After living near Washington, DC, I finally made it to the “Brickskeller.”  My 29th place on the All About Beer Growler list … #12 on the list.

I know, I know, it is now called “Bier Baron.”  However, at least I’ve made it to the actual location. I know some of the charm of the original Brickskeller were events hosted by Bob Tupper.  If you recall from an earlier post, I’ve been there done that.

Let’s talk about the Bier Baron then.  The venue was great … hole in the wall cellar … all the beer can paraphernalia was still there.

One of the complaints about Brickskeller was that, although they list over 1,000 beers on their menu, it was very hit-or-miss if you could get them.  Bier Baron claims around 500 beers … and if you look at their coolers you can tell they are definitely stocking a lot!

(sorry about my pictures — had to use my camera phone!)

I was there with about 7 people and, as we went through the list, there was only one beer we asked for that wasn’t available.  I can’t remember which one it was … however, I do remember the last one I drank … 21st Amendments Bitter American … an excellent beer.  Worth a trip if you are in DC …

Enjoy!

Beer Mentor

Yes, it is official.  I’ve hit number 27 on All About Beer’s 125 places to drink beer.  The “Falling Rock Tap House.”  This place rocks!  I was in Denver this past weekend and had the opportunity to stop in here for a couple of special beers.

Just in case you were wondering, it was cold in Denver in February.  Here are the beers we sampled (on Friday AND Saturday):

We were able to sample four Russian River Brews: 1) Blind Pig, 2) Pliny the Elder, 3) Pliny the Younger, and 4) Consecration.  Wow!  What a line-up!  Both Pliny the Younger AND Consecration were limited release kegs that we sampled on Saturday.  Once again, wow!

If you love hoppy beers, these are for you (except for Consecration, a sour beer).  In order they were 6%, 8%, and 11% ABV.  The Pliny the Younger was absolutely the most well balanced hop/alcohol west-coast IPA I’ve ever had.  Amazing.  Here are a couple of pictures of it:

We actually showed up on Friday night, had Pliny the Elder, and then were told that we should come back at 1100 the next day for the Younger … so we did!  Here are some random shots of the bar … this place was full of character …

Oh, you’ll notice the last image says “Dain Bramage.”  The weekend we were there, they were having a Barley Wine on tap series … LOL!  This place was excellent.  Two other beers I had there on Saturday night … the Bull & Bush Man Beer and Elysian Avatar Jasmine IPA.  Both nice beers.

You may ask yourself, “How did they drink all these beers?”  We had this excellent “Man Breakfast on our stomachs” on Saturday (see pics).

My recommendation to you — if you are in Denver, you should stop by this place and a have a few beers–well worth the trip! (oh, the food is excellent too …)

Enjoy! Beer Mentor

If you’ve been following my post, you know I’ve been attempting to visit as many places as possible on the All About Beer Magazine’s “Growler List.”  This is a list of 125 best places in the world to have a beer.  It was published in May of 2008.  There are a couple of other lists out there — 150 Top Bars by both All About Beer, Washington Magazine, and Draft Magazine.

I kind of set this list as my “benchmark” and have been working through it as best I can.  I’m not debating the merits of the list … I’m just using it as a stepping stone.  I’ve got a list of places I’ve been building I should publish.  However, this post is about my current status on completing this list.  So, let’s get to it!

Total (actual) places visited: 24.  Quickly listing them (with their associated list number):

1) GABF (Denver, CO)
2) Grand Place (Brussels, Belgium)
5) Oktoberfest (Munich, Germany)
7) Abbaye de Notre-Dame d’Orval (Orval, Belgium)
11) Hofbrauhaus (Munich, German)
14) The Market Porter (Stoney Street, London, England)
15) Cat’s Eye Pub, Inner Harbor (Baltimore, MD)
26) French Quarter* (New Orleans, LA)
30) The Olde Mitre Tavern, Ely Court, Hatton Garden (London, England)
39) The Flying Saucer (Ft Worth, TX)
48) The Blue Tusk (Syracuse, NY)
51) The White Horse Pub, Parsons Green (London, England)
57) Andechs Monastery (Andechs, Germany)
66) Delerium Cafe (Brussels, Belgium)
80) Le Bier Circus (Brussels, Belgium)
82) Irseer Klosterbrauerei (Irsee, German)
91) Dogfish Head Ale House (Rehoboth Beach, DE)
92) Belgo Central (London, England)
97) Clark’s Ale House (Syracuse, NY)
103) Kelly’s Caribbean Bar (Key West, FL)
104) Rose & Crown Pub (Epcot Center, FL)
110) The Gingerman (Austin, TX)
114) The Dubliner (Washington, DC)
121) Old Ebbitt Grill (Washington, DC)

Places I’ve substituted for items on the list that I consider experiential listings.  In my opinion, you have to enjoy the venue to enjoy the brew … so I think this is a fair substitution: 5

16) Substituting Camden Yards for Fenway Park
– Drinking Clipper City Brews behind home plate in Camden Yards … awesome!
19) Substituting Highland Games for Horse Racing
– Drinking Stouts in the Beer Tent at the Glengarry Highland Games in Ontario listening to the Grade 1 North American Champions improv … fantastic!
22) German Bundesliga Fussball over NASCAR
– Drinking a sweet Pilsner watching 1FCK am Betze! Prima!
31) NFL Game (Cowboys/Redskins) instead of NASCAR (again)
44) NFL Europe Tailgating in Frankfurt over SEC Tailgating
– I’m a Big 12 fan … so, I’ll take the tailgating in Frankfurt! Sweet!

Substituting for a place no longer open: 1

123) Tim Schafer’s is closed I understand.  Substituting In De Vrede (Westvleteren, Belgium)

That gives me a total of 30 “visited.” I plan on visiting the following 8 sites in the next three months:

9) Monk’s Cafe (Philadelphia, PA)
12) The Brickskeller (now Bier Baron) (Washington, DC)
25) World Beer Festival (Raleigh, NC)
33) The Wynkoop Brewery (Denver, CO)
42) SandLot Brewery, Coors Field (Denver, CO)
45) Selin’s Grove Brewing (Selinsgrove, PA)
54) Falling Rock Tap House (Denver, CO)
71) Brewer’s Art (Baltimore, MD)
76) City Tavern (Philadelphia, PA)

So, my target on the list is 37 “places” by the end of May. Wish me luck!

Beer Mentor