Saturday 28th of June 2014 01:19:10 PM

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The amazing Bluejacket Brewery immediately ranks among my top picks for best brewpub, both for the atmosphere and quality of the diverse beers. It was founded in late 2013 by the same people at the popular DC craft beer bar, Churchkey. It is just a couple blocks from the DC Nationals baseball stadium, and parking is metered along the street. It is a nice area with a few other places to eat nearby. Bluejacket is located in a long, tall 2-story warehouse building with a tiered roofline with many windows along the side. There is a steel sign over the entrance, and in front is an outdoor patio area with several tables. Large windows easily let you see inside where they have a variety of seating options. There are plenty of dining tables, booths, high tops and an 18-chair stainless steel topped bar. The decor is industrial with exposed steel beams, glowing orange lighting, and eye catching views of brewing vessels. You can practically take of tour of the entire brewery from your seat. The grain tank is perched high above the third floor just below the upper roof line, and just below it are the two mid-size stainless steel brewing vessels. The 2nd floor has racks of barrel aging beer, and a farm of about 10 small stainless steel fermenters. There are a few more larger fermenters elevated behind the bar, as well as a row of 8 stainless steel bright tanks. The large space is open all the way up to roof, allowing you to see all of this in a glance. They have 20 regular house beers on tap, plus another 5 Cask Conditioned varieties. These are available by glass and taster size, so you can construct your own sampler flight. It is an incredible offering, with frequently changing selections. Their robust beers showcase a wide variety of styles and well chosen ingredients. Incredible! Their food menu consists of appetizers, cheeses, charcuterie, salads, a few sandwiches and a couple creative entrees. It's not as large as some other brewpub menus, but the dishes are perfectly made and you'll discover it to be worthwhile. The service is very friendly, professional and knowledgeable about their beers. The bar is quick with the pours and the dining experience is very pleasant. The atmosphere is lively with conversations and background music, and the vista is a perfect design to showcase the art of craft brewing.

Wednesday 29th of January 2014 08:07:57 AM

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The Bluejacket is a real gem that’s been open for about 6 months. They have 20 of their own drafts plus another 5 on cask. My wife had a robust porter. I had two IPAs and the Imperial IPA for desert. All were very, very good. The atmosphere is great – in a huge restored building once part of the Navy ship and munitions manufacturing complex. The stainless steel brewing vessels are visible from the bar. The food menu is unique: hot & cold charcuterie, braised pork cheeks, beef heart tartare, sweet potato gnocchi, for example.

My only complaint is that they are doing so well that it takes a couple of weeks to get a Friday or Saturday evening reservation.