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Bluejacket Brewery Sneak Peek

WTOP Staff | WTOP_website@wtop.com

August 21, 2013, 1:40 PM

Bluejacket brewery Neighborhood Restaurant Group beer director Greg Engert has been working on Bluejacket since 2006. Initially, Engert expected the brewery to be located in the suburbs of D.C., where space is easier to come by, but finally settled on the old Boilermaker Building just steps from Nationals Park in Southeast D.C.

(WTOP/Alicia Lozano)
WTOP/Alicia Lozano
"D.C. is singular among East Coast cities for not really having an industrial complex," Engert says.

"When we came into this space, we thought it was a beautiful opportunity to contribute a contemporary production, a contemporary industry -- craft brewing -- to the area."

(WTOP/Alicia Lozano)
WTOP/Alicia Lozano
The Navy Yard area was developed 200 years ago, and expanded in 1916 to include the space where Bluejacket will be located. The Boilermaker Building dates back to 1818.

(WTOP/Alicia Lozano)
WTOP/Alicia Lozano
The 7,000-square-foot restaurant, bar and brewery features 50-foot ceilings, 90 bar seats, 100 seats outside and 80 dining seats spread over two floors.

Engert says Bluejacket will be similar to Churchkey, located on 14th Street Northwest, in terms of food and presentation. The executive and pastry chefs from Churckey will head the Bluejacket kitchen.

(WTOP/Alicia Lozano)
WTOP/Alicia Lozano
Bluejacket is a brewery and restaurant at the Navy Yard. (WTOP/Alicia Lozano)
WTOP/Alicia Lozano
Bluejacket has the capability to produce 5,000 barrels a year, which is about 10,000 full-sized kegs. They will sell roughly half of the beers at the brewery and distribute the rest to bars and restaurants throughout the area.

"We've taken really great pains to be able do, really, anything we can think of in this space with the beer," Engert says.

(WTOP/Alicia Lozano)
WTOP/Alicia Lozano
Among the myriad offerings will be saison beers, brewed in vertical tanks like this one. The summery, pale ales are brewed in the Belgian tradition and typically contain 7 percent alcohol.

(WTOP/Alicia Lozano)
WTOP/Alicia Lozano
The craft beer craze, which experts like Engert say is in the third wave, has reached new heights. Currently, there are about 2,500 craft beer breweries in the United States with another 1,500 in the planning phases, he says. Sales are up 13 percent in the first half of 2013.

(WTOP/Alicia Lozano)
WTOP/Alicia Lozano
Part of the Bluejacket vision is to offer enough of a variety that the brewers can take their time creating fresh and compelling beers. They do not intend to rush the maturation process, but instead intend to allow each creation to become fully realized in its own time, Engert says.

(WTOP/Alicia Lozano)
WTOP/Alicia Lozano
With the D.C. beer scene booming in recent years, Engert says that Bluejacket will stand out from the crowd.

"Whereas most production breweries will come to market with three, maybe four, year-round offerings ... we're using this as a sort of lab," he says.

"We're going to be able to find our best brewing voice and give lots of different styles of beers."

(WTOP/Alicia Lozano)
WTOP/Alicia Lozano
Sour beers will be available immediately, while others will be barrel-aged for up to several months. Also, expect to see hefeweizens, saisons and other European tributes.

(WTOP/Alicia Lozano)
WTOP/Alicia Lozano
"We are pushing the envelope ... and trying to do something new. I think that's kind of what we did when [Neighborhood Restaurant Group] did Birch & Barley and Churchkey. We didn't just want to do a beer bar or a restaurant that happened to have beer, we wanted to create a beer and food experience and really showcase beer as it should be and as the brewers intended," Engert says.

"This is the next level for us."

(WTOP/Alicia Lozano)
WTOP/Alicia Lozano
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