Where to drink in DC?

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summersolstice

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Can anyone recommend a good bar in Washington, DC? I'm looking for a good variety of craft brews on tap. Good pub food is a plus since time is short and we can combine dinner with a few brews.
 
where will you be?

well it really doesn't matter :)

RFD is in Chinatown across from the MCI center.

they have 30 ish on tap, and a 1000 or so bottles....

it can be daunting when there is a caps game, but its the best! right now is Oktoberfest, they had 7 on tap!
 
where will you be?

well it really doesn't matter :)

RFD is in Chinatown across from the MCI center.

they have 30 ish on tap, and a 1000 or so bottles....

it can be daunting when there is a caps game, but its the best! right now is Oktoberfest, they had 7 on tap!

Looks like I'll be staying 6-7 blocks from there and the website says they're having a weeklong Octoberfest the week I'm there. I'll give it a try - thanks!
 
+1 RFD.

Also, Pizzeria Paradiso.

Too bad Dr. Dremo's shut down.

The Brickskeller is a legend, but they only have about 1/4 of the beers on the menu, and the food isn't so good. There's a pizza joint not too far away. :eek:\
 
Capitol City Brewing Company is pretty good, they brew 5-6 beers on premises (and have others on tap/bottle obviously).
 
I enjoyed the Brickskeller last week, but was disappointed that they were out of the Berliner Weisse and Koelsch I had wanted. Also a bit pricey, but definitely worth a stop if you find yourself in the Dupont Circle area.
 
I enjoyed the Brickskeller last week, but was disappointed that they were out of the Berliner Weisse and Koelsch I had wanted. Also a bit pricey, but definitely worth a stop if you find yourself in the Dupont Circle area.

brikskellers is always like that... you have to have 5 beers in mind and hope they have one!
 
It might be too late but believe it or not the Blueridge Pkwy is dubbed the BREWridge Pkwy b/c there are several outstanding brewpubs along the way. Blue Mountain in Crozet Va., South Street/Starr Hill in Charlottesville, Devils Backbone in Roseland and Callys in Harrisonburg. All great brew pubs with nice scenic drives. Good times!
 
Well, we made it to RFD twice while we were in DC. It's a pretty nice place and focuses a little more on the food side than I'd like but the beer list is outstanding!

The first evening (late afternoon) began with a bottle of Staropramen Czech lager, followed by drafts of Hoegaarden Witbier and Duvel Green Begian Blonde. For the next visit I decided to stay with seasonal draft brews: I started with Erdinger Octoberfest Weizen and moved to Hofbrau Octoberfest before moving to a hoppy American Weyerbacher Harvest Ale. Great beers in good surroundings. Thanks for the tip!
 
they focus too much on the food side? their food is awful! I just always order nachos.... speaking of RFD we need to plan a new happy hour!
 
The food may indeed be awful but both times we were there it was packed with people eating. I saw a lot of customers drinking wine and mixed drinks but there didn't appear to be an abundance of craft brew fans - thus my comment on the food focus. The beer-steamed mussels were good :)
 
The food may indeed be awful but both times we were there it was packed with people eating. I saw a lot of customers drinking wine and mixed drinks but there didn't appear to be an abundance of craft brew fans - thus my comment on the food focus. The beer-steamed mussels were good :)

yeah, it always pains me to see people order Corona......
 
The Brickskeller is a legend, but they only have about 1/4 of the beers on the menu, and the food isn't so good.

Tell me about it. I've spent 10 minutes finding a beer after going through their very impressive list, only to be told by the waitress that they don't have it... three times in a row.
 
Don't overlook Capital City Brewery when you're in DC. They've got an Imperial Stout that will knock you on your ass. It's as dark as Ten Fidy and pretty damn good.
 
Church Key is a new entry into the mix. ~50 taps and good bottles. Prices aren't particularly special, but a solid place. Same owners as Rustico in Alexandria which boasts about 30 taps and is also quality. If you want to head into VA, Galaxy Hut in Arlington is excellent. ~15 well rotated taps and fairly good prices. It's a totally hole in the wall, but I love it. Pizza Paradiso in g-town or dupont are my favorite happy hour spots. 1/2 price drafts on tues and wed from 5- 7
 
Church Key is a new entry into the mix. ~50 taps and good bottles. Prices aren't particularly special, but a solid place. Same owners as Rustico in Alexandria which boasts about 30 taps and is also quality. If you want to head into VA, Galaxy Hut in Arlington is excellent. ~15 well rotated taps and fairly good prices. It's a totally hole in the wall, but I love it. Pizza Paradiso in g-town or dupont are my favorite happy hour spots. 1/2 price drafts on tues and wed from 5- 7

+1 for Churchkey - Around 50 tap beers, at least a hundred more by bottle, reasonable prices and a beer somellier with the title "beer director". It just opened up a month ago at 14th and U. Bartenders are also quite knowledgeable.
Cheers
 
+1 for Churchkey - Around 50 tap beers, at least a hundred more by bottle, reasonable prices and a beer somellier with the title "beer director". It just opened up a month ago at 14th and U. Bartenders are also quite knowledgeable.
Cheers

I finally got around to Churchkey last week. Despite the massive tap list and casks, the selection was fairly boring overall and the pricing was terrible. The bottle list was pretty good and the pricing wasn't as bad.

Best drinking is still Pizza Paradiso imho... especially for happy hour.
 
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