What makes a beer garden? Is it the beer that ends in “radler” and “weizen”? The garden? The seemingly ubiquitous picnic table-style layout? These are some of the components, but it takes a certain charm to pull them off in a city that’s becoming laden with offerings, where spouts of craft beer just aren’t enough to popularize a new joint. These places have a special ooomph that distinguish them. Cheers for the beers!

Biergarten Haus. (Photo via Facebook)

BIERGARTEN HAUS: If there’s a großvater of D.C.’s beer gardens, then it has to be Biergarten Haus, which brought the beer garden concept to H Street back in 2010; prior to that, polka enthusiasts had to caravan out Glover Park’s Old Europe or the now-defunct Blob’s Park in Jessup, Md. to get their Oktoberfest fix. The vibe is distinctly Bavarian, with a shaded open-air patio out back populated with sturdy tables and seats well-suited to knocking back a litre or three of hefeweizen while dancing to polka or watching fußball. Beer mixers include the Russ’n, Cola Wizen, and Radler, draft beer blended with soda for a refreshing and classic beverage usually reserved for German kiddos. Wursts of every description can be found on the menu, but an eggplant schnitzel served with lemon-caper sauce means that even vegetarians can feel welcome.—Kristen Hartke

Biergarten Haus is located at 1355 H Street NE.

Raven Beer Garden at D.C. Pavilion. (Photo by Rachel Kurzius)

RAVEN BEER GARDEN AT D.C. PAVILION: This new spot recently opened right by Union Market, offering a slew of craft brews from Baltimore’s Raven Beer as well as other options from local folks, all in 16 ounce cups. In addition to serving up drinks, the pavilion hosts pop-up food vendors. And the huge space also has a stage for events like the recent Woofstock. Run by the folks behind HR 57, the space will be the home of jazz jam sessions and other cultural happenings.—Rachel Kurzius

Raven Beer Garden is located at 1399 5th Street NE.

Garden District. (Photo via Twitter)

GARDEN DISTRICT: No paradox of choice at Garden District, where the American and German beer options are high-end but not overwhelming. It’s often hard to find a seat at this beer garden on the 14th Street Corridor, but when I’m here, I don’t mind standing—it’s a great spot to chat with other friendly folks. (Though in the heat of day, sometimes you might find yourself angling for a spot under an umbrella.) The Southern-style food here hits the spot regardless of how many beers you’ve chugged. And sometimes they offer on-the-spot donuts. While it’s sad that Garden District shutters for the winter, if you score an invite to the final party you have to do your part to help drain all of the kegs to close out the season. Another brew? It’s your duty.—Rachel Kurzius

Garden District is located at 1801 14th St NW.

Dacha Beer Garden. (Photo by Ted Eytan)

DACHA: Despite a fierce back-and-forth with the neighborhood ANC, Dacha has kept coming back for more revelry under Liz Taylor’s giant visage. The Shaw spot reopened this summer with even more beer, a new menu and chef, and wine. Quiet and roomy Dacha is not (that fight was over capacity and noise). But it’s a great group spot—one where you can bring a dog and wash down warm, soft pretzels with giant boots of beer under an open sky… everything a good beer garden should be. —Rachel Sadon

Dacha is located at 1600 7th Street NW

THE BRIG: Just opened on the other side of the SE/SW freeway on Capitol Hill, The Brig is about as unpretentious a beer garden as you can find inside the city limits. With 40 taps, there’s a lot of beer on draft, the top seller being the grapefruit soda-laced Stiegl-Radler, perfect for lazily sipping beneath the umbrellas on hot summer afternoons. You won’t find a singles scene or a polka band, but plenty of classic rock piped over the sound system or even the occasional itinerant guitarist strumming Johnny Cash tunes as you while away the hours before stumbling across the street for pupusas and air conditioning at Las Placitas.—Kristen Hartke

The Brig is located at 1007 8th Street SE.

Sauf Haus. (Photo via Facebook)

SAUF HAUS BIER HALL: It can get crowded, but it’s hard to top the location and festive atmosphere of this Dupont Circle bar, which includes multiple floors and a rooftop beer garden. Settle in with a liter of one of many available German draft beers, including multiple styles from Hofbrau, Spaten, and Franziskaner. Should hunger strike, consider gathering some friends to help tackle the monster, two-pound pretzel. —Travis Mitchell, adapted from a previous list.

Sauf Haus is located at 1216 18th Street NW.

Neal Place Tap + Garden. (Photo by Travis Mitchell)

NEAL PLACE TAP + GARDEN: This new-ish Northeast venture has a large selection of beer priced between $5 and $7, along with cocktails for $9 and $3 Buffalo & Bergen sodas—which are available on tap and well-suited for cocktails. A couple of food trucks are on hand, and Fridays feature $1 “buck a shuck” oysters. With plenty of shaded picnic tables, it’s easy to find a spot where you can sit and kick back with a beer and a nosh, even in the summer heat. The former parking lot has been outfitted with a bocce area and a couple of corn hole set-ups, and DJs and live music also add to the fun summer-in-the-city vibe.—Travis Mitchell, adapted from a previous article.

Neal Place Tap + Garden is located at 1300 4th Street NE.

Wunder Garten’s new site. (Photo by Elizabeth Traynor)

WUNDER GARTEN: Soon-to-be situated only a block away from their old location, Wunder Garten will provide 12 rotating beers on draft including both regional and German selections as well as cider and wine. Each beer is 16 oz.—can we get an “Amen?!” Owners Biva Ranjeet and Christopher Lynch understand that patrons want an experience while drinking. A permanent beer tent is slated to open before the end of summer, or as soon as they can get the necessary permits to open up. Although the revised beer list hasn’t been released, a previous must try is the Stiegl-Radler Grapefruit. Crisp and lightly effervescent, the combination of grapefruit juice and Stiegl-Goldbräu is refreshing and not overly tart which in these ‘dog days’ of summer may make the humidity a bit more bearable.—Jai Williams

Wunder Garten is located at 1st and L Streets NE.

Cafe Berlin. (Photo via Facebook)

CAFE BERLIN: Technically, Cafe Berlin, just a couple of blocks from Union Station, is just a pretty nice restaurant frequented by German expats. But it also has a beautiful front patio that serves as its version of a biergarten—they’ve even been known to set up a big screen TV beneath the umbrellas when Germany’s got a big soccer game going on. Now in its third decade, Cafe Berlin has a rotating selection of German beer, along with some nice German and Austrian wines (the Schafer Frolich Blanc de Noir Dry Rosé is a nice choice for summer) and a selection of German-inspired cocktails. Be sure to nosh on the Obatzter Und Bretzel, a platter of fresh hot pretzels with a luscious beer-cheese spread made with camembert, butter, and caraway, served on a charming Deutschland-shaped breadboard.—Kristen Hartke

Cafe Berlin is located at 322 Massachusetts Ave. NE.

BARDO: If you’re looking for a classy roof deck overlooking the city, complete with hand-crafted cocktails, this isn’t the spot for you. Bardo is no frills and a little bit eclectic. Trust me, you won’t find a martini anywhere near by. Bardo boasts one of the biggest outdoor spaces you’ll find in this part of the city, complete with long picnic tables and setups for playing bags (or cornhole, depending on what part of the country you’re from). Plus, its indoors recently underwent a renovation. Bardo is also dog friendly, so don’t be surprised to see more than a couple roaming around.—Juana Summers, adapted from a previous list.

Bardo is located at 1200 Bladensburg Road NE.