Brickskeller

Entrance to The Brickskeller Dining House and Down Home Saloon

The Brickskeller had selections from around the world, from Argentina to Zimbabwe, as well as a large selection of domestic brews. The menu included several hundreds of Belgian beers,[2] Dozens of varieties of wheat beers including Paulaner and witbiers such as Hoegaarden, as well as other European brews including Baltica 6, the definitive Baltic porter, Herold microbrew from the Czech Republic.[3] The beer list also included ordinary varieties such as Bud Light, Miller, and regional favorites like Old Style, Point, Rainier, Henry Weinhardt, Leinenkugel, Yeungling, Rolling Rock and in their time Knickerbocker, Rhinelander, Stony and many others. In 1957 the Brickskeller opened with over 50 beers, at that time the world's largest selection of beers. In her many firsts, along with first presenting a "beer tasting" the Brickskeller was the FIRST restaurant to offer a beer LIST.

The Brickskeller also first presented real ale in cask.[4] The Brickskeller also had more than 50 aged beers,[5] and four varieties of mead ("honey wine").[6] Another first was a beer cocktail menu featuring numerous beer cocktails including "Maui Mouthwash", which contains Malibu Caribbean White Rum with Coconut, fruit juice, blue curacao, vodka and golden lager, and Smack & Tan.[7]

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, mozzarella sticks, potato skins, chicken tenders, and burgers. In the 1980s, the Brickskeller introduced buffalo meat burgers (buffalo burgers) and buffalo pizza, both dishes that quickly developed a following among the bar's patrons. Other menu items included spinach and artichoke dip, pierogies, spiced shrimp, salad, and sandwiches.[8] The kitchen at the Brickskeller was small but remarkably efficient. the staff calls it a submarine kitchen, putting out an average of over 650 dinners a night. The Brickskeller was open for lunch on weekdays, and opened at 6 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.[8]

The Brickskeller has a rustic saloon motif. On the lower level, old barrels were made into bar stools. The world's largest selection of antique beer cans along with so much beer memorabilia adorned the turn of the century hand fired brick walls people called it a "Brewseum" The Brickskeller seated 450 on both floors. Upstairs was where they held beer tastings and other special occasions The Brickskeller added televisions upstairs in 2003, so it could show March Madness and other sports events.[9]

The Brickskeller was popular among the 25-34 age crows being so close to the Georgetown, George Washington and American Universities but in fact had a demographic most bars would kill for. Politicians, Capitol Hill aides, diplomats, tourists, celebrities like Quentin Tarentino, Jerry Seinfeld, Pink Floyd, Neil Young, Brooke Shields and beer aficionados regularly frequented the Brickskeller.[2] It was quite common to walk they the dining room and hear half a dozen languages being spoken. Dads would bring sons in to show them where they drank while in college and look to see if their name was still scraped into the ship room wall, which it was. Notorious spy, Aldrich Ames, met with his Soviet counterparts in a dark corner of the dining room

The Brickskeller hosted monthly beer tastings and sponsors other events The Brickskeller sponsored a number of educational events at the National Geographic Society,[10][11] as well as Smithsonian seminars held at the Brickskeller that drew top experts,[12][13] and speakers including Bert Grant, Russ Scherer, Fritz Maytag, Ken Grossman, Tomme Arthur, Vinnie CilurO, Aram Avery, Larry Bell, Kim Jordan, Garrett Oliver from Brooklyn Brewery and Dick Yuengling of D. G. Yuengling & Son.[14]