Ah, The District. Capitol City. News Capital of the World. James Madison, writing in Federalist No. 43 under the pseudonym Publius, argued that our nation’s capital should be distinct from the separate states in order to provide for its own maintenance and safety. The legislatures of Maryland, New Jersey, New York, and Virginia all offered to cede land for the establishment of a national capital, but President George Washington chose a site along the Potomac River because it yielded ample space for the erection of large monuments. And erections they were. The aluminum tip of the Washington Monument was placed in 1884 prompting generations of twenty-something Hill staffers to gleefully exclaim: “Huzzah! It looks like Florida!” Thirty nine years later, the Association Against the Prohibition Amendment formed in the interest of repealing the Eighteenth Amendment, and, in 1933, the intersection of Washington D.C. erections, twenty-something Hill staffers, and beer was finally codified into law.
ALEHEADS 
I wanted to like Churchkey, but I had to wait in a line to get in – at 6:00pm on a Friday. I’m much too old and crotchety to wait in lines. Also, my husband spilled BOTH of the beers I ordered there.
Not only does Pizzaria/Birreria Paradiso have good food, but the beer list is awesome. Once I heard a bartender there, in response to a request for a Miller Lite, say, “If you’ve seen a commercial for it, we don’t have it.”
Huge fan of Pizzeria Paradiso. Best pizza in town (at least if you don’t have a car) and great beer menu.
Brickskeller is the obvious choice, but it definitely has a few faults. Their staff isn’t particularly knowledgeable. The food sucks. You need to have three back-up beers because they’re unlikely to have your first couple choices. And the ambiance leaves something to be desired. On the flipside, they have the most extensive beer list in the country and usually have draught offerings you can’t find anywhere else. Definitely one of the top places in the US to go to conduct some obscure tasting notes.
I’m also a huge fan of Bourbon on 18th St. Really good food, cool atmosphere, decent beer list…and a spectacular bourbon list as the name implies. Granted it’s not a beer bar, so it doesn’t make the cut, but I still miss it.
Miss Mango Hands…perhaps if your husband didn’t have giant mangoes for hands, he wouldn’t spill his beer so readily. Sorry to hear Churchkey didn’t meet with your approval…I was looking forward to checking it out during our next DC jaunt.