Only Twenty Kegs in the World. DC Gets One.

Photo courtesy of
‘Brasserie Cantillon’
courtesy of ‘mersy’

The annual release of Cantillon’s Zwanze is quite an event amongst the cult of beer nerds. The very limited edition beer, different each year, is debuted – and usually sells out almost instantly. If you see beer heads lying on the ground outside of ChurchKey this Friday night, it is (probably) not because they drank too much – but rather because they are camped out to be first in line for Saturday’s tapping.

After years of bottles being scalped for huge sums, the Cantillon folks have decided to make the 2011 Zwanze a keg-only release. All the kegs in the world – and there are only twenty of them – are to be simultaneously tapped. Then, when it sells out, it sells out. No secondary market.

The moment of the simultaneous tapping works out favorably for us in the Eastern time zone – 3pm on Saturday the 17th. For the one keg going to Japan (Beer Brasserie Dolphins Temabashi in Osaka), however, a bit less so.

ChurchKey will be open for usual Saturday brunch service starting at noon with glasses of Zwanze becoming available at 3:00. Another beer from Cantillon, Iris, will also be available on draft.

Brittany has tried to leave DC, it just never lasts. She has lived in Chicago, California, and China – but she always comes back home. Brittany is a drinks, nightlife, and style correspondent for We Love DC. Between columns, you can find her on Twitter, Tumblr, or standing by the bar. Email her at brittany(at)welovedc.com.

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