Second Battle of Bull Run, St. Mary of Sorrows, Clara Barton, & Bunnyman Brewing

This weekend, Pentecost and Memorial Day landed on the same weekend and that served as an impetus to tour the historic St. Mary of Sorrows church and then, after mass at the new church, visit Bunnyman Brewing -- #thecompasscbf 2023 stop number 73.

St. Mary of Sorrows was the second Catholic church built in Fairfax County (behind St. Mary’s in Alexandria) after Irish immigrants moved to the area while building the Orange and Alexandria Railroad to what is now Fairfax Station. The names of these families can still be read on the tombstones standing in St. Mary's cemetery. The church was finished in 1860 just when the Civil War started brewing. "Given the church’s important location on the main road from Fairfax Courthouse to the depot of the Orange and Alexandria Railroad (now Fairfax Station), the area, with St. Mary’s as an identifying point, quickly became an important objective for both Northern and Southern armies vying to dominate the railroads in the area".

When Pope's Union army was flanked and routed by Longstreet and Jackson at the Second Battle of Bull Run or Battle of Second Manassas, a field hospital was moved to St. Mary’s. "The wounded were laid out on the Church’s hill, many on pews taken from the church. They awaited the unloading of food and ammunition from the trains in the railroad yard nearby, so they could be placed on trains going east to Alexandria.

Clara Barton had arrived from Alexandria on one of these trains. She was a clerk at the Government Patent Office who had gathered a group of volunteers to tend to the wounded and dying. She nursed the wounded for three days and nights as heavy rains fell and doctors operated in the only dry place available, the church. Many soldiers died and were buried in the churchyard. Although 20,000 Confederate soldiers began the push toward Fairfax Station, Miss Barton, her volunteers, and the doctors remained until the last of the wounded were evacuated. She watched from the windows of the last train as the Confederate Soldiers captured Fairfax Station and set fire to the depot. As a result of her experiences at Fairfax Station, she devised a plan to establish a civilian society, which became the American Red Cross. A plaque honoring her heroism sits on the Route 123 side of the church grounds".
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Since the "original wood pews were destroyed during the Civil War, as mentioned above. Tradition holds that the present seats were installed at the order of President U.S. Grant. He often traveled by train to a resort in nearby Clifton, and ordered restitution when he learned of the damage inflicted on the church by Union troops...The soldiers buried in the churchyard during the Civil War were later moved to Arlington National Cemetery, with the exception of one Confederate named Kidwell. Only those bodies that could be positively identified were moved. Kidwell’s relatives wanted him to remain on Catholic ground, so they contrived a ruse with the pastor to not mark Kidwell’s grave so that his body would not be moved". (1)  

A beautiful new church for the expanding parish was constructed during 2019-2020 and is a stop on the A Jubilee Journey with Mary tour of Marian-Named Parishes in the Arlington Diocese. 

After attending mass or just visiting the new or old churches, Bunnyman Brewing is only minutes away.  The brewery is named after a local Fairfax urban legend and provides abundant beer for those willing to risk encountering the hacket-throwing insane man dressed in a white bunny suit. These beers are dispensed using a self-serve system where visitors can pour the volume of their choice and are charged for that amount. I poured two flights of various levels in order to taste a broad representation of their portfolio. A full taster pour of Kölsch revealed a refreshing bready beer and I'm becoming a fan of the steady and easy-drinking English Mild Brown Ale. The biggest surprise was the Juicy Viking IPA brewed with Norwegian Kveik yeast and Ekuanot & Galena hops.  A pint pour next time. And my favorite with a mini-taster at 12.5% was the Blinders Barrel-Aged S'mores Milk Stout. Delicious. 

 (1) St. Mary of Sorrows

Landing Craft Beer in Lewes Delaware

For a couple years now a neighbor has been bringing home and sharing delicious sour beer from his weekend visits to Lewes, Delaware. Eventually, I found time to see where these beers call home during a weekend at the beach.  In 2018, Big Oyster Brewery was named the Brewers Association's Second Fastest Growing Brewery and their beer is available throughout the Delmarva peninsula and as far north as Allenton and west to D.C. I arrived at the Big Red Barn after the lunch crowd and had a quiet seating to revisit sours such as the Black Lips Blackberry Sour Ale and the Donut Kill My Vibe - Blueberry Lemon kettle sour. Both delicious beers. So was the "Gobsmakced" Hazelnut Porter which is a dry English porter with just subtle hazelnut intermixed with the expected porter flavors. However, my favorite beer was the simplest. The German styled Public Pilsner is a light yet flavorful bready pils where a growler goes well with bing watching college football on a Saturday afternoon.

Crooked Hammock Brewery is located less than a mile down the road which makes a beer tour very convenient.  They have also expanded into Middletown, Delaware and North Myrtle Beach providing easy access to Route 301 commuters and Coastal Carolina visitors. In Lewes, expect a large restaurant, possible live music (finally), and plenty of beer.  I went through a double flight of four and recommend the Lift Ticket Golden Stout for something very interesting (pleasantly less sweet than expected) and the Pass the Sauce Apple Cranberry Cobbler Sour.  Thanksgiving in a beer.  The "5" Hazy DIPA is solid and only 8% abv whereas the everyday beer - particularly during a gold outing - is the Four Tires, Two Friends, and a Radio American Lager.  Grab a six-pack of this beer. 

If you want to add a distillery and winery to your trip, Beach Time Distilling and Nassau Valley Vineyards are nearby, just check their hours before you visit. theCompass Craft Beverage Finder has directions and their contact information. Cheers.

1718 Brewing Ocracoke: Jam Box for Brunch

1718 Brewing Ocracoke is well into their second summer and with an obvious demand, the brewery is operating at full capacity to continuously provide 10-12 beers on tap. During our weekly visit to this island, demand outpaced supply as several beers kicked and even a power outage didn't deter beer consumers. Garick & Jacqui Kalna opened the 10 bbl brewery in October 2017 and named it for the year Blackbeard was killed off Ocracoke's Springer’s Point. In July 2017, Garick gave a group a tour of the brewery, but it wasn't until this year that I was able to return.


The building itself fits neatly into the architectural feel of the village using mostly re-purposed wood, paneling, and shingles from the former Café Atlantic as well as reclaimed barn wood from Athens, Ohio. Other re-purposed items include the flight trays which were constructed from wine barrel stays and the tap handles from pieces of rough wood. And the seashells placed inside the filled-in knot holes in the wood floor are one of my favorite features.

Our first taste of 1718 Brewing's beer was at the Ocracoke Oyster Company where the Public AfterThoughts IPA was on tap while listening to Martin Garrish and Friends. This is a heavy IPA, even more than the 6.8% suggests. Next came a visit where I learned there's a major sour series in play as well as an old favorite -- the Brunch Coffe Kolsch. This beer is already a classic, the java flavors blend seamlessly into the minerality of the Kolsch - providing a flavorful and still refreshing beach beer. Another favorite of our family is the Happi-Jaq Juicy IPA - clean and more quaffable than the AfterThoughts. On the darker side, the Needs MoreCowBell Milk Stout and Mexican Chocolate Stout were solid with the Mexican providing just a touch of heat.

As for the sours, three kicked during our visit, the Prickly-Pear, Quat the Puck, and the Jam Box (Raspberry, Sea-salt, & Coconut). Each was excellent but the coconut in the Jam Box added just enough distinction to elevate above the others. Once the raspberry version kicked, it was replaced with the next in the series the Jam Box Blackberry Lemon. Once again, a nice sour - but the previous was a winner.

A few 1718 Brewing Ocracoke beers make their way up Highway 12 into Hatteras and the northern beaches but allocate time for a personal visit. Now that the Hatteras-Ocracoke passenger ferry and Ocracoke Trolley are running smoothly - there's no need to drive so feel free to imbibe. Cheers.

#VABreweryChallenge #59: A Family Legacy at Portner Brewhouse

In 1867, there were 3,700 breweries operating in America and one of those was Alexandria based The Robert Portner Brewing Company. The brewery had opened that year and later would become one of the largest producers in the southeast. And Its flagship TIVOLI Hofbrau Pilsner (TIVOLI is I LOV IT spelled backwards) would eventually be distributed from Washington D.C. to Florida using refrigerated rail cars and using the city's popular railroad network. Portner was also a successful inventor and he patented a system for chilling lager as well as an ice-making machine; both were utilized to produce lagers year round and to refrigerate the rail cars. In fact these two systems were used to create a cooling system in his house -- perhaps the first air conditioned home in America. In 1879 Portner was honored by being elected the first President of the United States Brewers Association , the precursor to today’s Brewers Association. However, by the time of Federal prohibition in 1919, so many states had enacted their own prohibition regulations that there were only 1,000 breweries affected by the Federal ban. The Robert Portner Brewing Company had closed three years previously when Virginia had enacted their own prohibition ban .

A hundred years later, two of Robert Portner's great-great grandchildren, Catherine & Margaret Portner revived the family legacy by opening Portner Brewhouse -- not too far from its original location. They recreated a few Pre-Prohibition recipes, including the Hofbrau Pilsner, in their ever day series augmenting that with a few more modern and popular styles.  This pilsner is brewed with malted barley, corn, rice, and Cluster hops which is a historical variety grown in New York State when the Empire State was the capital of American hops production. The Tivoli Cream Ale is a beer style that attempts to mimic the pilsner flavor with the speed of ale brewing and this is very similar to the Hofbrau. My two favorites. The Vienna Cabinet Lager is another reconstructed recipe and is not as sweet as most modern Vienna lagers. And the Portner Porter comes across dry with roasted malts and mocha. Both nicely done.

The remaining beers offered during our visit were original recipes from head brewer, Greg Maddrey. The Nor'Wester IPA was a refreshing and balanced alternative to the overly hopped IPA market. The First Bloom Blonde and Saint Asaph's Tripel were solid interpretations on these Belgium beer styles and the Spite House Stout was a very delicious chocolate and roasty English stout. And as always, theCompass Craft Beverage Finder will guide you through your #VABreweryChallenge. Cheers.

Durham, Craft Beer, Lemurs, and American Tobacco

Durham North Carolina is near the tail end of the Route 15 Wine Road, but instead of wine, this region is creating a craft beer heritage. It is also the home of Duke University, named after its major benefactor tobacco industrialist Washington Duke. Duke's son, James Buchanan Duke was also a major benefactor to the university as well as the owner of the American Tobacco Company (the successor to his Father's tobacco company) which eventually controlled over 90% of the American cigarette market by the early 1900s. Duke also founded a power company that grew into Duke Energy and supplied power to the hundreds of area textile mills and tobacco manufacturing plants. Today the former American Tobacco warehouses are a major redeveloped area in downtown Durham adjacent to the Durham Bulls stadium and several craft breweries, distilleries, Bull City Ciderworks, and Honeygirl Meadery. In fact, the Bull Durham Beer Co. is the only craft beer company located inside a minor league ballpark.

Another attraction in Durham is the Duke Lemur Center (DLC), "the world’s largest and most diverse collection of lemurs – Earth’s most threatened group of mammals – outside of Madagascar". The DLC is situated on 80 wooded acres two miles from the main Duke University campus and provides a living laboratory where lemurs and their close relatives could be studied intensively and non-invasively. It's budget is partly funded through private tours of the facility such as a Walking with Lemurs tour where our future primatologist spent 90 minutes up close with a trio of Crown Lemurs. The tour also included meeting Mongoose Lemurs, Collared Lemurs, Red Ruffed Lemurs, Black & White Ruffed Lemurs and Aye-Ayes.

After visiting the DLC, theCompass Craft Beverage Finder showed Durham's seven craft breweries were are only a few minutes away so we headed straight for Fullsteam Brewery for lunch and beer. The brewery's mantra is to "brew distinctly Southern beer that fosters agricultural pride and prosperity in a post-tobacco North Carolina. By buying local to brew local, we aim to improve the quality of life of local farmers, foragers, and agricultural entrepreneurs. We seek to pioneer a Southern Beer Economy...one pint at a time." That translates to using at least 10% local ingredients such as the 30% local Humidity Pale Ale - brewed with local triticale, a wheat/rye hybrid. This is a solid beer, full of flavor and balanced seamlessly with bittering hops. My favorite was the Paycheck Pilsner brewed with southern sourced barley and corn with a tasteful and refreshing German style (with a six pack coming home).  There are also more unique beers in Fullsteam's portfolio such as a half dozen IPA styles; the Working Man's Lunch, a brown ale brewed to mimic the southern tradition of RC Cola and a Moonpie; the Carver Sweet Potato Lager, made from 200 pounds of North Carolina and named to honor Dr. George Washington Carver; and the Coffee Is For Closers Porter - inspired by iced coffee and made with Muddy Dog Sumatran Coffee. There's a lot of experimentation going on here.

There's also a  lot of experimentation going on at Ponysaurus Brewing where I would recommend visiting in the evening to enjoy the fire pit -- and the Fig Saison. That's what attracted me to the brewery and the beer is complex and delicious. Similarly, the Oyster Saison is as complex but in the mineral direction. The Ponysaurus Réserve Ale is a Belgian Dark Strong Ale featuring plenty of brown malts and Belgian candy syrup made in-house; the 10% abv is never felt. Finally, the Rye Pale Ale rounded out my sampler, light spices and balanced bitterness. Well done.

The final beer of note was the Van Gogh Breakfast Stout from Durty Bull Brewing Company.  The was poured a couple spots around town and is brewed with with local coffee from Joe Van Gogh. It is truly a delicious breakfast stout which could easily replace the  warmer staple. Cheers to the Bulls.

Album Review: Nora Jane Struthers and the Breakfast of Champions

Nora Jane Struthers first surfaced on my radar many years ago at the Bristol Rhythm and Roots Reunion as a bluegrass performer and her album Carnival was the pinnacle release in that phase of her career. After losing track of her, she re-surfaced this month with her band The Party Line at Jammin Java featuring a more intense and dynamic alt-county rock sound. The tour was supporting Champion, their current release that showcases this new sound which at times - particularly live - has a Drive-By Truckers guitar feel (See Grit). This is a tight band that reflects not only Struthers' vocals but the multi-instruments performed by husband Joe Overton. We're talking pedal steel, fiddle, and banjo that compliments perfectly with guitarist Josh Vana, bassist Brian Duncan Miller, and drummer Drew Lawhorn. Yet, two of my favorite tracks feature Struthers' sweet and pure vocals in Show Me and Just A House.


The album is highly recommended but even better, see this band live. And if possible, grab a can of Hog Waller Scramble, a breakfast stout brewed by Charlottesville's Champion Brewing Company. The beer is brewed with coffee and chocolate and is creamy and velvety packing a punch at 8% abv. Wonder if Struthers was sipping this beauty when penning Let's Get The Day Started Right. Works for me.

Finding Craft Beer on Las Vegas Blvd: Sin City Brewing Company

After spending a few days in Las Vegas we found that most casinos craft beer menu is solely defined as Ballast Point Sculpin, Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, and Lagunitas IPA. And on occasion you can spot the Joseph James Brewing Company Citra Rye from nearby Henderson and a very decent offering. But obviously not a diverse selection and not necessarily small and independent either. Fortunately there are a number of actual craft breweries in Sin City - 14 according to theCompass Craft Beverage Finder. And one of these offers four satellite tasting facilities directly on Las Vegas Blvd: Sin City Brewing Company. This craft brewery was launched by long-time Gordon Biersch Director of Brewing Operations Richard Johnson. 

Two different times we visited their Bally's location, a narrow bar with outside seating tucked in the far corner of the Grand Bazaar Shops fronting Bally’s. Just follow the smell of hot dogs. Not unexpectedly the styles follow what you would expect at Gordon Biersch with a Blonde, Weisse, Amber Ale, Irish Stout, and IPA. The beers were well made and clean with the Miller Lite and InBev drinkers moving seamlessly to the Never Pass Up A Blonde. The Dark Side of Sin Irish Stout passes as a Guinness and the Say Hello to Amber was a contrast to the sweet and malty amber ales that I try to avoid. Although The Ale With A Tale was a decent IPA, I stronger preferred the slightly heavier seasonal Imperial IPA which was big but providing a balanced mouth feel and soft finish.

• Sin City Brewing Co. - Bally’s

• Sin City Brewing Co. - Harmon Corner

• Sin City Brewing Co. - Planet Hollywood

• Sin City Brewing Co. - The Venetian

Craft Beer in the Laurel Highlands: Kegg Brewing Company

Kegg Brewing Company is the most unique nano-brewery I have visited in recent memory. The brewery is located in the basement of a house, located along a narrow country road southeast of Pittsburgh, and with two guard dogs announcing your arrival. And the tasting room area is confined to any open space between the tap lines and the brewing equipment.

After Frank Kegg retired from the Greater Latrobe School District, he and his wife Tracey decided that opening a brewery was the logical next phase. Logical in the sense that Frank was a 6th grade Science teacher and his brother Mark owns Full Pint Brewing so there is a chemistry background and inherent family lineage and support system. It also helps that the Keggs reside only a few miles from Seven Springs Mountain Resort so there's a steady supply of traffic headed in their direction.

That being said, Frank created a half barrel brew house in his basement built around four one barrel fermenters. The raw materials consist of as local as possible grain, hops, honey, fruit and well water as the base. The tasting area?  In cold weather, any open space around the fermenters and mash barrels. In warmer weather the garage doors open for driveway sipping.

That may be unique enough for most but the special part doesn't start until visitors begin sampling in the basement and spend the next hour talking to Frank. The diverse beer styles only enhance the conversation. They are not only really solid beers but the range in styles are once again unique. Our tasting started with a Cranberry Blonde Ale, followed by a Winter Ale - based on a red ale, a Coffee Porter, Pumpkin Stout, Coconut Stout, and standard IPA (as opposed to a Hoppy Bolbat IPA and Death by Hops IPA). This IPA seemed a fan favorite and was very smooth with a seamless transition from the drop hopped induce aroma through the dense beer to the bitter finish. I enjoyed the Coffee Porter and the Coconut Stout - the later the result of a flawed attempt to craft a Chocolate Coconut Stout - but I thought was fine as a stand alone. And I think my palate is turning towards coffee flavored beers.

Kegg Brewing is easy to find, but as always theCompass Craft Beverage Finder will guide you there quickly. Cheers and safe drinking and skiing.

Get Ready to Play at Waynesboro's Basic City Beer Company

During the same weekend we visited Adventure Farm, we parlayed a swim at Sherando Lake with a visit to Waynesboro's Basic City Beer Company. The relatively new brewery is located on scenic Rt 250 in the reclaimed Virginia Metalcrafters industrial complex. Evidence of the former foundry is everywhere, from the industrial lathes to reclaimed pipe and wood tap room tables. The pipes housing the taps are particularly stylish. co-founders and brothers Bart, Chris and Joe Lanman also added entertainment value to the facility by building out a large game room stocked with ping pong, shuffleboard, skeet-ball, foosball, and more. Add the hammocks and large picnic area in the back; live music; and food from Hops Kitchen and this is a family friendly establishment. But what about the largest attraction: the beer?

Beer Menu as of Sept 2017

Head brewer Jacque Landry leverages 20 years brewing experience into crafting a portfolio of a dozen beers. I elected for a flight of the WaynesbeerOh Lager, Oopsproch Lager, Rays Pale Ale, and Bramblehead Raspberry Stout. They were well made with the stout very smooth, the lagers refreshing, and the pale ale on the money. However, I seemed to gravitate to the Rotsproch Lager, a hibiscus infused Marzen Amber Lager. The beer was more tart than malty sweet and thirst quenching as the day had warmed. We had a fantastic visit, laughing, drinking, and eating with the only reservation having to drive over the mountain back to Charlottesville. But we will be back to basic City as well as other Shenandoah Beerwerks Trail breweries with the assistance of theCompass Craft Beverage Finder. Cheers.

Hiking and Maryland Beer at Sugarloaf Mountain

Normally after a nice climb up Sugarloaf Mountain we descend and head directly to one of the top wineries in Maryland, Sugarloaf Mountain Vineyard. However, this past weekend we decided to investigate a nearby year-old brewery: Mad Science Brewing Company.

theCompass Winery, Brewery, Distillery Locator Mobile App showed us that the brewery is located north of the mountain on a route to Frederick. It is located in Thanksgiving Farm; grows Columbus/Zeus, Nugget, Centennial, Cascade, and Magnum hops; and is as nano as possible. On our visit there were four beers available: Helles Belles lager, Rye-Sin Amber IPA, Antidote Pale Ale, and Hemophilia, an Imperial Stout on draft and nitro. This was very tasty, even refreshing after the hike. More refreshing was the Helles Belles. This is a fantastic beer, light but flavorful with the right amount of minerality and hops. Well done. And a fellow hiker raved about the Antidote so there are good things coming out of this nano brewery.

After a round, hunger set in so we headed into Frederick to the long running restaurant-brewpub Barley & Hops. In fact, the brewery has been operating since 1999 producing a wide range of beer styles.  Over bratwurst I chose a sampler of the Catoctin Clear Blonde Lager, Vinz Clortho Gose, Gore'd Pumpkin Duppel, and Drunk Dial Porter.  The lager was very good, flavorful, just not the minerality and hop balance as the Mad Science version. The gose was very interesting, tart and smokey. The last two were my favorites with the pumpkin duppel showcasing the squash and ,alt as opposed to the dreaded holiday flavors. And the porter was spot on. Nicely done and a highly recommended spot to eat. Cheers.

#MDBreweryChallenge: Black Flag Brewing Company

Howard County Maryland's newest brewery, Black Flag Brewing Company, opened July 27th with a large inventory of beers. Ten beers in fact, brewed in "direct opposition to the established norms - crafting beers that focus heavily on flavors and aromas without concern for fitting any given category". I'd say that marketing-brewing strategy is valid as the lineup includes an IPA, DIPA, Saison, Dark Farmhouse, Kentucky Common, Smoked Porter, Blonde and a special blend. The Prozack Morris Blonde was a popular choice with our group as was the Mambo Sauce DIPA, Barnwood Dark Farmhouse, Chase the Grain Kentucky Common, and Belgian Waffle Blend (75% Belgie Belgian Saison - 25% Brunch Breakfast Stout). Top honors, however, goes to the Mother of Dragons Smoked Porter. This beer teeters between mocha chocolate and subtle bits of smoked cherrywood. Nicely done. Cheers and as always theCompass Winery, Brewery, Distillery Locator Mobile App will guide you to Black Flag and other Maryland breweries.

#SAVOR2016's Top Fifteen Beers That Blew Me Away

I attended SAVOR 2016 on Friday June 3rd and this Brewers Association sponsored event was splendid.  76 breweries poured two beers each and represented a mix of styles from IPAs, Stouts, Porters, Saisons, and sours. Many sours in fact and that's how I started off the evening. Out of the two dozen or so, there were a few that clearly stood out above the noise. Same for the many excellent barrel aged stouts and porters.  And in both categories top honors goes to Crux Fermentation Project. One caveat, I didn't sample many IPAs - just ran out of time trying to sample 152 beers. Cheers.

1. Crux Fermentation Project [Banished] Bretted Farmhouse 
2. D9 Brewing Company Systema Naturae Sour Ale fermented with wild lactobacillus & yeast, naturally conditioned.
3. Crux Fermentation Project [Banished] Tough Love Barrel Aged Imperial Stout banished to used bourbon barrels
4. The Lost Abbey Track #8  Barrel Aged Quad Judgement Day aged 9 months in new bourbon barrels and spiked with cinnamon sticks and dried chili peppers
5. Oskar Blues Ten Fidy Imperial Stout combines hefty amounts of various dark malts with 98 IBUs of hops
6. Urban Chestnut Brewing Company Schnickelfritz Weissbier
7. Center of the Universe Brewing Company IV Quadrupel aged in red wine barrels
8. Southern Tier Brewing Company Salted Caramel Imperial Stout based on a milt stout with Himalayan sea salt and caramelized sugar
9. Right Proper Brewing Company Diamonds, Fur Coat, Champagne Berliner Weisse brewed with Meyer lemon zest, elderberries, and dry hopped with Sauvin
10. New Belgium Brewing Company Tart Lychee Sour Ale barrel aged with lychee puree and cinnamon sticks
11. Perennial Artisanal Ales Savant Blanc Sour Ale Barrel Aged Belgium Blond Ale (aged in Chardonnay barrels) with Chardonnel wine grapes
12. Deschutes Brewery The Abyss Rye Barrel Aged Imperial Stout brewed with black strap molasses, licorice, cherry bark, augmented with vanilla, then aged 12 months in rye whiskey barrels.
13. Strange Craft Beer Company Cherry Kriek Lambic with loads of cherries
14. Bell's Brewery Bourbon Barrel Aged Expedition Stout
15. Lewis and Clark Brewing Company  Prickly Pear Pale Ale

Honorable Mentions (in no particular order)

• Hardywood Park Craft Brewery Bourbon Barrel Raspberry Stout with Vanilla Beans
• Dogfish Head Craft Brewery Seaquenchale Kolsch/Gose/Berliner Weisse Hybrid
• Perennial Artisanal Ales 17 Imperial Stout
• Schlafly Bourbon Barrel Aged Imperial Stout
• Lewis and Clark Brewing Company  Miners Gold Hefeweizen
• The Lost Abbey Ad Idem Sour Ale
• Uinta Brewing 23rd Birthday Suit Sour Ale
• Service Brewing Company Old Guard Biere de Garde
• Confluence Brewing Company Stavropol Imperial Stout
• Uncommon Brewers Steamers Lane California Common
• The Spencer Brewery Spencer Trappist Ale
• The Spencer Brewery Spencer Imperial Stout
• Allagash Brewing Company Sixteen Counties Strong Ale
• Stone Brewing Scout Wit
• Insight Brewing Hell Chicken Pale Ale
• Black Tooth Brewing Company 1314 Bourbon Very Strong Ale
• Short's Brewing Company Melt My Brain Golden Ale
• FATE Brewing Company Laimas Kolsch
• Bear Republic Brewery Tartare Sour Ale
• Brewery Ommegang Gnomegang Blonde Ale
• Hoppy Brewing Company Total Eclipse Black Ale Porter
• 4 Noses Brewing Company Vier Neuzen Barrel Aged Tripel
• Troegs Brewing Wild Elf Fruit Beer
• Stickmen Brewery Paddle Board Pale Ale
• Odell Brewing Company Friek Fruit Lambic
• Roadhouse Brewing Company Saison En Regalia
• Newburyport Brewing CompanyDas Kolsch
• Roadhouse Brewing Company Sacred Brett Sour Ale
• Port City Brewing Company COLOSSAL V Old Ale
• Port City Brewing Company Downright Pilsner
• Saranac Brewery Brett Saison
• Worthy Brewing Company Coeur De La Peche Saison
• Center of the Universe Brewing Company Monkey's Uncle Tripel
• Parish Brewing Company Blackalicious Stout
• Parish Brewing Company Ghost in the Machine Double IPA
• Boston Beer Company (Sam Adams) Kosmic Mother Funk Grand Cru Belgium Ale
• Saugatuck Brewing Company Neapolitan Mile Stout

2016 SAVOR Preview - IPAs, Sours, Stouts, Saisons, and Porters

It's officially SAVOR week as the annual American craft beer and food experience occurs Friday and Saturday nights June 3rd and 4th. The event is sponsored by the Brewers Association and consists of 76 breweries pouring two beers each. The breweries represent 28 states and Washington DC,  70% were not at least year's event, and 50% have never poured at SAVOR before. This year Wyoming seems to have an over supply with Black Tooth Brewing Co., Melvin Brewing, and Roadhouse Brewing Company representing the Cowboy State. Melvin was the GABF 15 Small Brewpub of the Year so check them out. Along with a sample of beer there is a food pairing developed by Chef Adam Dulye, executive chef at the Brewers Association and Chef Kyle Mendenhall, BA chef consultant and executive chef at  Bolder Colorado's The Kitchen. 

As usual there is a plethora of beer styles and IPAs dominate the tasting again with 33 versions ranging from low abv sessions to high octane imperials. In tune with the sour beer trend there are about two dozen sour or tart beers with a vast majority binging Sour/Wild/Brett but including four Gose and three Berliner Weisse beers (The Dogfish Head Craft Brewery Seaquenchale is included in both the Gose and Berliner Weisse totals). The latter two styles are my sweet spot right now so I've listed these beers below. I'm also a Porter fan and there will be ten versions with a few sweeter Baltic styles, a smoked from Quest Brewing Company, the Flying Dog Brewery barrel aged Notorious B.A.G., and several Imperial Porters - see Stone Brewing Co. Encore: 6th Anniversary Porter. Similarly there will be 16 Stouts from a silky smooth milk stout like the Saugatuck Brewing Co. Neapolitan to several heavy imperial and barrel aged versions. Saisons as well as a few other Belgium inspired Dubbel, Tripel, and Quad ales are also well represented. See Virginia's Center of the Universe Brewing Co.and their IV Barrel-Aged Quad & Monkey's Uncle Tripel and Florida's Marker 48 Brewing Diepolder Dubbel & Meet The Heat Saison. And finally, I've listed a few notable and interesting brews that I plan to checkout. Cheers.

Notable and Interesting
Lewis and Clark Brewing Company - Helena, MT: Prickly Pear Pale Ale
Great Raft Brewing - Shreveport, LA: Oceans Between Us Brett IPA
Service Brewing Company - Savannah, GA: Old Guard Biere de Garde.
Urban Chestnut Brewing Company - St. Louis, MO: Schnickelfritz Weissbier
Black Tooth Brewing Co. - Sheridan, WY: '1314' Strong Ale
Adroit Theory Brewing - Purcellville, VA: Ortolan Bunting Strong Ale
Melvin Brewing - Alpine, WY: Chchch-cherry bomb

Gose
Dogfish Head Craft Brewery - Milton, DE: Seaquenchale - Kolsch/Gose/Berliner Weisse Hybrid
Flying Dog Brewery - Frederick, MD: GoseFace Killah
Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. - Chico, CA: Otra Vez
Victory Brewing Company - Downingtown, PA: Kirsch Gose

Berliner Weisse
Dogfish Head Craft Brewery - Milton, DE: Seaquenchale - Kolsch/Gose/Berliner Weisse Hybrid
Right Proper Brewing Company - Washington, DC: Diamonds, Fur Coat, Champagne
Bear Republic Brewing Co. - Cloverdale, CA: Tartare

#VABreweryChallenge #35 - Reston's Lake Anne Brew House

 I've lived in northern Virginia for almost two decades but I never knew to visit Reston's Lake Anne Plaza until the Lake Anne Brew House opened two weeks ago. It seems like the nanobrewery and taproom have been on verge of opening for a year now, but they finally navigated the winding and waving state and local regulations to open April 16th.   Jason and Melissa Romano are the proprietors with Jason transitioning from home brewer to professional brewer and Melissa responsible for the architecture. The best drinking spot is on the patio overlooking the plaza and lake tributary. There were only three beers available on my visit because the brewery ran dry on opening weekend. My favorite was the Simon's Stout (toffee focused dry stout with mellow creamy finish). The Reston Red Ale is a nice dry hopped amber ale and thankfully not malt heavy. Finally IPA lovers will be satisfied with the Live-Work-Play IPA (citrus and clean; hop heavy) and a tribute to Reston's founder Robert E. Simon. Looking forward to visiting when their expanding portfolio comes online in the coming weeks. Cheers.

Porter and Stout Impress at Jailbreak Brewing Company

Since it's inception two years ago, Maryland's Jailbreak Brewing Company has quickly become a popular local option for craft beer. Their everyday canned lineup of Feed the Monkey Orange Hefeweizen, Welcome to Scoville Jalapeno IPA, and the Big Punisher Double IPA are distributed widely in the DC and Baltimore regions.  And at their spacious tasting room they offer many special releases and cask specials. With a flight scheduled out of BWI we stopped for a short visit where I had the Desserted Chocolate Coconut Porter and the Dark American Stout with Peanuts and Chocolate on cask. These two beers raised my appreciation for the brewery as the porter is on par with or even better than the Oskar Blues Brewery Death By Coconut. The stout on cask took a couple sips to get past the absence of carbonation, but that absence allowed the beer's peanuts and chocolate to dominate the palate. Much better than the DuClaw Brewing Company Sweet Baby Jesus.  Jailbreak will becoe a regular stop when visiting Columbia or heading to the airport. And as usual, theCompass Winery, Brewery, Distillery Locator Mobile App will guide you there. Cheers.

Sin City Brewing Co. Delivers With Three Las Vegas Locations on the Strip

Most casinos on the strip offer a range of craft beer - mostly California brewed and heavy on Firestone Walker Brewing Company, Green Flash Brewing Company, and Ballast Point Brewing Company.  All great options, but if you are looking for a local brew as well as a beer distributed exclusively in Las Vegas then Sin City Brewing Co. is an easy choice. The brewery was "launched by long-time Gordon Biersch Director of Brewing Operations Richard Johnson" and provides three microbrew bars on the strip: Sin City Brewing Co. - Harmon Corner, Sin City Brewing Co. - Planet Hollywood, and Sin City Brewing Co. - The Venetian.

The brewery produces five everyday beers and I was able to try a couple at the Venetian location. The Weisse is Nice (Hefeweizen) is a bready, citrusy beer with a bit of spice and the Never Pass Up A Blonde is your traditional lightly malted beer with a tad of saltiness. Both are not bad offerings. Also on the menu is the Say Hello to Amber, The Ale With A Tale (British IPA), and the The Dark Side of Sin (Stout). These will have to wait for next year's Super Bowl when I allocate more time. And as usual, theCompass Winery, Brewery, Distillery Locator Mobile App will guide you there. Cheers.

Montgomery County's First Farm Brewery: Waredaca Brewing Company

In December Waredaca Brewing Company (Laytonsville) opened becoming Montgomery County's First Farm Brewery - that is, they utilize some crops from the property in their beer production. In Waredaca's case they use Cascade hops, honey, lemon verbena, and well water for that purpose. The brewery is an extension of Waredaca Farm which was once called Camp Waredaca (WAshington REceational DAy CAmp) when it was a residential camp. Today the farm is an equestrian center and is one of only 20 horse farms in Maryland to receive Maryland Farm Stewardship Certification and Assessment Program (FSCAP) certification.

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.

#VABreweryChallenge - Four Breweries Along Northern I-95

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.