Without question, I'm a "beer is in the cooler" kinda guy.

Hmmm... In the sense that Baltimore is more blue collar than DC, you may have a point. But, I'd be uncomfortable saying that DC is a wine town. We have the establishment with the largest beer selection in the world (1033 at Brickskellar. Look it up), we have at least five local breweries, there are a good number of restaurants that have great micro-slections, and DC even has it's own beer culture (its been termed "the Belgian revolution." I wouldn't write it off so fast. It may have just been the circles that you ran in down here.

Hi Kirkles! I'm helping Rob out while he's on vacation in Taiwan. I will recommend to Rob that he check out Brickskellar when he returns. I've definitely had a few interesting selections while there! Thanks for commenting, Carla

Kirkles: The Brick makes a claim for the largest selection, but lets be honest it never has all those beers available. I'd take Max's with their 60+ on draft and numerous new and vintage in bottle any day. Their list is updated with nothing but quality and their bartenders know the product. One spends their first hour at the brick just getting a beer taht is actually there.

Maybe you should look down your nose and travel up 95 to see how a real beer bar handles themself.

I have to agree - Brickskeller (http://www.beer-universe.com/bar-brewery-profile/bar/111/brickskeller/) is phenomenal. There is also RFD in Chinatown with a great beer selection.

RFD has a number of selection of beers that you can't find anywhere else in the region and Brickskeller is always getting a variety of bottled beer as well.

Kirkies,while I agree with your argument that good beer can be found in DC, (Brickskellar and the breweries are great examples--I've enjoyed them over the years) I would still argue that DC's personality is far more of a wine town.

I don't have any access to the volume of beer v. wine sold/consumed in DC per capita compared with Baltimore. Would love to see that kind if data if anyone knows where to get that?

Not that the data necessarily reflects the personality--just another factor to consider. --Kelby

Oh, trust me, Carla, Rob already knows full well about the Brickskeller (properly spelled), and the fact that out of a professed 1000+ beers, about 200-300 will be out of inventory at any given moment. Baltimore has Max's Taphouse, with LOTS more draft (i.e.fresh beer) lines and an almost equivalent number of bottles. The "five local breweries" in DC are all outlets of national brewpub chains, while the Baltimore brewpubs are all independently (or at least locally) owned and operated. And if the "local beer culture" has to be effectively "brought in" from elsewhere (you even said "Belgian"!), is it really "local"?

Try again............

I have to admit, I am not the most adventurous when it comes to the Brickskellar ...
As for the Belgian beers, that was another commenter (I just tacked something onto his comment). I haven't found that the Belgian selections in D.C. are anything I can't enjoy elsewhere. Carla

Okay, hold on, correction, the two Cap City locations in DC are locally operated and owned. My bad.

I'm no Nats-lover, but you might want to check your stats about beers at the two stadiums... in my experience, the Nats stadium has about a zillion more beer choices than Camden Yards.

I'm pretty sure that Belgian Ales are the beer of choice for non-beer drinkers. If I'm buying beer for beer friends, I buy beer (lagers, IPAs, BOH!!!). If I'm buying beer for non-beer drinkers, I buy Belgian stuff, like a Lambic or white ale (is Hoegaarden a Belgian beer?). In any case, Baltimore is such a beer town that we have our own personal cheap beer (though it's not brewed here), like any self respecting beer town should.