Twenty five draft lines is a lot. Yard House in Chinatown has the most in the city for a bar or restaurant (we’re not counting breweries or stadiums/arenas here), with over 100, then Tap99 across from Nats Park. Churchkey has over 50, and both City Tap House locations have 30ish taps, as do The Sovereign and Shelter at the Roost. Brewery-turned-taproom City-State has 34 taps, with 28 of them pouring beer. Franklin Hall and Midlands have 28 and 27, respectively. And then there’s the one of the newest bars and restaurants in the city on 3216 12th Street NE in Brookland. The space that once housed Brookland’s Finest, no stranger to craft beer itself, opens with 25 draft lines. That’s the most taps a bar or restaurant has opened with in DC this year. Or last year. Or the year before. Please welcome The Harp, Cask & Kiln, which opens today at 3pm.
Befitting an Irish bar — Ruairi Deburca, a native of Cork, Ireland, oversees operations — there’s Guinness, Magners cider, and Smithwicks, but also Dovetail’s Vienna Lager, Karmeliet Tripel, a hoppy pilsner from Hop Butcher for the World, and a rum barrel aged stout from Dewey Beer Co. It’s nice to have 25 draft lines. We chatted with partner and beverage director Jacob Schoonover about The Harp’s approach to beer. Schoonover frequents The Brew Shop in Arlington, and we saw him at Snallygaster, sampling the wares and talking to brewers and their representatives.
“The food plays a big role in shaping what we pour,” he tells us. “We think of the kitchen and the bar as partners, each elevating the other. Our menu features hearty, flavorful dishes like the Wild Ox Pie [slow cooked beef and vegetables in puff pastry] — rich and comforting, perfect with a pint — alongside more refined options like Monkfish [pan-fried, with mushrooms in a leek cream sauce], which pairs beautifully with crisp, aromatic styles.”
“At home, we both keep things simple,” says Schoonover. “Between us, there’s usually a mix of lagers, a pale ale or two, and something offbeat for when we want to explore. We tend to favor balance and drinkability — beers that invite another round rather than overwhelm you.” The offbeat for the opening list includes a smoothie sour from Deciduous and an American take on Berliner Weisse-style beer from Proclamation.
One interesting thing that jumps out in the pricing. Their house lager runs $6 a pint, cheaper than Miller Lite and Modelo, which occupy two taps. We’re going to assume that lager comes from a local brewery; DC Brau, Manor Hill, and Union make house beers for area bars and restaurants. We’ll have a better idea of where that beer comes from this afternoon, though at $6 the price points to Brau’s Old Time. Slightly elevated “‘non-thinking beer’ — something crisp, easygoing, and perfect for unwinding without overanalyzing,” in Schoonover’s words, include a blonde ale from Ireland’s Brehon, which has been in the DC market for the last year or so, as well as Franzikaner Hefeweizen, a West Coast IPA from Richmond’s Vasen, and Stillwater Extra Dry Saison.
Schoonover and Deburca aren’t trying to build a beer bar, they just like beer. “When it comes to building out our draft menu, our approach is all about balance, intention, and community. As an Irish pub in a neighborhood setting, we see ourselves as more than just a place to grab a pint — we want to be a gathering spot for everyone. The goal is to create an environment that’s welcoming and approachable, where you can just as easily have a quiet pint as you can discover something new with friends,” they tell us. We’ll drink to that.
The Harp, Cask & Kiln, 3126 12th Street NE 20017
