Where Spotted: Red Palace, 1210 H St. NE
Price: $6/12 oz.
Brown Is the New Black: Irish ale is one of the forgotten beers here in America, where the style’s prevalent ambassador is the pallid Smithwick’s. But properly crafted, it’s a gentle cascade of caramel, a warming celebration of toasted barley with scarcely a hop in sight. Great Lakes’ version is particularly rich at 6.5 percent alcohol by volume, a sort of big brother to its Eliot Ness amber lager. In this case, brother knows best.
BrewTube: Red Palace, the fresh result of combining The Red & The Black and Palace of Wonders, sports an ideal beer list for a neighborhood hangout, with a dozen or so good, standby craft beers and the occasional seasonal to shake things up. The last time I was there, on a quiet Tuesday, the programming fit the mood: a doubleheader of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade and Conan the Barbarian, comfort viewing for a comfort beer.