Schneider’s Of Capitol Hill

I went in for some pre-​snow supplies and was really pleased by the great customer service from warm folks! The selection of beer was pretty good. They also recommended a couple of bottles of wine.
Also, a special «thank you» to the staff for helping me find the person that was blocking my car in!
Random note: the parking out front is for two rows of cars, not one. When I arrived, there were only three cars, with the fourth slot open for my car. Since it was kind of dark, I didn’t realize that there were two rows. If you don’t mind waiting a bit to leave, park on the inside!

Schneider’s consistently exceeds my expectations. I travel here special at least four times a year for the customer service, variety, and general overall knowledge on all of the spirits. A special shout out goes to Richard who makes spot on recommendations. I often look to buy more expensive bottles but change my mind when he makes cheaper, better recommendations on liquors. Without hesitation, I rate this as the best liquor store I’ve ever been to period.

Stuart is great! We told him what we were headed to Charlies, he got it.
We told him what we liked it, in 5 minutes, he directed us to appropriate wines to bring in without being considered awful patrons. Love this place!

I was on a quick layover in DC and I sought out this place purely to bring some Virginia craft beer back to AZ. They have a pretty small selection, but what they do have is pretty good. I almost had heart failure when they told me that my two six packs were more than $ 26. Super pricey, but that’s what I get for trying to buy stuff I can’t get where I live. They were really helpful in finding us small boxes to place our haul in for transport.

What sets one beer, wine, and spirits shop away from the others? Inventory is the obvious answer. However a giant inventory could be useless if they don’t carry what you’re looking for. But then we get to Schneider’s. A place that has quite the inventory, with several things not commonly found, and you can check and browse their inventory ONLINE. That one perk brings me back here over virtually every other store in the district. Not only can you see if they carry what you’re looking for, but the price, different sizes, and how many of them they currently have in stock. I’ll put it to you this way, I went last Sunday morning to get two things I was looking for, got home, thought about, and went back the same Sunday before closing to get two more. They even have a tiny parking lot, which may not mean much in some cities but in DC that’s everything. The staff is exceptionally friendly and very good and updating inventory and helping you find uncommon products. The pricing is pretty good. Of course you might find one or two things cheaper elsewhere, but then again they don’t carry everything Schneiders does so if you’re trying to make one stop, just come here.

Wish I was saying something new… but clearly they operate with a similar standard for customer satisfaction. Great selection, great advice, and great attitudes. The employees here will spend as little or as much time as you want helping you find the right wine/​beer/​liquor for your needs. Also love that it’s not pretentious at all — sometimes I go in saying I wanna spend under 10 and others I’m willing to splurge. I get the same red carpet service every single time.

Schneider’s has the same selection as Connecticut Ave Wine and Liquor, has a normal distributor then has a gray market distributor that will bring beers like Alesmith, Lost Abbey, etc into the store for a mega markup. The store itself is very cramped, overwhelming. Selection is 80% wine, 10% liquor, and 10% beer. Staff have never been friendly or helpful. They have an email list you can sign up for to hear about new beer stock, but I’ve never once gotten an email from them. Thankfully, you can now follow them on twitter @Schneidersbeer. This is the only way to know what they have new in store beer wise. Still, it is going to be essentially the same as Connecticut Ave Wine and Liquor, which is in a much better location.

I stopped in here to grab some wine on my way to a potluck dinner. I wasn’t sure what to get, so I asked one of the staff members, who was very friendly and patiently walked me through their impressive selection. As we walked around, I noticed the rest of the employees engaged with other customers, all sharing a helpful and familiar attitude that made it a great wine-​selecting experience. I’d come back next time I’m in Capitol Hill!

We went to Schneider’s to stock the bar at our wedding. Could not have asked for a better experience. Jon, one of the co-​owners, spent a couple hours with us presenting and tasting different wines and liquors. He is incredibly generous and knowledgable, especially about wine and high-​end spirits. He gave us great prices, which helped us a lot because we were considering buying some of it in Delaware or at Costco. Besides the service, the selection is fantastic. It’s a tiny place but they have a big warehouse elsewhere in DC. So if you want it, they can get it. If you are buying alcohol for any big event, this is definitely the best place to go in DC.

Picked up a mystery case of beer they’d assembled and were selling for about $ 25. Think it was almost $ 28 with tax. Been going to Schneiders for some time and bought all the beer, wine, and liquor for my wedding there; about $ 4k worth.
I assumed a mystery case would be a mix of everything they sell: some standard imports, domestic crafts, a couple interesting ones maybe. Well, what I found when I got home was this: 3x miller lites, 3x Yuengling Lagers, 3x Shocktops (hard not to editorialize about how bad that stuff is), a couple Heineken lights, an Amstel light, a Sam Adams winter ale, some other variety of Sam, a corona, a spaten, 3 magic hat # 9’s, and 3 cans of DC brau public. Maybe one or two more of a couple to get to 24 but that’s the rundown. I’m not sure $ 25 is much off retail for that selection and for being a mix of old/​unwanted I’d expected better beer. Roughly half sell for less than $ 1/​ea in a six pack and to my knowledge none of the rest are much more than $ 1.50. The case I got would have been fair for $ 18-​$ 20 in my mind. I mean, ML and Shocktop, and Yuengling, and Winter Ale (in late May) in a mystery pack? The mystery of a mystery pack should be what variety of beer you paid for you’ll be getting. Not whether you’ll get the quality of beer you paid for. I mean, miler lite and shock top in a mix pack from a high end liquor store for more than $ 1/​ea for product you can’t move? A few cheapos would be ok I guess but the rest of the beers didn’t raise the average far enough in my mind. And GD Shocktop? Hate that stuff. Hopefully the bush out front feels differently.
I’ll continue to be a customer and generally appreciate their customer service but I won’t be rolling the dice on a mystery pack again. And I hope whoever assembled and priced this one doesn’t make employee of the month.

4.5 Stars
Schneider’s is, without a doubt, Capitol Hill’s (and one of DC’s) finest liquor store. It reminds me of a great indy bookstore: a floor-​to-​ceiling selection with knowledgeable staff who are eager to help.
Wine really is the focus here (they carry a vast selection of French labels) but they have not overlooked beer or booze. The liquor selection includes local favorite Green Hat Gin, along with a number of large format beers such as Allagash Hugh Malone, and a number of Belgians including St. Bernardus Abt. My only complaint: because space is limited and they try to carry so much, it can feel cramped.
Bonus: they have a small parking lot out front. And, they give my kid a lollipop which increases my browsing time.

This place is absolutely the best place to get wine in DC. The staff is insanely knowledgable about what they are selling and will give you suggestions based on your price range and what flavors you like. I always walk out with something new that I end up really enjoying. If you’re ever on the hill you totally need to stop in!

I have been scouring DC (and surrounding areas) looking for sour beers. I finally did a search on Unilocal and Schneider’s came up as one of the best places in town for wine/​craft beer. I sent an email listing the brands/​names of beers I was looking for. I received a response fairly quickly that listed which beers they had available and which were backordered/​not yet for sale.
I stopped by later that day and met the guy who emailed me back, Stewart. He was super friendly and knowledgable about sour beers. I was also happy because I found a particular bottle of wine that I had been looking for. All in all, a great experience and I’ll definitely be back!

I love that I can browse their inventory online. I’ve found that their prices are better than most places in DC, with a few exceptions on a bottle or two here and there. Tiny parking lot, but plenty of residential street parking in the area. Staff are friendly and willing to talk shop. Fantastic selection crammed into a tiny space that puts clumsy me at risk of tripping over bottles overstocked onto the floor. The super rare stuff goes lickety split since this store is popular with the anyone who works or lives in the neighborhood.

Gotta love independent liquor stores — excellent service, competitive prices, and staff that actually wants to be there.
Schneider’s Of Capitol Hill is a reminder that liquor stores should be independently owned and NOT run by the state. The staff that knows their liquors and wines inside and out. Very customer friendly, they’re willing to work with you and provide recommendations (without trying to up-​sell you to that more expensive bottle). I’ve always had a pleasant experience.
An excellent purveyor of adult beverages, and only a five minute walk from Union Station.

This is my favorite liquor store of all time. I’ve never gotten a bad/​dumb/​shoulder-​shrug response from any employee over the course of 5.5 years. Everyone is totally knowledgeable and excited to show you new selections.
If you are getting a bottle of wine/​booze as a gift, describe the occasion and give them a price range, and they will easily blow your mind with an incredible selection that will make you look like a connoisseur ahead of the curve.
If I was a richer man, I would come here once a week for recommendations and just build my bar with only the best.

Love this place… Wish it was bigger
Always helpful and friendly staff…
I come here and stock up for supplies and gifts and if you don’t know something just ask. They are always willing to help

I can’t believe I forgot to review this place when I was in town for Thanksgiving. I can’t say enough great things about Schneider’s. From the moment you walk in they make you feel welcome. The most friendly staff. Seriously, every one of them. They’ll help you with whatever you need since they know everything about everything there. They always have great deals going on with select wines and my usual, vodka. They also carry rare selections or if they don’t have it, they will figure out how to get it to you (possibly by making a special order). The management there is super accommodating. I think the gentleman’s name who helped me was Josh. I didn’t know much about scotch but he definitely taught me a lot and even let me try a few good varieties in the tasting room.
You cannot go wrong here: from the service, to the selection, to the price. 5 stars all the wayy!!! I won’t go anywhere else whenever I’m back in DC.

Great selection and decent prices. I took off one star only because service can be inconsistent. Generally, the workers tend to be on the floor restocking shelves and will look up to smile and ask if they can help. The last time I went in, the girl at the register was screaming loudly about HOW THEY ROLL (re: drinking games) in Michigan, which made it really hard to browse the shelves. Her coworker tried to shush her to no avail. I grabbed what I needed and got out of there.
I still like Schneider’s because they carry the half bottles of Carpano as well as some of my favorite rare single pot stills. For more run-​of-​the-​mill items, I still prefer the liquor store in Cleveland Park! You might pay a buck or so more per item, but the service is awesome every single time (probably because the owner is ALWAYS on the floor) and there are always interesting tastings in the evenings.

Schneider’s Of Capitol Hill is far and away my favorite wine supplier and wine store in DC. Aesthetically, it’s not much to look at, and it’s quite cramped inside. But really, who cares when their selection is so good.
There are rows and rows and rows of wines on display, and that’s probably because the curators here cut the wheat from the chaff and only have good wines.
Being a member here also has its advantages. There are discounts, of course, but the most valuable aspect part of their private sales and advance openings of their specials. For instance, when Citronelle closed, Schneider’s sold their entire wine cellar and we were able to get so many great and memorable wines at basically firesale prices.
Can’t say enough about Schneider’s Of Capitol Hill.