company (Edgewood)
An Edgewood brewery that celebrates DC's history, art, and culture in every beer, from a chicory-and-wild-rice export stout honoring the Anacostia to a honeysuckle-nosed West Coast IPA. The taproom and former train-platform patio sit beside the Metropolitan Bike Trail.
Ranked across 9 sources: The Infatuation DC Best Breweries 2025 (unordered roundup); Axios DC Top Breweries by Sales 2025; Hop Culture · 11 Best Breweries in Washington, DC (unordered roundup); Yelp · Ranked by Rating (May 2026); Google Reviews · Ranked by Rating (June 2026); TripAdvisor · Ranked by Rating (June 2026); Top 10 Beers Avg Rating · BeerAdvocate per-beer data (June 2026); Untappd · Ranked by Rating (June 2026); BeerAdvocate · Ranked by Brewery Rating (June 2026). Full scoring is on the Methodology tab above.
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