At a contentious ABRA fact-finding hearing on August 10th, Bill Stewart, the owner of Bardo, told the board that he would close the Trinidad/Bladensburg Rd. location if the ABRA approves his manufacturer’s license application for Bardo River Brewery just south of Nationals Park on the Anacostia in the Capitol Riverfront neighborhood. The owner also expects to brew 5000 barrels of beer in the first year of operation, with 7000 barrels to follow (note Bardo in Arlington never brewed more than 2500). He also plans to set up shop like the famous Mcmenamins in Oregon, establishing satellite bars in Virginia and Maryland that Bardo would sell its cans through, as well as selling cans in retailers throughout the DC Metro area. The 150-page transcript is worth a read, including

• Bardo’s lawyer strongly objecting to ABRA inviting the ANC representative to sort of testify, calling it “illegal”
• an ABRA Commissioner telling Bardo’s lawyer to basically “Come at me bro” and inviting him to sue him
• Bardawg officially becoming part of the security plan
• a discussion about how open air tanks can be targets of shootings and terrorist attacks

Barred in DC will have more on the transcript later. A week earlier, Stewart stormed out of the originally-scheduled fact finding meeting because ABRA had invited folks from the Nationals and the ANC to participate, saying that he’ll lawyer up.

Despite all this, Barred in DC predicts that ABRA will grant the manufacturer’s license to Bardo, and if it doesn’t, its denial will be overturned on appeal.

[9/1 PM Update: Transcript excerpts from DCBeerBill and Aaron Morrissey saved below]

Asheville

Asheville, the western North Carolina city nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains, lives up to the hype, Barred in DC can safely say after recently visiting it for the first time. The artsy, off-beat community of 80,000 is known for its incredible beer scene, excellent food, and surrounding beauty. Get your own cheap flight (or go on a road trip)  and find lodging in its walkable and charming downtown, and go. I’ve already booked another trip in November. Below are suggested activities to do and places to eat/drink that we were able to fit in the 36 hours we were there. If you’re at a loss for your next step, just chat with any of the friendly locals.

Amazing Pubcycle

Pubcycle

Sure it’s cheesy, but the 90 minute Amazing Pubcycle tour was worth the $24 to get bearings downtown. Here’s how it works-about 10 people sit and cycle on bike seats around a U shaped contraption while the tour guide/DJ (get on Tyler’s tour) drives the pubcycle (which has a motor to assist) and generally hypes up the pubcyclers as well as passing pedestrians. Drinking BYOB cans of beer or Solo cups of wine is encouraged, and stops at a brewery and a brewpub are good places to fill up. A shorter, cheaper 40 minute ride (no stops) is available, and tours happen all afternoon and evening long.

Breweries

Lot of this being drank in Asheville

If you love beer, Asheville is awesome. 40+ breweries are in the area, including a ridiculous amount downtown. You may be tempted to stop by the New Belgium or Sierra Nevada breweries which both set up their east coast shops here, but I would suggest keeping it simple and just brewery hop on the South Slope a few blocks south of downtown. Every restaurant or bar will also have multiple local breweries on tap, often for less than $5/beer.

Catawba Brewing

Visited:

• Green Man – original brewery side-by-side to much larger space. Small bar downstairs in newer space and go upstairs to bar and great patio. Loved the Holly King, an American Strong Ale style.
• Catawba – Pair with amazing Vortex Donuts next door.
• Wicked Weed – Slickest, biggest place downtown.
• Twin Leaf – Little more rustic, darker. Flagship beer is an IPA called Juicy Fruit
• Wicked Weed Funkatorium – Sour beer mecca.
• Asheville Brewing– closer to downtown, good pizza

• Other Suggestions: Hi-Life, Lexington Avenue Brewery, Burial, One World, Highland, Pisgah

Restaurants

Curate

Asheville has a tremendous food scene-great values to be had downtown as well as in West Asheville (Haywood Road area) and in the River Arts District.

Tremendous food at Chani Pani

Visited:

• Chai Pani – amazing Indian street food. Rotis are on point.
• Curate – renowned Spanish tapas spot from former Jose Andres protégé and El Bulli alum. Get reservations or better yet sidle up to bar at 6-6:30 and grab an early dinner.
• Bomba – cozy café right in epicenter of downtown. Huge, delicious arepas for lunch.
• French Broad Chocolate Lounge – fantastic dessert, though with lines all day

Other Suggestions:

• Downtown: Rhubarb, Table, Rankin Vault Cocktail Lounge (burgers only), White Duck Taco, Buxton Hall, Salsas, Limones, Tupelo Honey Cafe
• River Arts District: 12 Bones
• West Asheville: The Admiral, Sunny Point Cafe

Bars

Asheville Yacht Club

Asheville bars don’t generally get rowdy and are on the whole chill, even late. Folks day-drinking at breweries might have something to do with it. Still, there are a number of worthwhile spots.

Battery Park Book Exchange & Champagne Bar

Visited:

• Sovereign Remedies – classy, low-key cocktail bar off the beaten path
• Battery Park Book Exchange & Champagne Bar – a champagne bar in the middle of a vaguely European labyrinth used book store in the corner of the Grove Arcade
• Asheville Yacht Club – wild, grungy pirate-themed tiki bar. Get the Painkiller drink.
• Skybar – unique bar nearly encompassing three floors of glorified fire escape balconies, stairs, and landings. No actual bar, roving servers take orders. Live music from one of the landings. May encounter wait to take tiny elevator to top floor
• Foggy Mountain Brew Pub – easygoing brewpub with nice patio on sort of back street
• The Imperial Life – small, swanky 2^nd floor cocktail bar
• The Southern Kitchen and Bar – great patio, standard spot, late night food
• Off the Wagon Dueling Piano Bar – get your dueling piano fix here.

Other Stuff to Do

Business has reportedly suffered drop off due to new NC law

Aside from eating and drinking, Asheville is known for the beautiful surrounding Blue Ridge Mountains. There are plenty of outdoor activities to do, and there’s some charming places to purchase art, clothing, and other cool stuff. The sprawling Biltmore mansion and grounds are a few miles away, though the price is steep ($60).

Shop – Just wander from artisan to clothing shop to boutique, but some suggestions we visited are below:

• Grove Arcade – historic commercial building with small shops on edge of downtown
• Horse + Hero – indie art shop, open late
• Southern Charm – affordable woman’s clothing boutique
• Kress Emporium – sort of mini-mall with arts & crafts vendors

How to Get there from DC

Driving takes about 7.5 hours from DC. We flew direct on something called Allegiant; the $75 we paid for a roundtrip flight from BWI was about right considering carry-on bags were extra, we were delayed about 22 hours for mechanical issues, had to stay at a luxurious La Quinta overnight at BWI, and encountered a near riot. Otherwise, a connecting flight through Charlotte or Atlanta on an airline you have heard of can run $250-400.

Where to Stay

The new (opened in March 2016) comfortable Hyatt Place Asheville/Downtown is only a 10 minute walk to the very center of downtown and features free parking. Look for periodic deals or use 12,000 Hyatt points a night (easy to transfer if you have a Chase Sapphire card, which you should).

ABRA has announced revisions to the bar crawl regulations it issued on an emergency basis in January. The regulations,which many predicted would lead to the end of the bar crawl as we know it, were open for public comment this spring. After many hiccups and rejected bar crawls, organizers have figured out the system and bar crawls have not been completely eliminated, but there are certainly fewer than in years past.

ABRA issued revised regulations in response to comments from:

• the bar Madhatter (a frequent bar crawl stop)
• Lindy’s Promotions (longtime biggest player on the bar crawl scene)
• ANCs representing U Street and Dupont
• the Dupont Circle Citizens Association
• the DC police, fire, and trash departments
• the Golden Triangle BID
• the Restaurant Association Metropolitan Washington (RAMW),

Interestingly, although the ANCs, the Golden Triangle BID, and even Madhatter urged ABRA to create a rule prohibiting more than one bar crawl at a time in the same neighborhood, ABRA declined to include this in the revised regulations (although so far ABRA has generally only approved on bar crawl in each hood in practice). The revisions to the regulations include:

• Detailing what must be included in the  litter management plan, including
  • “the cleaning of human waste (e.g. vomit);”
  • litter removal by 10a the next day;
  • removal of litter on both sides of street (including tree boxes/planters) on the route between bars on crawl;
  • Extend the deadline for pub crawl applications to 60 days (up from 45) before event);
• Allowing crawls on St. Paddy’s Day and Cinco de Mayo (pub crawls on July 4th, Halloween, and NYE are still prohibited); and
• Explicitly making it a secondary liquor license violation to participate in an unlicensed pub crawl.

These emergency regulations are still not permanent until approved by the DC Council.