United Nations of Beer

Galaxy Hut, DC

by Travis Edwards
(Beer Delegate, DC, USA)

Galaxy Hut, DC

The DC area doesn't mess around when it comes to rain. Some parts of the world wing it and just drizzle a little bit, which simply results in an annoying hour or so.

When it rains here, there's no stepping around the issue. I've thought about carrying soap and shampoo with me because there's better water flow then the lousy low-pressure showerhead my landlord just put in.

So when the skies opened up several evenings ago, I found myself stuck outside with smatterings of other people in the yuppie neighborhood of Clarendon.

The guys in moderately-priced suits with their girlfriends in business skirts jumped into their BMWs and Jeeps to escape the downpour and the high school kids ran back to their homes to play video games or whatever kids are doing nowadays.

For lack of a better destination, I followed a group of people who looked like they woke up at noon that day with a mission: to arrive at a place called The Galaxy Hut in DC, regardless of the obstacles in their path to the bar.

With the rain increasing, the cut-out letters spelling out Galaxy Hut which hang from string in the window actually looked inviting. Inside, there was no water leaking in from the ceiling, which was immediately a positive sign. The front and only room is about as large as one of those cars which, by a miracle of science and perseverance, thirty-one clowns can climb out of unscathed.

There was local artwork on the walls. There were local bands slated to play soon. There were vintage video games. There were local people drinking local beers. And somehow, beneath the dim lighting of The Galaxy Hut DC, people seemed to be enjoying themselves.

The bartender was nice. He smiled. The cook smiled. The drunk guy coming out of the bathroom smiled. And for a second, I think the long line of beers on tap smiled a little. Somebody in the front laughed. I got a pint of something that came from a couple miles away in Maryland. It was good. There was not a single ounce of pretentiousness to be found. The throngs of people that came in for relief from the rain were dry now.

Looking around, I noticed a napkin on the floor. And behind the cute girl near the door, I saw that there was a picture frame slightly catawampus. The handle to the surprisingly clean bathroom jiggled a little bit. And people started to track in a little bit of water from the rain. They could have mopped that up, I guess, but it was sort of busy and it wasn't really a safety hazard or anything like that.

The next microbrew that I got could have had a clearer label on the tap. But I wasn't wearing my glasses, so it was really my fault. It was good too. On the other side of the window separating The Galaxy Hut DC from the rest of the world, the rain continued to pour down, forcing more people inside and away from its wet clutches.

To some place warm. To some place with a cute girl next to the front door. And some place with good beer. Some place called The Galaxy Hut in DC.