Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Countdown Columbia Heights: Beer Selection

This could be controversial. Today, I'm counting down the best beer selections in Columbia Heights.

Several factors came into consideration as I pondered this. Draft v. bottle ratio. Diversity. Price. Prettiness of the tap. Ok, maybe not the last one. Anyhow... here they are, COUNTDOWN Columbia Heights: Beer Selection. (I let a Mt. P locale slip in here after calculating its proximity to CH and determining it acceptably close.)

5. Tonic (beer list)
4. Red Derby (beer list)
3. Wonderland (menu)
2. Red Rocks (beer list)
1. Commonwealth (beer list)

And now, some justifications...

The Brits know their beer and Commonwealth always has good drafts in extra large sizes, specials, and even flights. Red Rocks frequently brings in an interesting new brew. Wonderland just had a lot of beer and for a dive bar their draft options are solid. Red Derby has great options, but the lack of drafts hurt them with me. And Tonic's list includes Bud Light. Your thoughts?

3 comments:

restaurant refugee said...

I have no problem (inherently) with wasting a tap line on Bud Light. My problem is with places that don't use crap beer sales to subsidize the sales of those beers with taste. The Reef is an excellent example of this policy; they charge $4 or $5 for Miller Lite which enables them to sell a North Coast Beer for $5.

Thus, I begrudgingly agree with your victor; but I do wish that they were just a touch less expensive on the good beers on their list.

Anonymous said...

Brits may "know beer", but that doesn't mean that what comes out of there makes it any better. American craft brews like you find at the Derby are far better than most imported English beers. Imports, generally, are nothing special these days and are more often far more pedestrian than craft American beers.

Spud Lite said...

I do like the American beer, but draftless Derby leaves something to be desired, no?