Bromance: Fun things to do on guys’ night out

Bros: Can we have a word?

Look, we all know romance is tricky: From choosing whether to call or text (and when!) to picking the perfect first-date activity or dinner spot for a particular occasion. It’s seriously easy to douse the fireworks before they can ignite, but when everything goes off without a hitch, it’s a beautiful thing.

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Thankfully, the same pitfalls do not apply to the ever-
important pursuit of your bromance: You know, the titanium bond you have with your lifelong guy friends, the ones who will be there to dutifully ridicule your dating prospects or your marital bliss; the ones with whom you can have frank, unedited discussions on matters large and small.

Which is to say, bromantic partners are extremely important to a well-rounded life, and it’s time you appreciated them as such: We’ve put together a list of our favorite bromantic excursions (granted, many are beer-related, but what can we say? This area has become a mecca for good — as in good — beer) to show the guys in your life just how much they mean to you.

Behind-the-scenes tours

It’s safe to say that lots of guys are fascinated by beer.

But enjoying the taste of it, playing games with it and basking in the social currency that comes from knowing about obscure bottles of it are just the beginning: More and more, guys want to know how the stuff is made (and that’s if they aren’t already attempting to brew their own at home).

That’s why a trip to Alexandria’s brand-new Port City Brewing Co. is not just a great guys’-day-out activity, but an informative (and thirst-quenching) one as well.

Port City owner Bill Butcher leads tours of the facility, inside a nondescript warehouse just west of Old Town, every Saturday at 12:30 and 2 p.m. For $5, you’ll see where Port City’s four flagship brews — the Belgian-style Optimal Wit, the crisp Monumental I.P.A., the chocolatey Porter and the well-rounded Essential Pale Ale — are born, from the moment the ingredients are added to one of the 60-barrel stainless-steel fermentation tanks through the bottling and kegging process.

But let’s be honest: The real point of a brewery tour is to sample the goods, so Butcher keeps the informational portion of the tour to about 20 minutes. From there, you’re free to linger in the tasting room, where you can cash in your four tasting tickets to sample each of the beers in a tasting glass that’s yours to keep.

It’s also an ideal setting to do some mingling, which brings us back to our original point about males and beer: We’re not alone, gentlemen. The male/female ratio on a recent tour was tilted heavily toward the female, so if you’re looking to hit it off with a fellow hop-head, Port City should be on your radar.

Port City Brewing Co., 3950 Wheeler Ave., Alexandria. 703-797-2739. www.portcity
brewing.com.

Home on the range

Look, if it was May, we’d happily suggest a day trip to Whiskey Creek Golf Club in Ijamsville, where you can play 18 holes on one of the area’s best-looking public courses, followed by a nice Scotch or bourbon in the clubhouse. However, walking a golf course isn’t as much fun in chilly, wet weather. That’s why we like Top Golf in Alexandria. The outdoor driving ranges are covered and heated, so you don’t have to worry about rain or bitter cold. The high-tech greens are equipped with targets that track the length and accuracy of your shots, so you don’t have to argue about who hit the green the most (even if that is a lot of fun). And the servers will bring food and beers right to the “golf suite” on the range. A perfect day, and a good deal — $4.80 buys 20 balls per player. Or head to the range on Wednesday nights for “Guys’ Night” to save even more, with $3 domestic beers and $4 premium drafts from 7 to 9 p.m.