April 14, 2012
Few very ggod beers

January 9, 2012
The entire visit was courtesy of Brad, thank you sir! Huge interior, "serving vessels" were visible everywhere, although I’m not sure if they brew here also. Service was slow, and there were only 3 customers and 5 visible staff. Beers were pretty uninspiring. Food was generic pub fare. Good student hangout I guess.

August 25, 2011
Rock Bottom...it’s actually a pretty fun place if you know when to go. Later on Wednesday nights is trivia night and it’s a blast. Drafts are all generous English pint pours of their in house beer which is a blend of corporate recipes and in house recipes. Drafts are $3 a piece, which is insane value. Unfortunately, their isn’t too much variety. They keep 4-5 static drafts of their witbier (meh), kolsch (meh), IPA (decent), red ale (not bad). And they have a rotating dark beer, which you need to ask about or look on the chalkboard next to the bar to see exactly what they have. I’ve had a porter there and a Scottish export. Some of the beers are on cask and tend to be pretty good- better than their keg counterparts. Food is really not a strong suit- more like Applebee’s type food. Semi gourmet but mostly pre-made corporate dishes like you’d find at Olive Garden or Outback. So...its definitely worth coming in for trivia night and just playing around, but I don’t know if I’d recommend someone go here for a nice meal expecting some great house beers. It is certainly no Brewer’s Art.

July 17, 2011
Easy four block walk from Bethesda METRO stop. Comfortable patios on city street corner. 12-place two-tone natural wood bar (no rail). Large open room with dark wood floor, dark wood tall tables and stools that support meetin a d talking to people. DJ-less music at conversation-friendly levels. Lighting bright enoun to read the menus. Silent flatscreen TVs on first and swcond floor, with one projection TV abovenopen kitchen. Thre pooltables on second level with view into brewhouse and dining areas. 24-foot ceiling of brown beams and ducting. Two cask handles. 20-something crowd 50/50 men/women. Full liquor license. 8 unlabeled veneric tap handles behind bar. Wheelchair lift available at front entrance and for second floor restrooms. A bery comfortanle spot with above average food and drinks.

June 10, 2011
Typical chain restaurant decor, though this seems a little older than the other location I’ve been to. I didn’t eat. I ordered a sampler which was dirt cheap ($3.50) though I was probably there during happy hour. The beers were of OK quality, some pretty good. The staff ranged from mediocre to downright unprofessional. Looks like parking could be tricky.

April 3, 2011
Overall, another Rock Bottom. They had 6 beers available with two also available on cask. I did not eat, but it is the standard RB menu with this one adding a Brunch menu on the weekend. The beers were solid but not special. My server was timely and knowledgeable without being invasive.

February 12, 2011
This place is a joke. The beers are terrible except for the two you can get on cask. The service was timely, but anyone could work there, there is no beer or brewing knowledge. The only thing that saves it is the food is pretty good.

October 24, 2010
Big surprise ... this place is exactly like other Rock Bottoms. Standard American brewpub fare in the middle of Bethesda. Couple beers on the hand-pump, standard few styles on tap, regular pub menu. Decent enough. (Brewery #520)

February 19, 2010
So, now that my nomadic parents have relocated to Bethesda, this was a pretty easy spot to hit when I was in town last Thanksgiving. I had some good beers from Rock Bottom Chicago at GABF, so I though maybe this place would be decent. It ended up being pretty...well...meh. Only 4 of their beers on tap (pretty sure they had BMC too, which is blasphemy for a "brewpub"). I believe the beers were a light lager, amber ale, pale ale, and stout. Great, guys, way to fit the exact stereotypical beer lineup for a mediocre brewpub. I had the sampler. The beers were all right around average in quality. Food was pretty solid, mostly typical pub food. The scene was all right. Definitely a younger crowd, which I enjoy since I don’t consider myself a geezer quite yet. Prices are about what I expected. This is not a bad place overall. It’s just not really much of a beer destination.

November 25, 2009
It’s an average rock bottom with good happy hour specials. food is average. 4 or 5 of the rock bottom drafts on at any time plus 1 or 2 cask conditioned versions of the other 4 or 5. Service was good.