April 25, 2012
The redux of local legend cum miserable failure The Brickskeller, Bier Baron looks almost identical inside. No updating of decor. Same low ceilings fit for dwarfs and hobbits. Incredibly difficult to navigate with an upstairs bar, downstairs bar, downstairs dining room, and downstairs billiards secret room seemingly inside the kitchen. Bottle list was absent, but the large set of fridges boasted some upgrades from Brickskeller. Rogue has been replaced by Stillwater. Secret bottles of BA Rasputin. Taps were still odd. Random German beers coupled with Leinenkugels Summer Shandy, arguable worse than Bud Light Chelada. I was here for a Founders tap takeover full of keys they were given at various points but saved in order to tap all of them at once in one big event. The result was an understaffed nightmare. It took 25 minutes to CLOSE out my tab. Not to mention 10 minutes to even order. One person was waiting 80 people in the Billiards room. Wildly understaffed. Price gouged $12 pours of all special releases. One waiter dumped 8 bottles of beers on the concrete floor exploding glass all over the place. Food looked mediocre. Burger and fries. Atmosphere disorganized and claustrophobic. This place needed a severe gutting and revamp. Neither have taken place.

October 7, 2011
This place is no better than what the Brickskeller used to be. The service is still absolutely horrible. It took 10s of minutes to get an order in and a beer in hand on a dead week day! I was hoping that things would have been improved with the new owner, but I am not impressed. I hear that the upstairs may help when it’s completed, but I will not be waiting. There are plenty of other great beer bars in DC. Skip this one.

May 29, 2011
Yesterday was the first time I had been to this establishment since just before the Brick closed in December. The place was falling apart for years. The beer list was *willfully* neglected, and it was a well known "joke" that a patron would need 3-4 backup choices in case their first, second or third choices were unavailable. Well, I finally returned. And I to my surprise, I was greeted with taps downstairs! Finally! No "smart alec" responses that you’ll have to go upstairs to get a draft beer. Their beer menu is almost entirely honest. The specials were a bit out of date, but the rest of the offerings on first-choice were there. Far better to only list 400 instead of saying "GUINNESS RECORD!!!" and having 500-600 beers "unavailable." I’ve been spoiled by places like Rustico and Churchkey, with very unique offerings, served as most of them presumably should be. I have to say that the changes from the Brick to the Baron have only improved the place. New men’s bathroom! Honest beer list! Food a vast improvement over the previous owner’s food! I can now say that I want to return, and will tell all the people I know to do so.

March 14, 2011
They didn’t really do anything but change the name in my opinion. The service was average but we had a big group of people. They had different beers on the world list than they did on the regular list which i disliked. I only ordered one beer that they didn’t have as opposed to many on trips before though this really did slim down the options of top quality and rare beers. What was on tap was pretty standard, nothing i hadn’t seen anywhere else in DC at both the top bar and bottom. I probably won’t go back again if i am looking for great beer I will go to Churchkey B&B.

February 20, 2011
Went there for happy hour on Thursday and had a great time.... Place is full of history and from what i saw, they really improved the place. Beer selection is smaller (around 500 beers), but they had everything we asked for in stock. Had the sicilian pizza... it was HUGE. Apparently they have 50 taps coming... looking forward to that.

January 23, 2011 [ Updated May 8, 2011 ]
To wipe the slate clean, and to give new owner Megan Merrifield the benefit of the doubt, I figured I’d enter the Bier Baron as a new place, rather than edit the entry for the Brickskeller. DC beer fans definitely had a love/hate relationship with the old place. The top floor is being renovated, so no taps are available for now, although 50 are planned (the Brick definitely needed new lines!). Downstairs looks pretty much the same, and bathrooms are not much better (didn’t expect much, since the Brick was only closed for about 48 hours before this place opened). The policy of waiting outside the bar for a table is, unfortunately, still in place. Staff was friendly and efficient (on this visit!). Beer menu is organized by style, and American stuff dominates. There are quite a few special bottles visible in the back fridge that are not on the menu, not sure if staff would serve those if asked. Overall, it’s worth keeping an eye on this place as renovations progress, and I’m sure my rating will change accordingly. Update 7 May 2011. They’ve replaced the toilets in the men’s bathroom! Yay! A breakthrough. And added 24 taps downstairs. Selection is still a bit on the bland side.