So Long DC pt 4 – The Brickskeller

So this one is kind of moot seeing as how The Brickskeller closed in December of last year, but I will miss it nonetheless. I understand that it has been taken over by new management and renamed, but I am not equipped to confirm or deny the value of this new identity. What I can confirm is the awesomeness that was the best stocked bar I have ever seen.

When I lived in Charleston I had, what you might call, very indiscriminating tastes in beer. A 12-pack of Busch Light was the only necessary ingredient for a good night (and a bad hangover). Though as I got older the quantity that I drank came down and the quality went up. I found myself in my mid twenties scouring Washington, DC  for microbrews and obscure seasonals. This was all well and good for a night in, but where to drink for a night out? Enter The Brickskeller. The basement bar and dining room provided a wonderfully cozy atmosphere, while the walls crowded with displays of antiquated beer cans gave a nice history of the passion that fueled what The Brickskeller was about. I should point out that the food was rubbish… everyone knew that and it didn’t matter; you didn’t go there to eat. The beer menu was the star, hands down. 1,032 bottles on the menu. No shit. 1,032. and they almost always had whatever you ordered in stock. The menu was divided alphabetically and by country; what fun it was to be able to try a different beer from a different part of the world every time you went there.

It was the ideal place to take beer-loving friends when they’ d come to visit. Many fun nights were spent showing of this wonder of DC.  I’ll miss it a great deal, though I’ve got a lot of fond memories to take with me… and a lot of great beers to look for in Charleston that I probably would never have known about without the careful guidance of the wonderful staff of The Brickskeller.

So its gone, and it seems to have taken its website with it. More info can be found on its wikipedia page however.