Ever been stuck in traffic on I-95 between the DC Beltway and Quantico? Of course you have. Well, here's four breweries to soak up the time waiting for traffic to subside. Plus it ticks four more off the
#VABreweryChallenge.
Ornery Beer Company, Woodbridge (#27)
If you are hungry or passing Potomac Mills Mall then Ornery is your stop as they are the only brewery of the four to offer a full restaurant. I had the Kielbasa - a very good choice. As for the beer, they offer a range of styles from a rather tasty Blonde to a deep and velvety Imperial Stout. I sampled
Austrian Dreams Vienna Lager,
Ornery Blonde,
Dubbel Ornery Belgium Dubbel,
Black Stuff Dry Irish Stout, and the
Lord Vader Imperial Stout. The blonde was lightly salty and very refreshing; the Dubbel spot on the style; and the Russian Imperial Stout providing velvety layers of chocolate without being overly malty and sweet. On the other hand, I thought the Vienna Lager to be too malt forward and the Dry Irish Stout too light - almost felt light drinking air. Nevertheless, I pleasant stop.
Growling Bear Brewing Company, Woodbridge (#28)
Located just a couple miles from Ornery, this brewery has the largest portfolio of the four with twelve beers on tap. Too many to sample in this sitting I went with the
Elder Bear Ale (a fruit ale brewed with organic elderberries with a subtle fruit profile and a tannic finish);
Alt Bear German Altbier (very good with a solid dose of hops);
Arrogant Bear American Pale Ale (Grapefruit profile) and the
Nutter Butter Bear Porter (heavy on the chocolate, light on the Peanut Butter). I think these were my favorite sampling on this trip.
Forge Brew Works, Lorton (#29)
Heading North into Lorton, Forge is located in a industrial area just off the highway. Their signature beer is the
Roggenbier, a rye ale that predated the Hefeweizen. On previous visits the spicy rye flavor was prevalent, but this recent batch is more citrusy. Still a solid, unique beer. Their
Farmhouse Ale was once again solid and the
Belgium Blonde less salty but more hoppy than most. The icing was the
Abbey Ale, tasted like fruit cake. I'd say this was my favorite beer of the outing.
Fair Winds Brewing Company, Lorton (#30)
Just a mile away, Fair Winds had the most dynamic tasting room, full with my chatter and games being played. The beer was vibrant too. The
Quayside Kolsch was very refreshing as was the
Sessions in the Abyss Session IPA - lighter profile with and citrus throughout
. The
Following C's Pale Ale was my favorite with it's smooth hop profile. The
Blackened Seas Porter was close behind with a noticeable dose of cherries and chocolate.
Update: Many of noticed that I left out two breweries a little further south of Woodbridge, but before Fredericksburg.
Wild Run Brewing Company and
Adventure Brewing Company will be covered in a future post.
Update II: The new
post is available.
The Butts family decided to open the brewery in order to utilize an unused building on the farm. Keith Kohr is a partner\brewer with brewing experience gained through working four years at Flying Dog Brewery. Their 10-barrel system has been operating in over drive in order to produce the six beers currently available. These beers were quite good, all hitting the style except the Little Dam Honey Wheat which had a higher hop profile than expected. The Cabin 3 Berliner Weiss was only slightly tart and fortunately coffee didn't overwhelm the Reveille Coffee Stout. These were my two favorites followed by the Bunkhouse Saison, Darkhorse Saison, and Beecher IPA. The later had a large lemon citrus profile with the addition of lemon verbena in the mash. Waredaca also offers 32 ounce crowlers so you don't need to worry about rushing to finish a growler. Singles are priced at $10 but they provide a 3 for $25 special. That was our choice. As a working equestrian center there are plenty of horses to admire while sipping a beer. And live music starts this coming Saturday night. Cheers to that and check out theCompass Winery, Brewery, Distillery Locator Mobile App for directions.
