Time: Saturday 3:30pm
Clientele: DC drinkers
Cost:  beer –  $6.36 and up

On this day we were checking out some of the places on H Street (The Atlas District). We decided to meet up at Biergarten Haus. I’d been out doing some shopping and felt like I would be late, nothing unusual if you know me, so I decided to hop a cab. On this gorgeous day i was looking forward to having a few liters of good beer, perhaps some pretzels and brats and reminiscing about the time I spent in Bavaria hunting down those war criminals, the Von Trapps. H Street was under construction so the road was all effed up. Those of you familiar with the District know that this could be the case for years to come. I’ve literally seen some streets in DC under construction for years. This wouldn’t be noteworthy except for the fact that it is usually the same blocks on the same street.

Anyway, my guest and I hopped out of the cab and much to my surprise were the first to arrive. We stepped in and went straight to the back. What’s the the point of being here if one sits inside? As we stepped through i noticed a deer head hanging over the bar. I like this place. We stepped out onto a cobble stoned backyard and sat at a table near the fountain. Although the place wasn’t at capacity there were a good number of people already eating and drinking. There were several projectors showing the British Open, Yawn! We ordered a couple half liters of beer and chatted while waiting for the rest of our party to arrive. Mere minutes later Gin Kitten arrived and ordered her own half liter. I ordered the Hofbrau and I have to say that it was tasty. In fact the general consensus in our group was that all the beers

were excellent. We ordered a second round but this time I went for a Spaten Optimator Dopplebock. What is there to say about this beer? It was like the skies opened up and a single ray of sunshine was illuminating me. This thing was delicious! I know I’ve said that other beers are delicious before but this was above and beyond. I fought back the urge to cry for joy. At this point Cupcakes and another friend arrived.

Cupcakes had been chatting with an old college friend and informed us that there was a nice breeze blowing through the open door at the back of the patio so we decided to move the party so that we could take advantage of that. While waiting for another round to arrive (No, I do *not* have a drinking problem, ahem), I went to the doorway by the alley to have a smoke. There I struck up a conversation with a gentleman who for the sake of this article we’ll call Drunky. Now, Drunky lives in the neighborhood and had the grizzled look of a man who has spent his whole life wrestling alligators into submission with his bare hands. He started telling me that the neighborhood has become even more dangerous since they opened up these bars. I didn’t think that this was possible. It’s like saying that the momma badger whose pups you are juggling while poking her with a stick managed to become even angrier after a good taunting. Drunky said that he has been robbed at gunpoint twice and had his house broken into twice. I couldn’t believe any robber could rob this man and live to tell the tale. This was the meanest looking s.o.b that I’ve encountered in a long while. Regardless, it is kinda funny to know that some parts of the city that I grew up with are still alive and kicking.
I went back to my table and killed another beer. My friend ordered some pretzels and offered me a bite. I’m not sure if it was the alcohol or the fact that I hadn’t eaten since breakfast – either way they were right on time. At this point we were here for much longer than we planned to be, so we decided that it was time to hit up another spot.
After a few hours of drinking here I have a few quick thoughts. I love this place. Real German beer, cheesy German music, some authentic German food and outdoor seating. We arrived at 3 and initially we thought that was a little early. The waitstaff was awesome. They even accommodated us when we asked to switch tables (didn’t even ask us to close out and start a new tab). Although there were a good number of people there it wasn’t packed. By the time we left at 4:30 or so the place was noticeably more crowded  and there seemed to be a continuous stream of people trickling in. A friend went there later in the night and he said it was as loud and crowded as an AC/DC concert. The only thing missing was some Hoff.