Today's a big day for those who'd like to see DC - or at least the greater DC area - gain a reputation for craft beer.
The Washington City Paper reports that Port City Brewing Company officially opened for business today. This long-awaited development officially makes Port City the first brewery to operate in Alexandria since Prohibition.
An open house planned for this weekend at the Seminary Hill brewery will include a look at the tasting room and a sample of their first release, Optimal Wit - which is also now on tap at ChurchKey for those who are loathe to cross state lines. Other beers to look forward to from Port City Brewing include an IPA and a porter.
Marylanders can also expect a little beer love in the near future. The creators behind Logan Shaw Brewing Company have apparently given up on opening in the neighborhood they named themselves after, and instead signed a lease in Brentwood. The brewery isn't expected to be operational until 2012, but in the meantime Logan Shaw expects to finalize the December purchase of Wild Goose, putting the Maryland beer back on the market this spring.
When the City Paper asked Logan Shaw partner Loren Leroy why they backed out of plans to locate in Logan or Shaw, Leroy's answer didn't bode well for other breweries trying to get off the ground in DC: "We have had a fabulous response from Maryland," Leroy said. "In D.C., it was more, 'No, you can't do this. We're not going to let you do that.'"
» Alexandria's Port City Brewing Company Opens This Week [WCP]
