Historical Brewing Levels Outpace Modern DMV Production

Last month, the Washington City Paper’s Tammy Tuck asked an interesting question. The article looks at the contemporary number of breweries in the District, Maryland and Virginia:

Greater Washington’s brewery boom merits a hearty hoist of the pint glass. After all, the number of breweries in the region has grown from a mere dozen to more than 75 in the past five years, with several more on the way. But most are in Virginia and Maryland, with only 12—six production breweries and six brewpubs—in D.C. proper. City swillers find themselves crossing state lines with envy, wondering why the District isn’t seeing more substantial growth.

Tuck argues that DC’s real estate and regulatory costs are causing more breweries to open in the exurbs, and to a lesser extent the suburbs, because of the relatively lower overhead costs and more lenient regulatory environment. Despite those barriers, we still have 12 breweries doing business in our fair city. As many things do, the relative number of brewe