| 3 Stars Brewing Company 6400 Chillum Pl. NW | Washington, DC 20011 (202) 670-0333 3starsbrewing.com |
During a recent trip to Washington, DC, we stopped at 3 Stars Brewing Company to check out the updates since we last visited in April 2015. Focused on locally hand crafted artisanal ales, the brewery was founded by longtime friends and homebrewers Dave Coleman and Mike McGarvey.
The duo has released over 40 different distinctive beers and have made a name for themselves when it comes to unique and creative brews. 3 Stars Brewing Company was named DC’s Best Local Brewery for two years by Washington City Paper and named Rising Stars in 2014 by Star Chefs Magazine.
The most evident update at 3 Stars is the completion of their “urban farmhouse.” The tasting room area is now separated from the brewhouse and boasts a rustic farmhouse look. There’s additional seating including picnic tables, high top tables with stools, and a unique wooden bar space at the windows of the farmhouse with bar stools both inside and outside the tasting room.
Not only is there a brewery and tasting room at 3 Stars, but there is also a homebrew shop on premise. The DC Homebrew Shop is DC’s only homebrew shop, carrying a large selection of grain, malt extract, hops, and yeast in addition to various adjuncts, spices, and additives. Homebrewers can purchase multiple equipment kits and recipe kits, as well as a variety of brewing, fermentation, bottling, and kegging items.
As you enter 3 Stars, you receive four tickets for free beer samples inside the homebrew store. A small bar area in the brewhouse offers pints and growler fills. For flights and bottles, head into the urban farmhouse.
The beers on tap during our visit included…
- Pandemic – 9.6% ABV Imperial Porter
- Peppercorn Saison – 6.5% ABV Farmhouse Ale
- Southern Belle – 8.7% ABV Imperial Brown Ale with Toasted Pecans
- Madness – 12.4% ABV Old Stock Ale
- Raspberry Dissonance – a 3.6% ABV Berliner Style Rye
- Citra Lemon Saison – 5.0% ABV Farmhouse Ale with Fresh Lemon Peel
- Ghost – 5.9% ABV White IPA
- Starsky & Dutch – 8.3% ABV Dutch Chocolate Stout
- Above the Clouds – 6.3% ABV Farmhouse Pale Ale
Other beers by 3 Stars include Two To The Dome, a double IPA; Dissonance, a rye Berliner; Zombie Date Night, an imperial porter on raspberries; Ebony & Ivory, an imperial brown ale with cocoa and vanilla beans; Desolation, a rye whiskey aged coffee aged porter; and Brandy-Lyn, a half cider, half beer (barrel aged Graf) collaboration with Millstone.
Lucky locals can join the Illuminati Reserve Society. The Reserve Society guarantees members access to five limited release beers throughout 2016, a 10% discount on purchases in the DC Homebrew Shop & Tasting Room, and early invitations to special events before tickets go on sale to the public.
Four-ounce sample pours are $1.50, full pours are $5, and a sample flight of four four-ounce pours is $6. A 32-ounce empty growler is $3, while a 64-ounce empty growler is $5.
Peppercorn Saison, Southern Belle, Madness, Above the Clouds, and Pandemic were available in bottles to go. Ghost and Citra Lemon were both available in 4-packs of tall cans to go.
If you plan to visit (and you definitely should), the updated tasting room and growler fill hours are Tuesday to Thursday 4 to 8 PM, Friday 4 to 9 PM, Saturday 1 to 5 PM, and 12 to 5 PM. Free public tours take place on Saturday at 2 and 3 PM. The homebrew shop is open Thursday 4 to 8 PM, Friday 3 to 8 PM, Saturday 10 AM to 5 PM and Sunday 11 AM to 5 PM.
3 Stars Brewing Company is definitely on my list of go-to breweries each time I visit Washington, DC. I can’t wait to see what unique concoctions they brew up next!
