A Beer Bloggers Guide to Loudoun County

Hosting the Beer Bloggers & Writers Conference provides the opportunity to leverage media influence to further position Loudoun as a must-visit craft beer destination alongside former hosts including Asheville, San Diego and Portland, Oregon - locations that have already gained national recognition for their robust craft beer scenes,” Visit Loudoun VP of Marketing Jackie Saunders

Over the past 15 years the wine industry in Loudoun County Virginia has gained wide recognition for producing consistently high quality wine.  This process was kick started by hosting a DrinkLocalWine.com conference and Wine Bloggers Conference excursion in successive years in 2010-2011.  The Loudoun Convention & Visitors Association is expecting a similar result for their emerging craft beer industry as they host the 2018 Beer Bloggers Conference August 10th-11th to augment the LoCo Ale Trail. Again from Visit Loudoun VP of Marketing Jackie Saunders: “Loudoun is a leader in Virginia’s craft beer industry and this conference provides a platform for the LoCo Ale Trail and our 25-plus breweries to get in front of top craft beverage writers who can take the Loudoun and Virginia story to a national level.”

Photo courtesy of Vanish
Farmwoods Brewery

The county is home to 30 breweries and tasting rooms ranging from pioneers like Lost Rhino Brewing Co. to nanos like Loudoun Brewing Company and Black Walnut Brewery, with a few farm to glass breweries in between. The county believes the later are vitally important for economic development as they not only preserve open spaces from housing construction but all help spur the local agriculture economy. Attendees will visit one of these farm breweries, Vanish Farmwoods Brewery, during the Friday night Loudoun County Reception & Dinner. eight-five percent of the county's breweries will be pouring and the host brewery will be pouring a "ton of variety of great beer!" says Tommy Skelly -- Director of Marketing, Sales, and Taproom Operations. They will have over 20 beers on top covering as many styles as possible and this time of year expect am IPA and Sour heavy lineup and Skelly emphasizes that their Lime Gose has been a hit.

There are also two other breweries hosting events Lost Rhino Brewing Co. and Crooked Run Brewing Sterling.  Lost Rhino was the first post-Old Dominion Brewery in Loudoun and were pioneers in not only starting their brewery but the first in the county to adopt canning. Their Rhino Chasers Pilsner and Face Plant IPA are well distributed and popular brews. Crooked Run started as a nano brewery in downtown Leesburg (see next paragraph) and quickly gained traction for their creative recipes. As demand increased they opened a larger facility where they are hosting a pre-conference lunch and tour excursion Thursday afternoon. Just hope that the Neopolitik Milk Stout and Double Vibes Berliner Weisse hasn't kicked.

For attendees who have flexible travel plans or who are arriving or departing with extra free time, then consider a walking brewery tour of downtown Leesburg.  Park or get dropped off near Market Station where both Crooked Run Brewing and Wild Hare Cider are located adjacent to each other. This is the original location of Crooked Run where they produce small batch and experimental beers and always something interesting n tap.  For a change of pace Wild Hare offers delicious hard ciders particularly their dry-hopped Hopscotch. Heading towards the Government Center Bike TrAle Brewing is on the left of Loudoun Street incorporating a bike theme (yards from the WO&D bike trail) with a nice range of styles. Take a left on Church street to discover the hidden oasis of Black Walnut Brewery or continue up Loudoun and hang a right on King Street to sample the European portfolio of Black Hoof Brewing Company. Then take a right on Edwards Ferry then E. Market past the historical Marshal House to Loudoun Brewing Company. Patrick Steffens can only brew eight beers at a time from his 160 recipes so the lineup is always in flux. And on your return walk, munchies are available at Mom's Apple Pie Bakery.  And as always, theCompass Craft Beverage Finder will assist in your beer travels. Cheers.

Visiting More Loudoun County Breweries #VABreweryChallenge

Loudoun County is the largest and fastest growing craft beer region in the Commonwealth and this past weekend I used theCompass Winery, Brewery, Distillery Locator Mobile App to visit four. Dog Money Restaurant & Brewery (#42) opened recently in the old Vintage 50 location by brewer Dean Lake and Tim Regan. The existing 10 barrel system is used to brew a rotating lineup of 6 lagers\ales with the Loudoun Common Golden Lager spot on. The molasses fused Mo’ Porter was also quite nice with the remaining - Dog Money Red Ale, Hostile Extraction IPA, Belgian-style Tripel, and Dog Money Hefeweizen - all up to style.

Black Walnut Brewery (#43) is also located in downtown Leesburg and opened at the same time as Dog Money. owner Patrick Wilt is\was a passionate home brewer and converted a former salon to a cozy brewery.  The patio is a great spot to sip a pint and my favorite was the Black Lab IPA. This black IPA was flavorful with a balanced and smooth finish. I also tried the Yellow Lab IPA and it was a little weaker in both flavor and hop character. I look forward to revisiting when the brewery's production has settled.

Barnhouse Brewery (#44) reopened this Spring in its new barn-brewery, tightly integrated in the Loudoun Wine Trail with The Vineyards & Winery at Lost Creek and Hidden Brook Winery within walking distance.  I sampled through a 4-beer flight and loved three quarters.  The Breakfast Bitter was well made, just not my thing that day. On the other hand, the Piedmont Smoked Porter was outstanding with the smoky flavors integrating with the food truck sausages. The Kittoctin Kolsh was spot on, refreshing and minerally. And finally the Barrel Aged Whiskey Shenandoah Stout, aged in used Catoctin Creek Distilling Company Roundstone Rye barrels, is fantastic. The vanilla and rye blends nicely with the stout's mellowed chocolate malt.  Barnhouse is a must visit.

As is Vanish Farmwoods Brewery (#45), a large brewery and hops farm located just north of Lucketts.  On our visit there were 14 beers on tap which makes filling their massive 12 beer flight a little easier.  And these 14 fulfilled many styles: IPAs, an India Pale Lager, a few tasty sours, a delicious Cabernet Stout, a few Belgiums, and even an Oatmeal Pale Ale. There was not one beer where I thought, "don't like that one". There's also regular live music, cornhole, and plenty of picnic tables inside and out. I hope to return during their Oktoberfest celebration the last weekend in September. Cheers.