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By Scottie, February 9, 2010 10:46 pm

Snowmageddon can't stop ChurchKey

Snowmageddon, Snowtorious B.I.G., SnowFuckYourself, Snowpocalypse – call it what you like – D.C. had one hell of a snowstorm this past weekend.

What do you do when record amounts of snow fall on a city that is ill-prepared for any type of winter storm (probably only 3 plow trucks total in the District)? Drink craft beer, bar hop, and get into a snowball fight with 3,000 Washingtonians of course.

Thursday night, before a single snowflake had even touched the ground, D.C.’s inhabitants were acting as if the Apocalypse was upon us. Lines in Whole Foods and Harris Teeter grocery stores were reportedly three hours long. People were buying enough food, water, and alcohol to last a nuclear disaster. It’s only snow people – let’s not overreact.

As the snow began to fall Friday, word of a massive organized snowball fight began to spread on Twitter and Facebook. Loving any chance to throw snowballs at complete strangers, I immediately accepted this invitation!

Saturday morning, we (myself and thousands of other DC residents) trekked down snow-filled streets towards Dupont Circle, the site of the snowball fight. En route, there were cars completely buried in snow, street lamps knocked over, and cars crushed by massive fallen trees. Not to mention plenty of tumbling pedestrians along the way.

Arriving at Dupont was an awakening; a crazed but fun-loving battle field. For the most part, people were not taking the snowball fight too seriously, although there was the occasional ice chunk being thrown here and there. At one point, a group of people stormed the center of Dupont with an American flag as if they were storming the shores or Normandy or raising the flag at Iwo Jima. The whole experience brought back fond memories of Spain’s La Tomatina (largest tomato fight in the world) from a few summers ago.

No snowy day in D.C. is complete without beer, so I decided to head to Pizza Paradiso, ChurchKey, and Bourbon for some craft beer goodness. First stop – Pizza Paradiso in Dupont Circle. This spot has a diversified offering of craft beers with 16 draft beer selections, 80 bottled beers and one casked ale. I sipped on Troegs Mad Elf and then tried some hot mulled wine; a specialty only offered in D.C. during wintery-weather.  The sweet aroma of wood fired pizza made the experience seem almost like a  ski lodge in the District.

Later, we made the snowy hike to ChurchKey on 14th street. ChurchKey, one of my new local favorites, has a collection of 555 different beers which cover the full spectrum of styles, regions and flavor possibilities. After a Dogfish Head Palo Santo Marron and an Italian Saison by Piccolo Birrificio, I headed back to Adams Morgan to meet some friends at Bourbon for a couple of Stone IPAs.

The snow brings out the kid in everyone. Never before have I seen people snow shoeing up New Hampshire Avenue. People hugging, laughing, and frolicking through the streets of AdMo. Sledders using anything from trash bags to sheets of linoleum to slide down snow covered-steps. Trudging through the snow covered city and drinking craft beers made for one enjoyable and snowy weekend. Although, it looks as if Mother Nature and Jack Frost aren’t finished unleashing their hell upon the Nation’s capital – the snow is still falling and the wind is really howling!