It’s DC beer week, an annual event that celebrates local brewers, who add to the region’s character and economy. There are ten brewers in DC plus one that’s just across the border in Silver Spring. To see them all, I created what I’m calling the Washington Beer Trail.

Map by the author.

These are the breweries on the trail, which I selected by narrowing down Kate Rabinowitz’s dataset of over 70 breweries and brewpubs around DC:

The inspiration for the beer trail comes from Dr. Randy Olson. Dr. Olson has gained notoriety for using genetic algorithms to compute the fastest road trips across the United States and Europe. While genetic algorithms are less necessary when you’re mapping out 11 locations in a relatively small place, they’re quite fascinating when you’re thinking about, say, a road trip that spans a whole continent.

If seeing eleven brewers in a single day is not for you, or if you’d prefer to walk or bike between locations, a truncated version of the beer trail is also possible: Start at Bardo (#4), continue on to Atlas Brew Works (#5), skip DC Brau if navigating New York Avenue on bike isn’t for you, next hit the The Public Option (#7), and finish at Right Proper Brewing Company (#8).

If you’re hungry by the end, grab some fantastic Neapolitan pizza at Menomale at 12th and Franklin NE before you get to Right Proper.

All of these establishments are open on Saturday, and most stay open as late as 9 or 10 pm. Hellbender and Three Star, however, close much earlier at 7 and 5 pm, respectively. Plan accordingly.

Did I miss a brewery or your favorite brewpub? Should beer gardens and notable beer bars be included next year? Let me hear about it in the comments below.

The code and data I used to create the beer trail can be found on my Github.