ChurchKey is my go-to place. Lots of great taps, a constant cycling of great new beers to try, an attentive and knowledgeable wait staff, and good (if expensive) food available.

I defy you to find a more kick-ass, hardcore geeky, sexy beer bar. Just looking at the 5 beer engines and 50 taps gave me a boner. The staff are all incredibly knowledgeable and passionate about rare, tasty brews. Annddd, if you show an above average knowledge of beer, or you’re in the industry, they will most likely hook it up! They are helpful and non-condescending and are more than willing to hook it up with sample after sample. The amount of vintages and hard-to-find one-offs and are astounding. The bar stools are among the most comfortable I’ve come across. I could go here every weekend and never get bored of the selection, as there are so many beers I’ve never had and more than a few I’ve never heard of. The serving temps are always perfect and each beer is served in the proper glassware, every time! The food upstairs in the Churchkey section (informal) is mostly simple classics done right with local and fresh ingredients . The eggplant Parmesan pannini I ordered was flawless. There is an intimate lounge area with deep and low pin-cushion day beds great for pimpin’! There really is nothing negative to say about this place. It’s everything I could have hoped for. Going back next weekend fer sher!!!

Best pub I’ve ever been. Incredible selection, great service. Option for 4 oz pours. Great vibe inside. Would die to have this as my local.

Churchkey is in a low-lit (but not obnoxiously so) room stretching back quite a way. On the left are tables, many with "church key" light fixtures. The details here are well thought out, without a doubt. Service for my visit was Max, who was friendly, knowledgeable and prompt, even putting up with my many eccentricities with much patience. Selection of fifty drafts, not a one seemed phoned in, but thoughtful; there’s authentic cask ale here as well. The binder of over 500 bottled beers is outstanding. Food was all very good; well executed gastropub fare, much of it produced in-house (my fig and prosciutto flatbread was very tasty, and my wife’s fettuccine was easily the best we’d experienced). Everything was priced fairly; the 4 oz. pours really give a nice value to those who want to keep their bill (and alcohol intake) low. I wouldn’t change a thing, thanks Travlr for joining me and my family here for a meal! NOTES: Took the Metro there (stop: Red Line, Farragut North), but still had a sizable walk up to Rhode Island Ave. and onto 14th. In the rain. May I recommend a cab for this spot? My family of three rode back to Woodley Park for less than the price of MetroRail. Still, if I were a single man, I’d probably just hoof it, too.

This place is simply outstanding. After a few days of traipsing around DC looking for somewhere decent to drink, that knows craft brewing isn’t a token tap of Sam Adams, I was put on to this place by chriso. We ventured out to this place about 8pm in a Saturday night, which was a bit of a mistake, because it was rammed. Birch and Barley downstairs, Church Key upstairs. Went upstairs first, and it was standing room only, and even that was a push. A friend wanted to eat, and upstairs, although it does food, wasn’t really the right atmosphere to eat. The atmosphere generally is good, trendy feel, which is a breath of fresh air to the scene, but I can’t emphasize how busy it was. We booked a table downstairs (25 min wait) and took a few beers from the upstairs bar. Excellent selection, 30 kegs and casks, some really excellent rates, obscure stuff, rare finds, everything you could ask for. Bottle selection now runs to over 550. Samplers available of everything on tap for $1-5 roughly. Staff all very knowledgeable. Went downstairs for food, excellent menu, not unreasonable for a trendy DC place. Service top-notch, staff very knowledgeable, beer director came round and had a good long chat, very personalized service. All taps available downstairs too, along with bottles on request. Food is refined, and was fantastic. Best to visit earlier in the evening, but if you’re close to DC, this is an absolute must. Blown away.

This was the last place I hit on a recent trip to DC. I unquestionably saved the best for last. The draft list and bottle list were beyond exceptional, in fact , I think this may be the best beer bar in the US. As a point of reference, I’ve been to Monks, Eulogy, Brouwers, Uber, Brickskellar, Gingerman, Toronado etc. Our bartender, Jason (I think) provided perfect and I mean perfect service. He was always there with water and was always right there when we were ready to order our next beer. I liked how the beer lists were organized by flavor characteristics. Don’t miss this place if you are in DC.

Best spot for beer in DC hands down. Excellent rotating draft and bottle selection with bar tenders who know what they are talking about.

This place is fucking awesome. I came here by myself because no one else wanted to go and I didn’t really give a rats ass since I knew it would be great anyway. The workers know their stuff, the 4oz pour is gold since it allowed me to try 16 different beers. When I was here, they didn’t have some stuff I wanted that I had seen on the menu the few days before, but they did have all 19 (or whatever it is) Mikkeller Single Hop Series beers. All the customers I talked to were as beer geeky as I am, one was a BA member another was the son of one of the Shelton Bros. It was like an impromptu tasting because the other customers and I were frequently splitting beers. Really nice place and atmosphere. I would move to DC for this bar if I could. I don’t give perfect scored to beers, but this place is perfect and I have no problem giving it a 100. Some others were complaining about service, I had exceptional service, I also got there about 30 minutes after they opened so maybe that helped. The guys working there were knowledgeable and when I had a question they didn’t know the answer to, they went and printed out a fact sheet and gave it to me. The bottle list was insane. This is the kind of place you could go to, then go to again 3 days later and 80% of the tap list is different.

Churchkey is a serious beer destination. I was blown away, not since discovering the Porter Bar have I seen a bar with this much attention to beer. The tap selection is very extensive with plenty of rarities and a smart, wide array of styles. Everything is available in a 4 oz snifter or in it’s approprtiate glassware. Prices are in line with every other bar I went to in DC, that is to say, a little high. But that’s how the city is. Churchkey was absolutely packed but I still got great service. They know how to staff the place. I ate a flatbread with figs, prosciutto, port and I believe manchego. Fantastic dinner. I enjoyed everything about my visits here. This is a must stop in DC. Absolutely mandatory.

*Update: This bar is everything it can be. Food is mostly cheese and exciting meats and the beer list is endless. Went to the grand opening of this bar and had a really good time. The place was packed which affected the ambiance and service rating, but the beer list and tap selection was one of the best in DC. Also, the prices were amazing (for DC) for the quality beers that they were offering. The kegs reside in a loft on the top level and are temperature controlled for each tap, making the beer taste as it should. They also have a beer organ, where the pipes contain the lines also coming from the ’control room’. I will definitely be going back again and offering a rating with food and a better description of the bar.