Here’s another entry in my occasional series of posts about visits to local brewpubs and breweries in the DMV…

Port City Brewing Company, Alexandria, Virginia

Port City Brewing Company celebrated its 4th anniversary earlier this year and the Boa Beer Blog just celebrated its 6th anniversary. The two have finally come together for my first post dedicated to the Best Local Brewery 2015, according to the Washington City Paper.

When Visited: May 23, 2015

Occasion: The long Memorial Day weekend called for a special outing, so we decided to meet beer-loving friends for a hike around Teddy Roosevelt Island followed by a first-time visit to Port City.

Beers Sampled: $10 gets you 6 taster glasses in the large brewery tasting room, plus I went back to the bar for a few more. I sampled:

• Optimal Wit, a refreshing Belgian-style White Ale (4.9%)
• Tartan Ale, a traditional Scottish Ale (5.0%)
• Essential Pale Ale, an American Pale Ale (5.5%)
• Northwest IPA, a West Coast IPA (5.3%)
• Monumental IPA, an English-style IPA (6.3%)
• Maniacal Double IPA, an intensely-hoppy Double IPA (8.5%)
• Long Black Veil, a Black IPA (6.8%)
• Porter, a strong Robust porter (7.2%)
• Colossal IV, a Belgian-style Quad (9.5%)

It took me way too long to finally visit Port City, so I made the most of my visit, enjoying the strong brews and the hoppy IPAs. I just wished I could have stayed longer! But on a warm spring day, I went home with a growler of the award-winning Optimal Wit.

Some pics from the visit: