Hill Country

Last night I went to Hill Country Barbecue & Market in Penn Quarter, DC, as a going away gathering for a friend and co-worker.  We were downstairs in the bar.  At some point they started bringing us large trays of sausage, pork and beef that were all pretty tasty.  That said, I didn't really have a meal, so I will move on.

The beer list is relatively long - about 20 - but fairly unimaginative.  It sticks mostly to macro-brews (Miller, Bud, etc.) and Texas/Mexico brews that kind of fit the theme (Lone Star, Dos Equis, Negra Modelo, Shiner Bock).  I started with a Shiner Blonde draft (they also had regular and Shiner Hefeweizen).  It was about as expected - pretty light and watery.  It did, though, come served in a Mason jar, which was at least interesting.  It seemed like all of their drafts (Shiners only) came that way.

After that, I had a Starr Hill Northern Lights.  I drank from the bottle, so I have no comments about color, etc.  It was a solid beer that I would drink again, but probably not go out of my way for.  As an IPA, I just didn't find it all that flavorful - a little light on the hops.

I debated a Dogfish Head 60 Minute, but decided to be a little more boring and just finished with a Dos Equis Amber.  It was again served in the bottle and was exactly what a Dos Equis Amber always is - malty smell and slightly malty taste, very smooth drinking beer.  Nothing to spend time on, but almost always just fine.

A quick plug for Hill Country.  As I was leaving they were starting something that I had never seen before - live band karaoke.  You some on stage and sing and the band plays behind you - keyboards, drums, guitars - the whole works.  It was pretty cool.  I only heard country songs and do not know if they do anything else.  Pretty big crowd in the place, too, for a Wednesday night.