Pipetown Traders

I wanted to love this place. I really did. As a craft beer drinker with two growlers at home, I was itching to find a neighborhood spot where I could fill my growler and try new beers. But when I went to see the selection, I had a very disappointing experience. Let me give you a play-​by-​play.
It’s Wednesday evening, and the shop is open (side note: the shop only sells to the public on certain days). On wednesday, they’re open starting at 4 pm. It was around 7 when I stopped by.
I go to open the door.
It’s locked. I can see a man sitting inside at the counter. He’s alone. There are no other customers in the store.
He sees me, but doesn’t get up immediately.
I ring the doorbell to demonstrate, yes, I want to come inside. I’m not here by accident (and I’m also not trying to rob you).
He comes to open the door, saying, «sorry, I didn’t realize it was locked.»
That’s fine, I thought to myself.
Me: «I thought maybe I got the hours wrong» laughs nervously.
He goes back around to the counter to sit down. (Pay attention, Unilocalers. This is really important).
Me: «I’m looking for Stouts.» I love my Stouts, btw. Chocolate. Coffee. I can’t get enough.
Him: «Ok. We have a few Stouts. The (insert some random brewery name here that I can’t remember) is here.»
Me: waiting patiently for him to show me because I see several beers with that name in front of me. It doesn’t happen. «Where are they?»
Him: «to the left.»
Me: quickly tries scanning the shelf, but I don’t see it. I left my glasses in my apartment, y’all, and i didn’t immediately see anything with Stout on the label. I was also looking for darker bottles, like the ones i typically see Stouts bottled in. Continues scanning. Points: «Here?»
Him: «Left.»
Me: Points again. «Here?»
Him. Still sitting, «To the left.»
At this point I’m wondering, why the heck am I in this store playing Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego with beer? Sir, I don’t want to be a game show contestant right now, or a black Vanna White for that matter. I want to buy some new beer, get out of the cold, and go home to watch Netflix in my pajamas. Because that’s my life at the moment.
Me: (turns around and addresses man). «It would really be helpful if you could come and help me find it, not just point at it.»
He finally gets up and comes around the counter.
Me: «That’s ok. Don’t worry about it».
And I walked out, making my mind up in that very moment that I would not return.
I don’t know why this happened. There could be a number of reasons. Maybe he wasn’t feeling particularly helpful that day. Or maybe it’s not his policy to make sure that every customer has a great shopping experience. Or, maybe I didn’t look like a typical craft beer drinker and he doubted that I was going to buy something. I couldn’t tell you his reason (s).
But what I can say is that he lost my business. My recommendation to him, especially when you only have one customer in the store: come from behind the counter and help somebody. It will make a world of difference.

I am a huge sucker for hard cider and this place has not one, but two fridges full of the latest and greatest ciders. Sold! On top of that, it’s next door to Trusty’s on Penn Ave and has friendly staff who know cider and beer. The selves are full of craft beer from around the world.

Pipetown traders is an intriguing craft beer and cider store that seems to be open about three days a week (Thursday-​Saturday). This is important to keep in mind because I seemed to have kept stopping by when they were closed which is a good 80% of the week.
Lately, I seemed to have acquired a thirst for cider. The staff at my favorite cidery (Blue Bee) in Richmond told me this was the only place locally to buy their cider. So I did my research before trucking it down here to find out more about the place, since the two Unilocal reviews do not paint a full picture and their own website is not really detailed (
).
When I finally managed to make it here at a day and time that was mutually convenient, I was actually quite pleased. Albeit it was a small store, Pipetown Traders, had an unrivaled beer and cider selection and had multiple taps for growler fills. The focus was on local beers so expect Three Notch’d Brewing Co. (Charlottesville), Brewers Alley and Laughing Dog on tap for Growler fills.
But it is not just limited to local brews, they have a healthy amount of Belgians, and some strange unheard of (at least for me) beer from the Greek Islands (donkey brew?)and Japan. The grey cubby holes along the walks are fun to explore. They also have a healthy selection of Charm City Mead. I basically tried not to purchase the entire store and just stuck to my blue bee cider (marked up approximately $ 5 more than the price at the cidery).
Whoever stocks the shelves for this place is a bonafide beer geek with great taste. If you in the Capital Hill area (they are next to the Potomac Ave metro), I recommend stopping by.

We’ve been to this place several times and haven’t been disappointed in any of the beers on tap. We tend to bring a grog or growler over to a party instead of a (boring) bottle of wine and it’s always well received. Definitely a hidden gem of Capitol Hill East.

Pipetown is definitely for beer aficionados. The owner Ashton will guide you through the process of selecting a perfect beer, wine, or cider. I took home a grog of an area Belgium Triple. Simply Amazing!