The Brickskeller

If beer were a religion, I just found its high altar. I'm not kidding. Obviously, this isn't a new discovery for the world, but on my part. Recently, a few people have told me that I should try out The Brickskeller. It has been open in Washington DC for over 50 years, and they started business with having the world's largest selection of beer (which was about 50 at the time). Now that list is over 1,000! They have weekly beer tastings featuring different micro brews and the brewers who make them as well. Did I mention this is a Mom and Pop joint? I'm going to take a moment so we can all take that in....

Now, needless to say I have a new favorite bar. It's a couple blocks from DuPont Circle in DC, and has a nearby Metro - win. I met there with my sailing buddy from college, Hazen. The cool part was that the bartenders used a dumbwaiter to get beers from the storage cellar to the bar. That means they are pulling on a rope half the night to get your order to you. There are also about 12 beers on tap, only two of which that I had heard of before. I had one beer on tap, and three from the bottle. This place rocks.

We both had a great time. It was nice to see a college friend of mine. As you get older, hanging out with friends becomes more infrequent. It's just life. Nonetheless, I think he and I will be going back there sooner rather than later. I just wish my tolerance was as high as it was in college...oh well. We'll also do some sailing together this summer - he owns a boat.

I really need to start carrying a copy of my beer list on my phone or something. The Brickskeller made this apparent, because I know there were beers from brewers I've had before there, I just didn't know which. Therefore, I generally played it safe and went with brewers I had not heard of before, except for a Brooklyn beer.

Brooklyn Blast Imperial IPA: I enjoyed this beer, but I couldn't quite put my finger on it. It didn't seem overly hoppy, which is what one would expect when they see the term IPA. However, I thought it came across as a pretty balanced beer. It wasn't the best beer I've ever had, but I'd certainly give it another try.

Speakeasy Prohibition Amber Ale: This beer caught my eye on the beer menu due to its name, being that it references the dumbest point in American History. All I can say is that I thank God for beer and the 21st Amendment to the Constitution. My ranting aside, I did enjoy this beer. I have an affinity for amber ales. I thought it was well balanced between smooth, slightly caramel flavored, malts and bitterness of hops. I want to have this beer again.

Oskar Blues Ten-Fidy Imperial Russian Stout: One disadvantage of having over 1,000 beers on the menu is that some items are kept at low inventory, so it's easy to run out. After a few tries to get an Imperial Russian, and politely declining a $45 dollar bottle of Imperial Russian, I was brought this beer. I liked it quite a bit, although it took about halfway through before I got over the fact that it came in a can?! The beer was classic Imperial Russian: thick, full of flavors (including roasted chocolate malts), and high in alcohol content. It comes in at a whopping 10% ABV.

Legacy Hedonism Red Ale: I can admit that this beer name caught my eye on the menu, and that's about the only reason I ordered it. I really hated this beer. I thought it was terrible. The only flavor that came to my mind was creamy. It was like drinking that terrible cream soda someone gives you as a kid. I will avoid this at all costs in the future - 81/100 on ratebeer.com be damned!

With these beers, I have now closed the gap to less than 10. Weather permitting (there's some snow in DC today), I will be joining my friends Tim & Heather at a Bistro near their place for dinner. The noteworthy part of this for you, the reader? The place has many micro-brews on tap, and matches beers with menu selections. There will be a full report later.

Many thanks to Hazen for giving me a heads up about the bar with the largest selection of beer in the world. Next time we go, I'm going for international beers. I just wanted to try some American Craft Brews that I hadn't had.

The scorecard:
Colleen: 194
Paul: 185

Cheers,
Paul