Hellbender Brewing Company

My husband and I got a chance to stop by this local brewery on a Saturday afternoon for some tastings, games, and growler filling. I had tasted one of their beers at a neighborhood restaurant and enjoyed it a great deal, so it seemed only logical to go visit the brewery, especially considering that it’s so close to our home.
Though the layout of this tasting room is pretty bland, they have made a great effort in sprucing it up with board games, hellbender salamander figurines, and nice wooden long tables for large groups to sit around and chat. The space is friendly and accommodating, and the prices are extremely reasonable. A flight of four beer tastings is $ 6, a pint around $ 5, and the growler fill only $ 13. The prices are unquestionably good enough to bring us back time and again to enjoy this locally brewed beer.
There are roughly six beers on tap at a time, and they show solid diversity and creativity. The Kolsch goes down smoothly and very convincingly resembles the German classic style of beer. One of my favorite beers of all time is their Coffee Stout, which uses a local brewed coffee to mix with their beer and create the intense flavor. They also have a limited edition beer out right now called the Groundskeeper Islay’s Wee Heavy Scottish Ale. this was the one we ended up choosing for our growler since it was going out of rotation in the near future. It has the flavors of butterscotch and smokiness, which makes for an unusual and complex beer overall.
We will absolutely be back to hang out at this relaxed, fun tasting room. In addition to making great beer, they are working hard to ensure that their production is as sustainable as possible, which is very important to me. Can’t wait to come back and enjoy their new offerings in coming seasons!

So a group of us came through here a while back and we visited two other breweries. By far, this one was our favorite. The space was packed but we managed to find one of the picnic benches they set up for people to sit down on to watch their tvs. The tap room is a pretty simple affair, and they had about 4 beers on tap when we visited. Of the 4 I had 3. Their Kolsch was pretty good, easy drinking and mild. The Ember IPA was pretty good as well, pretty standard IPA. However, their coffee stout was the best one I had, not as malty but a great coffee flavor.
The staff there was friendly and laid back. While there is no food, you can order in or bring your own and the front area has a bunch of games-​which we put to good use; this was supposed to be our first brief stop on a brewery crawl but we ended up spending way too much time here. When we do a repeat of the local breweries this place will be the repeat spot.

So last night while I was out looking for Hellbender Brewery, in a remote corner of the city I came across this shabby-​looking old beige brick office building from the 50s, and I figured since it looked like the kind of place you go to dispute a property tax assessment or pay your telephone bill, I’d duck in and see what they’re up to inside. Lo and behold, that actually was the brewery. Guess that telephone bill will have to wait.
OK you’re not supposed to judge a book by its cover, so the building doesn’t actually matter. Lord knows it’s not like 3 Stars or Atlas are gleaming luxury palaces either. The inside isn’t your usual industrial space with concrete floors, they’ve kept the shabby local government office aesthetic there too, adding a few tables and chairs and a single TV plus the bar with a row of taps longer than the list of beer offerings. Not really much for ambiance, just a place to sit and sample beer, but that’s all any brewery needs.
The beer has to be the star of the show, and in this case most of my flight of six were B-​list stars or supporting cast members at best. Top billing goes to the Southern Torrent saison and Grampus smoked nut brown, two quality pours I’d actually order at a bar. The rest were pretty middle of the road, just riffs on your standard kolsch or red ale. All in all, I’d say right now they’re playing AA ball, a solid prospect showing potential but with a ways to go before they make the majors. Still, the DC beer scene has plenty of room on the roster, so there’s time for them to hone their game and take their place with the pros.
If you’re a serious DC beer enthusiast, you should definitely use Google Maps to help you find this place. If you’re just a casual beer drinker, maybe wait for them to show up at your local pub where you can enjoy their products in more comfortable surroundings.

great beer, nice atmosphere. I like all the board games. Fun place to hang with friends.

Living within walking distance to this place is hard on my wallet :)
The beers are good, great variety. Red Line is awesome, but they’re all great. They also do rotating sodas, which are always fun. There’s inside seating, so it’s a little more climate controlled than some other breweries, you can obviously take a tour as well. Food trucks on Saturdays (sometimes), but you can also bring your own food in. You can walk from Fort Totten metro — trust me — it’s there even if you’re getting worries as you’re working towards it…

This place is seriously hard to find. Tucked down a back road and surrounded by condos and warehouses, but well worth searching for. Predominantly modern beers done in traditional German brewing styles and each one is more lovely than the last. One of my favorite parts is that, unlike some local brewery’s, the abvs are manageable. Not too low and not to high, so you can sip on one or have a few without getting trashed. Specials vary and they usually have some yummy collaboration on draft!

Super cute interior, passionate brewers, a great selection of food trucks.
Red Line is king of DC Beers right now.
That’s all you need to know. Go here this weekend.

From the outside, you can barely tell what going on here… A rundown warehouse at the edge of a residential street, it’s an out of place phenomenon but probably an awesome addition to the neighborhood (other than the increased traffic and lack of parking). When you walk in it feels like going into someone’s home garage except with a lot more seating and a lot more people. :) this place always seems to have a nice crowd and everyone is friendly and inviting, one couldn’t ask for a better atmosphere.
If you do the beer tour, this is what make this brewery unique in a sea of craft startups popping up all over the place… they have an imported Belgian system and an almost completely sustainable/​green process for making their beers. Then since one of the owners/​Brewers is actually a scientist, they grow their own yeast instead of importing. How cool is that? The tour is definitely worth walking and listening, they have quite the state of the art machinery and a cool business plan.
The beer itself is solid, no real standouts for me but they are focused on making quality beers and it tastes that way. I’d like to see a bit more creativity but when you’re still barely out of the first year… I can’t blame them for playing it safe.
Definitely a brewery worth visiting if you’re in the DC area; it’s one of a kind for the area and you’ll get a good ol friendly DC welcome, seriously, beer geeks will rejoice! :)

Really great selection & flavors of beer. It’s completely in the cut & makes you think that you’re walking into a warehouse that’s functioning as a warehouse from the outside, only to be greeted by awesome tables, customers & brewery pros. I came here for a friends birthday party after work & loved it! Absolutely brining more friends here next time. Not sure if they have food too, but we had BIRTHDAY CAKE & BEER!!! Best combo ever!

Awesome! Unilocal says close at 6:00pm today but at 8:00pm actually. I’m so happy about it. Also the staffs are nice and relaxed.
Beer is great! Bare bones and dunkleweiss are pretty tasty:)
I ordered their flight 6 kinds X 4 oz for $ 7.00+tax+10%off military discount.
The bar smells bleachy a little bit but clean!

If you like beer, make yourself at home. If you like food, enjoy one of the rotating food trucks that always seems to be here — Timber Pizza Co., yes! but that should be its own separate review. The coffee stout is awesome, and the red ale is spot on.
This place has got something going on. Tell me I’m wrong.

Hellbender is not a beer experience in the way that some other DC breweries are. If you want to hold hops in your hand, and watch kids run around vats of brew, with crazy artwork on the walls and jolly parents tossing bags of corn at holes, there are plenty of other choices in DC.
But if you’re looking for an affordable and delicious beer (right now they have six options– all delicious) and a place to fill your growler, a chill place to catch up with friends from the neighborhood, and to watch the game with some delicious food trucks– this is your spot. They even have homemade root beer– delicious– and a discount if you are a senior, military, or live in 20 011. The brewers know their stuff and are passionate about beer.
Hopefully the DC council approves outdoor seating at breweries– this will be a great spot for a beer garden.

My husband and I have been going around to different breweries in NoVa and DC over the past few weekends and ended up at Hellbender yesterday. We were optomistic because we like the smaller, local places — but this brewery was a huge letdown. The second we walked in, we were hit in the face with that gross «college bar» smell. The interior lacked any kind of character — just white walls with some wood slapped together into bland tables. Most importantly, the beer was very lackluster. They had their three signature beers and two that rotate. None of them were very exciting — I had tasted beers like them before. They were also all lighter beers — no stouts, which was disappointing. They also had a room of merchandise that rivaled the size of their bar area — I think maybe they are focusing too much on selling t-​shirts and too little on developing their beer. Overall, my group of three couldn’t wait to leave this place.