Anytime a new bar opens with more than 3 or 4 taps, my ears perk up. I start getting the urge to go check it out, to pay a visit and welcome the new neighbor on the block. Thus, when a Bar Louie opened this summer in the Verizon Center (downstairs from Lucky Strike) with a 20-tap list, I was immediately lured by the siren song of another taphouse in the area.

Although the bar is a chain (based out of Chicago, with locations all over the country), I had high hopes for the beer list. These hopes were dashed when I saw the taps myself: 20 beers, and not a single one that I had any desire to drink. In addition to the requisite Miller and Bud Light, the list includes such gems as Dos Equis, Blue Moon, Sapporo, Sam Adams Boston Lager, Yeungling, etc. There are some drinkable beers on the list, but nothing that even begins to pique the interest. When I asked about the “local selections” mentioned on the menu, the bartender said that shortly after opening, they had a Dominion beer on tap, but “it didn’t sell well.” I suppose you can’t fault them for playing to their audience, but it’s still disappointing.

Despite seemingly having selected a beer list without any regard for good beer, the rest of the Bar Louie experience is fairly pleasant. Fries ($3) were acceptable, the TVs in the main bar area are plentiful and large, and the place is massive. There is plenty of bar space at both bar areas, and then a slew of tables surrounding them. The cocktail list is extensive (it’s way larger than I expected), and the food menu is appropriately priced. In addition, happy hour is actually quite a good deal here: Monday-Friday from 4 to 7 p.m., martinis are $6 and 14oz draft beer is $3. There is also a post-weekend special: all day Sunday and from 4 p.m. until close on Monday, drafts are $3, and Miller Lite bottles are $3.50. In the D.C. bar scene, a $3 pint of Sierra Nevada Pale is almost unheard of, so in that sense it’s good to know about (the default 20oz pour is $6-7 at non-happy hour prices, though).