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.

#VABreweryChallenge: Leesburg's Crooked Run Brewing (#15)

Sunday we continued the #VABreweryChallenge with a visit to Loudoun County and Leesburg's Crooked Run Brewing. The brewery is one of the top rest spots on the W&OD Bike Trail, located near mile marker 34 in the historic Market Station. And being a nano-brewery they are known for their experimental small batch concoctions. That will change slightly in the future. In early fall, they hope to open a larger facility in Chantilly where owner and brewer Jake Endres will concentrate on a core brand. Thankfully the current location will remain open, concentrating on smaller batches of experimental beers. And here were the small batch beers available on our visit:


Red Kolsch (4.5%) - This tastes exactly if an Irish Red was blended with a German Kolsch. Refreshing hoppy finish.
Bad Boy ESB (5.5%) - A little bite to this one, some spice, plenty of malt.
Bad Boy ESB Nitro (5.5%) - Smoother version of the previous.
Summer Night (7/5%) - This raspberry dark Saison was my favorite of the group. The fruit and chocolate blend seamlessly.

Cruising for Beer & Wine Along the W&OD Bike Trail: Ashburn to Leesburg

After publishing Cruising for Beer & Wine Along the W&OD Bike Trail: Falls Church to Ashburn, I learned that Old Ox Brewery was planning to open adjacent to the trail in Ashburn, so another trip. This time I started at the W&OD parking lot near mile marker 24 and didn't have to pedal long (or need theCompass Winery Brewery Distillery Locator mobile app) before seeing the Old Ox sign on that trail (between markers 25 & 25.5). The brewery's official opening celebration is Saturday July 19th, but they are open for visitors Thursday and Friday evenings and all day on weekends. The currently plan on having four everyday beers, but at the time of my visit the two choices were a Belgium Golden Ale and IPA Session - both low alcohol and suitable for a bike ride. I chose the session beer and it had a strong citrus aroma and a refreshing tail - nicely done. Old Ox's brewer is an ex Old Dominion brewer - so expect more good beer in the future. For food, Jennifer's Pastries from next door delivers or stop by Carolina Brothers BBQ at mile marker 27.5. 


Heading west, you could turn on Smith Switch Road and head to Lost Rhino Brewing Co. or continue to Leesburg. And practically nine miles from Old Ox near mile marker 34 head up the hill on Harrison Street for the Leesburg beer quad. Ya got craft beer centric restaurants in Tuskies and Fireworks Pizza; German flavor with the Döner Bistro; and a somewhat brewpub - Mud Hound Brewing Company at MacDowell Brew Kitchen. I say a somewhat brewpub because they brew one beer and this day - none was available.But for me, turn left just before Tuskies for Crooked Run Brewing. This is a small operation, excluding the Shadow of Truth - which is brewed at Beltway Brewing Company for a larger distribution. Today, there were five beers on tap; all approachable - with my favorites being the Hopsail Pale Ale and Commando Imperial Classic American Pilsner. The former is lighter - but full of flavor and aromas with a low abv; whereas the Commando is a big beer - tons of flavor balanced nicely with plenty of hops - with neither overwhelming the palette. With such a small operation, available beer styles change often - weekly in fact - and don't miss their one year anniversary, also on July 19th.

Update: I've been asked to include area bike shops available for emergency repairs. In Leesburg, Transition Triathlon is closest to the Trail with Bicycle Outfitters not too far away. The latter also has a store in Ahsburn, but it's not close to the Trail.

Crooked Run Brewing's Shadow of Truth Release Party

 Last night, along with over 100 other people, I attended Crooked Run Brewing Shadow of Truth Release Party held at Beltway Brewing Company in Sterling VA. Crooked Run is located in Leesburg's Market Station (great bicycle access off the W&OD) and brew non-traditional English and Belgium styled ales at this location. However, they have decided to expand capacity in order to target a wider consumer base, and to meet these goals, have contracted out with Beltway Brewing (See my first visit to Beltway's facility).

And the first beer Crooked Run chose to distribute is their Shadow of Truth - a black Belgian tripel. The beer is brewed with debittered black malt as well as a smaller portion of Vienna malt. The result is an extremely smooth beer, not overly malty and which masks the 8.5% abv quite well. The finish is balanced with just enough hops for a smooth transition but not an abundance to override the flavors. The beer should be making it's Metro DC debut this week so check out Lost Dog Cafe, Whole Foods, Rustico, Fireworks, World of Beer or any of the other well represented craft beer outlets in the area. For me, I need to bike out to Market Station to try the remaining portfolio. Oh yea, almost forgot. The DC Sliders truck was on hand providing very unique sliders - try the Elvis if you see them. Cheers.