Washington Brewery

Don’t let the huge Budweiser sign at Nats Park fool you, D.C. is a city that likes good, local beer. And back in the early 1800s, they really liked beer. The Washington Brewery, the first in D.C., was founded in 1796 by Dr. Cornelius Coningham. It operated out of Foggy Bottom until 1805 when it moved to the Navy Yard (at the current site of Yards park) and remained there until it closed in 1836. Its existence sparked a brewery mania in the District; at one point, brewers were the second-largest employer in the city, after the federal government. Washingtonians also liked brewing because it made potentially dangerous water potable. (Perhaps an excuse to drink some more beers, but given the state of the city canal, maybe not). Prohibition put an end to D.C.’s brewing game, and brewpubs weren’t even legalized in D.C. until 1991, but in recent years, the city has seen a growth in craft breweries. So, why not celebrate the city’s first?