Brickskeller
Encyclopedia
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, located near Dupont Circle
Dupont Circle
Dupont Circle is a traffic circle, park, neighborhood, and historic district in Northwest Washington, D.C. The traffic circle is located at the intersection of Massachusetts Avenue NW, Connecticut Avenue NW, New Hampshire Avenue NW, P Street NW, and 19th Street NW...
across from Rock Creek Park
Rock Creek Park
Rock Creek Park is a large urban natural area with public park facilities that bisects Washington, D.C. The park is administered by the National Park Service.-Rock Creek Park:The main section of the park contains , or , along the Rock Creek Valley...
and on the edge of Georgetown
Georgetown, Washington, D.C.
Georgetown is a neighborhood located in northwest Washington, D.C., situated along the Potomac River. Founded in 1751, the port of Georgetown predated the establishment of the federal district and the City of Washington by 40 years...
, in the Marifex Hotel (now the Brickskeller Inn) building. With 1,032 choices of bottled beer on the beer
Beer
Beer is the world's most widely consumed andprobably oldest alcoholic beverage; it is the third most popular drink overall, after water and tea. It is produced by the brewing and fermentation of sugars, mainly derived from malted cereal grains, most commonly malted barley and malted wheat...
list, the Brickskeller is listed in Guinness World Records
Guinness World Records
Guinness World Records, known until 2000 as The Guinness Book of Records , is a reference book published annually, containing a collection of world records, both human achievements and the extremes of the natural world...
as "the bar with the largest selection of commercially available beers."
The Brickskeller was established in 1957, by father and son Felix and Maurice Coja, along with their wives Marie and June. Their daughter / granddaughter, Diane Alexander, was then the owner together with her husband Dave. June died in 1998 and Maurice sold out his shares to Diane in 2004. After a long search for a buyer, on December 7, 2010, it was announced that the Brickskeller would be closing for good on December 18, and re-opened a few days later under new owner, Megan Merrifield, as the Bier Baron.
Menu
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
to Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe is a landlocked country located in the southern part of the African continent, between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers. It is bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the southwest, Zambia and a tip of Namibia to the northwest and Mozambique to the east. Zimbabwe has three...
, as well as a large selection of domestic brews. The menu included a large selection of Belgian beer
Belgian beer
Beer in Belgium varies from pale lager to lambic beer and Flemish red. There are approximately 178 breweries in the country, ranging from international giants to microbreweries..-History:...
, varieties of wheat beer
Wheat beer
Wheat beer is a beer that is brewed with a large proportion of wheat. Wheat beers often also contain a significant proportion of malted barley. Wheat beers are usually top-fermented...
s including Paulaner
Paulaner
Paulaner is a German brewery, established in the early 17th century in Munich by the Minim friars of the Neudeck ob der Au cloister. The mendicant order and the brewery are named after Francis of Paola, the founder of the order....
and Hoegaarden, as well as other European brews including Herold microbrew from the Czech Republic
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....
. The beer list also included ordinary varieties such as Bud Light, Miller
Miller Brewing Company
The Miller Brewing Company is an American beer brewing company owned by the United Kingdom-based SABMiller. Its regional headquarters are located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and the company has brewing facilities in Albany, Georgia; Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin; Eden, North Carolina; Fort Worth, Texas;...
, and Rolling Rock
Rolling Rock
Rolling Rock is a 4.5% abv pale lager launched in 1939 by the Latrobe Brewing Company. Although founded as a local beer in Western Pennsylvania, it was marketed aggressively and eventually became a national product. The brand was sold to Anheuser-Busch of St...
, which some people ordered. Often when ordering beer at the Brickskeller, they were out of one's first choice and sometimes the second choice. Some question how many selections of beer the Brickskeller really had in stock. Dave Alexander admits that availability can be a problem, especially when dealing with overseas wholesalers and importers. When it opened, the Brickskeller had 57 selections of beer.
The lower level was the main section that was open all the time. On the lower level, only bottled beers were served, while the upstairs level also served draft beer. Soon after R.F.D. opened, the Brickskeller added a Belgian
Belgian beer
Beer in Belgium varies from pale lager to lambic beer and Flemish red. There are approximately 178 breweries in the country, ranging from international giants to microbreweries..-History:...
draft system in the upstairs dining room, expanding the number of taps. The Brickskeller also serves cask ale
Cask ale
Cask ale or cask-conditioned beer is the term for unfiltered and unpasteurised beer which is conditioned and served from a cask without additional nitrogen or carbon dioxide pressure...
s on the upper level. The Brickskeller also had more than 50 aged beers, and four varieties of mead
Mead
Mead , also called honey wine, is an alcoholic beverage that is produced by fermenting a solution of honey and water. It may also be produced by fermenting a solution of water and honey with grain mash, which is strained immediately after fermentation...
("honey wine"). Numerous beer cocktail
Cocktail
A cocktail is an alcoholic mixed drink that contains two or more ingredients—at least one of the ingredients must be a spirit.Cocktails were originally a mixture of spirits, sugar, water, and bitters. The word has come to mean almost any mixed drink that contains alcohol...
s were on the menu, including "Maui Mouthwash", which contains Malibu Caribbean White Rum with Coconut, fruit juice, blue curacao, vodka
Vodka
Vodka , is a distilled beverage. It is composed primarily of water and ethanol with traces of impurities and flavorings. Vodka is made by the distillation of fermented substances such as grains, potatoes, or sometimes fruits....
and golden lager, and Smack & Tan.
During the 1970s, beer-can collecting gained in popularity, and The Brickskeller took advantage of that craze. They served beer in cans, which were opened from the bottom, so the collectors could take home cleaned cans that looked "unopened" when set upright. Some collectors were underaged, so they would come into the bar with their apparently well-to-do fathers, and have hundreds of dollars worth of beer, opened from the bottom of the can, and then dumped, as the underaged beer can collector only wanted the cans!
The Brickskeller served standard American pub food, including spicy chicken wings
Chicken Wings
Chicken Wings can refer to:*A type of food, a serving of the wing sections of a chicken, deep fried wings coated in sauce are also known as Buffalo wings*Chicken Wings , an aviation related comic by Michael and Stefan Strasser...
, mozzarella sticks
Mozzarella sticks
Mozzarella sticks are elongated pieces of battered or breaded mozzarella cheese. The deep-fried snack is often served at restaurants as an appetizer or as North American pub fare...
, potato skins
Potato skins
Potato skins are a snack food or appetizer. They are made of small, flat circular or oval pieces of potatoes with skin on one side and a quarter-inch or so of fleshy potato on the other...
, chicken tenders, and burger
Hamburger
A hamburger is a sandwich consisting of a cooked patty of ground meat usually placed inside a sliced bread roll...
s. Other menu items included spinach and artichoke dip, pierogies, spiced shrimp
Shrimp
Shrimp are swimming, decapod crustaceans classified in the infraorder Caridea, found widely around the world in both fresh and salt water. Adult shrimp are filter feeding benthic animals living close to the bottom. They can live in schools and can swim rapidly backwards. Shrimp are an important...
, salad
Salad
Salad is any of a wide variety of dishes, including vegetable salads; salads of pasta, legumes, eggs, or grains; mixed salads incorporating meat, poultry, or seafood; and fruit salads. They may include a mixture of cold and hot, often including raw vegetables or fruits.Green salads include leaf...
, and sandwich
Sandwich
A sandwich is a food item, typically consisting of two or more slices of :bread with one or more fillings between them, or one slice of bread with a topping or toppings, commonly called an open sandwich. Sandwiches are a widely popular type of lunch food, typically taken to work or school, or...
es. The kitchen at the Brickskeller was small, however, thus limiting selections they could offer on the menu. The Brickskeller was open for lunch on weekdays, and opened at 6 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.
Atmosphere
The Brickskeller was a "hole-in-the-wall", with a rustic saloon motif. On the lower level, old barrels were made into bar stools. The entire place was decorated with old beer cans, bottles, and other memorabilia. The Brickskeller have auxiliary seating in an upstairs dining room, which was open every day except Sunday as well as for beer tastings and other special occasions. The Brickskeller added televisions upstairs in 2003, so it could show March MadnessNCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship
The NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship is a single-elimination tournament held each spring in the United States, featuring 68 college basketball teams, to determine the national championship in the top tier of college basketball...
and other sports events.
The Brickskeller was popular among the 25-34 age crowd and older, but was somewhat expensive and a little too refined to attract a large crowd of people in their early twenties. Capitol Hill aides, diplomat
Diplomat
A diplomat is a person appointed by a state to conduct diplomacy with another state or international organization. The main functions of diplomats revolve around the representation and protection of the interests and nationals of the sending state, as well as the promotion of information and...
s, tourists, and beer aficionados frequent the Brickskeller. Celebrities, including members of Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd were an English rock band that achieved worldwide success with their progressive and psychedelic rock music. Their work is marked by the use of philosophical lyrics, sonic experimentation, innovative album art, and elaborate live shows. Pink Floyd are one of the most commercially...
and Queen Noor of Jordan
Jordan
Jordan , officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan , Al-Mamlaka al-Urduniyya al-Hashemiyya) is a kingdom on the East Bank of the River Jordan. The country borders Saudi Arabia to the east and south-east, Iraq to the north-east, Syria to the north and the West Bank and Israel to the west, sharing...
, have also stopped by. Notorious spy, Aldrich Ames
Aldrich Ames
Aldrich Hazen Ames is a former Central Intelligence Agency counter-intelligence officer and analyst, who, in 1994, was convicted of spying for the Soviet Union and Russia...
, also came to the Brickskeller, where he met with Soviets. Owner Dave Alexander alerted authorities, once he saw Aldrich Ames' picture on television.
Events
The Brickskeller hosted monthly beer tastings and sponsors other events. The Brickskeller sponsored a number of educational events at the National Geographic SocietyNational Geographic Society
The National Geographic Society , headquartered in Washington, D.C. in the United States, is one of the largest non-profit scientific and educational institutions in the world. Its interests include geography, archaeology and natural science, the promotion of environmental and historical...
, as well as Smithsonian seminars held at the Brickskeller that drew top experts, and speakers including Garrett Oliver from Brooklyn Brewery
Brooklyn Brewery
Brooklyn Brewery was started in 1987 by former Associated Press correspondent Steve Hindy and former Chemical Bank lending officer Tom Potter. Hindy learned to brew beer during a six year stay in various Middle Eastern nations such as Saudi Arabia and Syria, where possession and consumption of...
and Dick Yuengling of D. G. Yuengling & Son
D. G. Yuengling & Son
D. G. Yuengling & Son is the oldest operating brewing company in the United States, established in 1829. It is one of the largest breweries by volume in the country, and is the second largest American-owned brewery after the Boston Beer Company, makers of Sam Adams beer...
.
R.F.D. Washington
Chinatown, Washington, D.C.
Chinatown in Washington, D.C., is a small, historic neighborhood east of downtown consisting of about 20 ethnic Chinese and other Asian restaurants and small businesses along H and I Streets between 5th and 8th Streets, Northwest. It is known for its annual Chinese New Year festival and parade and...
, near the Gallery Place Metro
Washington Metro
The Washington Metro, commonly called Metro, and unofficially Metrorail, is the rapid transit system in Washington, D.C., United States, and its surrounding suburbs. It is administered by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority , which also operates Metrobus service under the Metro name...
station, at the former Coco Loco site. R.F.D. occupies a larger space than the Brickskeller did, allowing the owners to do things they couldn't do at the original location, such as provide a very large selection of draft beer. At R.F.D., there are approximately 40 taps, which was more than any other place in all of Washington until the Birch & Barley and ChurchKey opened in October 2009. R.F.D. has taps in both the front and back rooms; In the back room, the trunk line from the cooler to the tap is very short, with the keg box located right behind the bar. The tap system uses a 75/25 gas blend.
R.F.D. has a greater selection of food than was possible at the Brickskeller, which had a very small kitchen. The chef, Diane Alexander, who trained at L'Academie de Cuisine in suburban Maryland, serves many dishes that are cooked with beer. R.F.D. serves standard American food, along with a selection of seafood and other regional dishes. Despite the large selection of beer, R.F.D. Washington is family friendly, with families eating there before/after Washington Capitals
Washington Capitals
The Washington Capitals are a professional ice hockey team based in Washington, D.C. They are members of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . Since their founding in 1974, "The Caps" have won one conference championship to reach the 1998 Stanley Cup...
or Washington Wizards
Washington Wizards
The Washington Wizards are a professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C., previously known as Washington Bullets. They play in the National Basketball Association .-Early years:...
games at the nearby Verizon Center
Verizon Center
Verizon Center is a sports and entertainment arena in Washington, D.C., USA, named after telecommunications sponsor Verizon Communications, and has been nicknamed the "Phone Booth" because of its association with telecommunications companies...
or when sightseeing downtown. R.F.D. is also good for groups and has outdoor seating in its courtyard.