Situated in a 7,200-square-foot warehouse in the heart of Rockville, this award-winning brewery and taproom pours pints or flights of cult creations like a Blockhouse Point Oatmeal Stout and seasonal Grubby Thicket Brown Ale. Like many breweries, 7 Locks hopped on hard seltzer train and released a “Hellter Seltzer” blackberry and blood orange variety this fall. Plenty of food trucks rotate in and out, and Saturday night calls for live music.

The downtown Silver Spring brewery’s four flagships are inspired by brewing traditions in Belgium, the British Isles, Central Europe, and the Americas. Visitors can saddle up to its biergarten fire pits to sample its beloved gnome-themed Saisons, a Hopfest Double IPA, and German mulled wine.

Out in Sterling, Crooked Run separates its beer list into categories like New Releases, the Traditional, the Hoppy, the Funky and Sour, the Dark, and Native Culture (showcasing mixed and spontaneous ferments). The 10-barrel brewery with 12 beers on tap expanded by taking over the former flight school next-door. It used the extra space to add an all-day biscuit counter called Daybreak and to go along with tacos from Senor Ramon. There’s also a taproom in Leesburg.

3 Stars is inspired by the iconic D.C. flag design, and its beers are becoming tied to the city’s culture as well. Find beers with quirky and interesting flavor profiles that also pack a boozy punch. Pours of Peppercorn Saison and Southern Belle brown ale brewed with pecans are crowd-pleasers that fit in with the ever-changing lineup of one-offs and rotating recipes. Its versatile Ivy City home also hosts pop-ups with local vendors and calligraphy classes.

Worth an extended trip from the District to Loudoun County, Ocelot is known for hoppy beers like Gorgeous and Alone, a 7-percent ABV IPA brewed with English Pale and Pilsen malts. The tap list includes plenty of other beers, too, ranging from a You Owe Me triple IPA to a Sunnyside Dwellar German pilsner. Food trucks selling barbecue, Hawaiian-style snacks, and sliders rotate in and out.

Franklins is a Hyattsville destination, serving a slew of homemade beers in just about every style. The small size of the operation means you can expect super fresh beer on its draft tap list, from Bombshell Blonde to the Twisted Turtle Pale Ale to a potent Highland Hugh Scotch Ale (9-percent ABV). The food menu changes frequently to fit the season, with short ribs featured for fall. A cool patio setup sits under a graffiti-covered bridge.

Another Loudoun County destination for hop heads, Solace has a spacious taproom full of communal tables inside its brewing facility in Sterling. The Sun’s Out Hops Out Session IPA (4.7 percent ABV) is good for all-day drinking, and the Crazy Pils is a popular pick. The facility also hosts food trucks, bands, and a pinball league. The expansion-minded craft brewer just unveiled its anticipated Solace Outpost inside the Mad Fox brewpub space in Falls Church, and its first D.C. location in Navy Yard is coming soon.

When D.C. Brau opened in 2009, it claimed the honor of being the city’s first packaging brewery since 1956. DC Brau is perhaps best known for its flagship hoppy brews: The Public American pale ale, the Belgian-style The Citizen pale ale, and The Corruption IPA. Brewery visitors can get tastes of the rest of the standard lineup as well as seasonal and one-off creations. Swing by the 50,000-square-foot mega facility’s taproom and outdoor beer garden from Fridays to Sundays, with curbside pickup available starting on Thursday.

Ambitious beer startup City-State Brewing Co. unveiled its much-anticipated Edgewood facility right off the popular Metropolitan Branch Trail this spring. The 13,000-square-foot microbrewery and taproom, almost six years in the making, comes from neighborhood resident and former congressional aide James Warner. Opening D.C.-themed brews on tap include 8 Wards Independent (pale ale); Equal Marriage (dark wheat); Blossom (kolsch); Red Bud (hibiscus kolsch); Featherduster (hazy ale); Trainspotter Green Bullet (pub ale); and NEDC (pale ale).

This brewpub is known for its rotating selection of artful and experimental brews. Styles tend to be on the lighter side of the spectrum – expect to see plenty of farmhouse ales, saisons, and other rustic styles. Food fits the gastropub model with options like burgers, pastas, salads, and appetizers like beer battered cheese curds and baked mac and cheese. Right Proper also operates a production house in Brookland that includes a taproom with a dozen rotating drafts.

Atlas Brew Works is part of the growing number of reasons to eat and drink around D.C.’s Ivy City neighborhood. Notable beers include the Ponzi IPA, the Blood Orange gose, and the Dance of Days pale ale. The taproom is open every day except Monday and beer fans can tour its facility on Saturdays at 2 p.m. (reserve tickets here). There’s a vending machine with some local snacks and food trucks are a frequent sight as well. Its newer Half Street brewery and taproom in Navy Yard features fifteen taps, food from Andy’s Pizza, and a huge outdoor beer garden.

This gay-owned, game-filled brewery became a huge boon to the NoMa neighborhood when it opened in the spring of 2019. The partners relocated from Seattle, bringing along a penchant for West Coast-style ales and ciders. Try a Skookum, a Pacific Northwest-style red ale, or a Swampoodle Stout, a nitro brewed in collaboration with Lough Gill Brewery in Sligo, Ireland. Regular events include drag bingo and trivia nights conducted in sign language.

This 36-seat nanobrewery in Falls Church is only a couple of years old, but it’s already a destination in Northern Virginia. Standby brews include a dry-hopped kolsch and a jalapeno honey ale. A taco stand inside comes from El Tio Tex-Mex. The brand will expand with a new 4,000-square foot taproom and a petite, one-barrel brewhouse in Oakton next spring.

The first production brewery in Arlington in one hundred years makes a strong showing of year-round, seasonal, sours, and special release selections. Popular pours include Ginger Saison, National Landing IPA, and Potomac Paddleboarder that speak to the surrounding area. The name New District pays homage to Arlington’s history when the county used to be part of the District of Columbia.

Alexandria is the place to savor decade-old Port City’s lineup of well-made, straightforward beers. Highlights include the easy-drinking Optimal Wit, the hoppy and fruity Integral IPA, and the malty Port City Porter. It plays a strong seasonal brew game too, with options like Oktoberfest and the holiday Tidings Ale. The tasting room is open daily.

Virginia’s Aslin Beer Company moved into its new Alexandria location in 2019. The industrial location includes a sprawling new brewery and taproom decorated with clean white tile, colorful neon art and psychedelic murals. Hazy, hoppy, and fruity beers are plentiful among the 24 tap lines that serve selections like a Blue Starfish IPA and Stating the Obvious Vienna lager.