pub haunt: Brickskeller

1523 22nd St NW, Washington, DC

It has been a while since I've hung out at what was once a favorite haunt of mine: Brickskeller.
If you're in the least bit a zythophile living in the DC metro area you are aware of this joint. Heralded by Forbes Traveler [from which I have stolen the pic below] as one of the best american beer bars, its cellar is legendary. Almost as well known, however, is skeller's in-stock inconsistency. The menu says one thing and the waiter says another.

Shot-sized Version:

Crowd: 2 frat boys out of 5: At 6pm on Thursday night it was small groups of 22-30 year olds. Douchebaggery of the college variety is relatively low [though there is a noticeable hipster d-bag factor].

Hassle-factor: 2 winks out of 5: If you hunker down at a table, you might get a stare or a brave soul might toss a comment your way, but you can get away with typing on a laptop and drinking alone virtually uninterrupted. However, taking a seat at the bar or in the front room will open up your avenues for one-liners- or more likely, casual conversation about the fantastic beer selection.

Selection: 2.5 lipstick reapplications out of 5: Okay, I will probably get flak for the low-rating seeing as how the BS menu has like a thousand beers. The thing is, they rarely have all the beers they claim to, and the last time I was in, they had 2 out of 10 that I requested. I ended up going on the recommendation of the waiter which, sadly, was a mistake.

Service: 2 of 5 bar wenches: On a relatively slow night, my waiter left me hanging for an unforgiveable amount of time [with the skunky beer he’d recommended no less]. The snobby attitude of the wait-staff is as well-known around town as the almost fraudulent beer list.

Price: 2.5 paychecks out of 5: Sure they charge $6 for a bottle that I can get at Whole Foods for $3—but it’s pretty standard for a brew in a restaurant and given that a lot of the bottles are rarely offered at restaurants it ain't so bad.

And that phrase pretty much sums up Brickskeller: it ain't so bad/it ain't so great.