Bier Baron DC Restaurant Review

Overall Experience:

We discovered Brickskeller (now Bier Baron) when we first moved to DC. I can’t take any credit though – it was Dave who stumbled upon it while looking for things to do on a weeknight in the city. Brickskeller opened in 1957 by a father/son and their wives team and built itself up to reach the Guiness Book of World Records as the “bar with the largest selection of commercially available beers.” That number was 1,032 different beers on the list. The bar stayed in the family for decades but this latest generation sold it off in December of 2010. Only 5 months after we discovered it our favorite beer bar was shutting down. Not to fear though, days later the bar reopned under new owners as Bier Baron and so it stands today.

A perfect place for beer aficionados, Bier Baron has a menu resembling an employee handbook in thickness yet thankfully is more interesting to go through. A reasonable draft list with a wide variety of bottled beer allows you to choose between fruity beers, foreign brews, ales, ciders, you name it. Half the fun is just going through the menu and deciding which country you plan on taking a taste of.

Prices vary with some beers coming in at $5 and others reaching all the way up to $20. With many foreign specialty beers on the menu you can imagine those are the pricier ones. A standard bar fare food menu accompanies the extensive drink menu. The best deal on there is the happy hour $10 burger with fries and draft beer. This is a steal considering some of the draft beers cost as much as $8.

What I love most about this place is the selection of beers from all over the world, unpretentious and casual atmosphere and the fact that the music is never too loud. At times when you just want to sit and have chat I find that the bar scene blasts the music beyond a comfortable level and you find yourself screaming to the person across from you in an attempt to be heard. Not the case at Bier Baron. Probably not the best place to go out for a night on the town, but for a weeknight drink and catch up session this is the place to be.

Restaurant Facts

Address: 1523 22nd St NW, Washington DC, 20037

Website: https://www.bierbarondc.com

Meal At A Glance:

What type of meal was it? Drinks with Food

Itemized Bill: $16 pp Bill: 2 beers and split a burger with fries

Specifics

Quality: With a large variety of beers you have a lot to choose from and there’s something for everyone. In terms of food we’ve only tried the burger, fries and wings and have been pleased with all of them. Standard pub food quality with accompanying prices. Best to come here for drinks rather than dinner.

Price: $$

Service: Service can be spotty at times, depending on your server. Of the dozens of times we’ve been here sometimes servers have been incredibly engaging, offering beer tips, samples and even throwing in a free beer. Other times, it’s difficult to get a server’s attention and they might seem not that interested. You don’t come here for the service though.

Interior: The bar is located in the basement and therefore has a hole-in-the-wall type of feel. A simple unpretentious wooden musky interior with various beer bottles and cans lining the walls. With the music never too loud it is always easy to carry on a conversation with everyone in your party (which unfortunately is hard to find in a bar sometimes).

Alcohol: Incredibly long booklet of bottled beers ranging from countries all over the world. Decent sized draft list that changes frequently.

Entertainment: N/A

Location: A 6 minute walk from the Dupont Circle metro station and a 15 minute walk from the Georgetown area.

Miscellaneous: A great place to relax a kick back a few beers. Stop by for the happy hour special of $10 for a draft beer and a burger with fries from 4-7pm everyday.

Free:  N/A

Would we go back?: YES!