That's "Gordon Biersch", by the way.

Thanks for the correction.

Gordon Biersch location in DC --

Conveniently located in the heart of Washington, DC on F Street in the old Riggs Bank Building, this architectural beauty displays the traditional elegance of the Capitol. The restaurant can accommodate 450 guests with additional patio seating available. . .

900 F Street NW
Washington, DC 20004
phone: 202-783-5454
fax: 202-783-0404

Biersch is not exactly local nor a micro - the pesky brewery-restaurants are
everywhere underfoot on the west coast, and I'm sorry to see inroads in
the east. The beers are okay, nothing to write home about.

Sorry to hear about Dominion

I haven't taken the time to hit Brasserie Beck yet, although I'd like to - it's a second restaurant for Chef Robert Wiedmaier, who is better known for Marcel's in Foggy Bottom. One of DC's better restaurants and IMHO currently the best option for Kennedy Center pre-theatre dining. From the review's he's more focused on Belgian beers than microbrews. Not that that's a bad thing

The good news is that you can find Victory and Troegs without too much difficulty at some grocery stores (Whole Foods) and some liquor stores.

As far as local brews go, Sweetwater is probably the best. Used to be a great brewer at Bardo's in Virginia, however, I may have been in the minority since they aren't in business any longer.....

Welcome to DC!

Cheers,
Jeff

Try the Shenandoah Brewing Company in Alexandria (near VanDorn/I-495). They sell a good selection of micro brews made on premise. Best part is that you can brew your own beer using their equipment and ingredients. Most brews will net you 5 cases at bottling. Link is here: http://www.shenandoahbrewing.com/

Dogfish Head Brewery out of DE:

http://www.dogfish.com/eats/DFH_Aleh...rg/2/index.htm

Growlers, which has changed names a couple times but the brew staff has stayed relativly constant:

http://www.growlersofgaithersburg.com/

They're still around? I haven't been there in years! Their beer was good, but everything was overprices, IIRC.
Capitol City is very good, depending on their seasonal selections. They have four locations, I believe, one of them being in Inner Harbor in Baltimore. The other locations are Arlington, Capitol Hill, and Downtown, according to their site. Their website is http://www.capcitybrew.com/ If you sign up for their email list, they'll send you coupons for your birthday and things.
Are you attending the DC Do on July 7? I live outside of Harrisburg currently, and get to Troeg's on a somewhat-frequent basis. We're more of Appalachian Brewing Company fans, since they have brew-pubs, but...

Found some Troegs at the Whole Foods in Tenleytown today - they offered the Sunshine Pils.

Good stuff!

GREAT PLACE. They actually gurantee to have a minimum of 1,000 different beers available. Plus the buffalo stew is worth the trip by itself.

I also like Rock Bottom. They have a great IPA in the summer.

Every time I need to go to DC for something, it is an obligatory stop.

Finally made it to Brasserie Beck - here's a quick review:

Go for the beer, for food go to Marcel's. Went with friends - they commented that they like the last place we went much better (I think it was Ardeo).

My wife had the salmon, it was good but nothing to write home about, we probably do a better job at home. One friend had the skate and was disappointed, the other the steak with green peppercorn sauce. Again it was good, but we do better at home.

I started with the codfish brandade, which I enjoyed - texture and flavor were both good. Mains was the beef carbonnade - nice, rich taste and a huge serving.

Moving on to the good stuff - tried 5 of the beers (wasn't driving) - Bavik, Saison Dupont and Chimay Cing Cents on tap. All good, the Chimay was very good with the beef carbonade. Also tried the Stourik stout with the carbonade, a very nice stout, but the Chimay went better with the beef.

Finished off with another draft beer - don't remember the name, it was a very sour cherry beer - was going to order it with the codfish, however, the server recommended against it. The beer menu mentioned that they were only able to get a keg - it was priced accordingly $14/glass. Should have ordered it with the codifish, the bitter fruit would have gone well.

Future visits will be limited to appetizers at the bar while sampling more fine beverages.

Cheers,
Jeff

Just want to throw in another rec for Capitol City. They've got a couple tasty beers; Amber Waves Ale is probably my favorite. I make a point to try and swing by whenever I'm in the area.

I like taking friends to the District Chophouse and Brewery (www.chophouse.com ) in Chinatown, though their food is better than their beer.

By the same owners as the Brickskeller is RFD, also in Chinatown (http://www.lovethebeer.com/rfd.html ), which has 30 beers on tap and a couple hundred bottles as well. Service and food range from mediocre to atrocious, but then, it's a sports bar now, and a better atmosphere than the Big Hunt.

By the way, although there are many bars around named the Brickskellar, the one in DC is the BrickskellER. And while they claim to have 800 beers available, in reality they'll be "just out" of at least � your requests. It's still impressive, but by the third time the waitress comes back empty handed it's also quite irritating.