Not into Beer?
Think you know beer? Really. Drinking it for umpteen years is no measure of one’s knowledge. Unless you can name, oh, 25 labels, you’re not even in the running. According to Matt Simmons, there’s much more to know about brews than their logos, their flavors or even their countries of origin.
Simmons and his partner Chris Holder know their beers, all 300-plus labels served at their Capital Ale Houses downtown and at Innsbrook. In fact, they’ve turned their love of hops into a burgeoning business, with a third location opening in Midlothian early next year. But they didn’t get here by peddling old standbys to time-worn tastes.
Simmons, Holder and their silent partners met while working at Legend Brewing Co. several years ago. “We were big beer enthusiasts,” Simmons says, noting that Legend served specialty brews but only a handful of them. “We wanted to create a place where we could have beers from all over the world.”
But providing buckets of beers was only the beginning for the owners, who just celebrated the fifth anniversary of the downtown location. Visiting beer bars around the country in the due diligence phase, they found “lots of beer bars with lots of beers,” but they had yet to come up with their ideal business model. “We knew what we didn’t want,” says Simmons. “We didn’t want a place where the waitstaff wore T-shirts, if there were any uniform at all, and we didn’t want a place that always has nachos on the menu.”
Before you object, know that Capital Ale House isn’t your daddy’s beer bar. In fact, unless you’ve visited some of the better brew houses of Europe, Capital Ale and its clientele are several steps up from the backslapping, stool-hogging, peanuts-on-the-floor beer refineries you’re used to. It’s urbane, even sophisticated. Ask any of the downtown denizens who begin staking out bar space as early as 3 o’clock on Fridays.
Fulfilling the claim that Capital Ale is so much more, there is a music hall downtown (for bands on tour, as well as regular Blues and Brews on Friday nights, to the accompaniment of the River City Blues Society); a beer garden (inspired by a particular venue in Munich); and a game room, where the cue sticks are appropriately chalked and the darts aren’t sharp enough to injure.
Just as persuasive is the menu. “Our guiding principle is how well the food pairs with particular beers,” explains Simmons. German beers, for instance, are enlivened by a wurst platter of brats, knockwurst, German potato salad, sauerkraut and sweet and sour red cabbage. Want your salad Greek? Simmons recommends a light German, Czech or American pilsner. Have a taste for a heavy ale? Balance it with bleu cheese and bread. Feel like a steak? You’ll want a dark ale as well. The menu is a collaborative effort between the executive chefs, the owners, staff and customers. “Everybody gives us ideas,” he says. “We’ll try them out as specials, and sometimes they end up on the menu.”
If you’re stuck on your personal favorite, don’t give up. Place yourself in the right hands, Simmons says, and there’s hope. “There’s a beer out there for everybody. A lot of people say they don’t drink beer when they come in. It’s interesting to see their reactions change.”
Employees are meticulously trained to hand-hold, cajole and guide in the right direction. All attend beer classes in the upstairs training center at the downtown Ale House. (And, no, you cannot enroll unless you work there.) “First is Beer 101,” explains Simmons. “They there’s a German beer class, an English ale class, American mircrobrews. . . Sometimes we line up the classes with seasonal beers, like Irish beer around St. Patrick’s Day or German beer around Oktoberfest, or Belgian beers around the [Thanksgiving/Christmas] holidays.”
Armed with international beer knowledge, servers gently guide. “The way to pull [new enthusiasts] over is not to pressure them,” says Simmons. “Just let them taste it. Eventually, their appreciation opens up a little more.”
If you’re not intrigued at first, just drink more. “We have an expression,” says Simmons. “You don’t go from Budweiser to Belgian ale in one step.”
Let Capital Ale House show you the way.

Capital ale house
623 E. Main St.
Richmond, VA
780-ALES
(2537)