Wandering Around, Meeting People and Getting Into Adventures

I'm sorry, did I break your
concentration?

This has been my summer… more or less. I've been doing my best at following in the footsteps of some of literature's most famed adventurers, and setting out to visit all of these wonderful craft breweries in my neck of the woods. And much like Geoffrey Chaucer in Canterbury Tales, Caine from Kung Fu and Kung Fu: The Legend Continues, and Jules Winnfield from Pulp Fiction, my wandering usually results in new friends and fascinating stories to tell.

And now, by way of a mid-summer after-action report of sorts, I will recount some of the highlights of the last five breweries I visited, providing you with useful information and giving some love to the brewers in the process.

Bad Wolf Brewing Company | Manassas, Virginia

I stopped in on a Sunday afternoon back in May while the wife and kids were out of town. The tap room wasn't overly busy, so the overall vibe was very laid back. They had some bluegrass music playing and the doors were open, allowing a pleasant early summer breeze to blow through.  The beers on flight matched the summery feel in the brewery, featuring three IPAs, a saison, a gose and a kölsch. They were their Sorachi Ace IPA, Jalapeno IPA, NEW Saison, Bad Moon Rising Gose, Unkölsch and Black Beard Mild.

A couple of gents discussing the world's problems over
some delicious Bad Wolf brews

The Sorachi Ace hops gave the first IPA a subtle spicy floral taste, with a touch of citrus behind it. The Jalapenos gave the second IPA a very unique (and hot) quality, which was exactly the opposite of the sorachi ace. The saison, gose and kölsch were all perfect summer beers, and I remember thinking that these three together really reinforced that spring was ending and summer was beginning. The mild was a medium colored, roasty, sessionable IPA which was not overly sweet or hoppy – just a tasty beer.

Bad Wolf is quickly becoming one of my favorite local breweries. Their nano-brewery business model fascinates me, their beers are always high-quality and interesting, and the people are just so darn friendly. Plus, they have that whole Dr. Who thing going on. I’m already thinking about going back.

Adventure Brewing Company | Stafford, Virginia

I was doing research for this astounding blog one Saturday morning when I discovered that a new brewery was opening in Stafford… that day. And of course I can’t pass up an opportunity to go to a grand opening of a local brewery, so I availed myself upon Adventure. Their brewery is very cool. They’re located in a (seemingly) quiet part of Stafford and have lots of room both inside and out. And since it was their grand opening, they were quite busy. They had food trucks with sausages, BBQ and ice cream, corn hole, and of course, brand new beers to drink.

Adventure co-owners Stan Johnson (left) and Tim Bornholtz
testing the alcohol content of their beer

They only had four beers on tap, which were their Backpack Wheat, Super Power Pale Ale, Expedition IPA and Stiletto Stout. The wheat was tremendous, with some very nice grape notes and sweetness. The pale ale, IPA and stout were also very good, but that wheat was great!

I also had the opportunity to talk to a few folks who were working there, and one of them told me that the bar was an old oak tree that used to be in front of the courthouse in Stafford until it fell over from wind or lightning – I’m not sure which. He also told me that the bar was the most expensive thing in the entire brewery! It’s definitely a cool touch… the bar is the obvious visual center of attention. Pretty sweet brewery… I’m already thinking of going back to this one too.

Old Bust Head Brewing Company | Gainesville, Virginia

On the next Saturday (still in May), I made the long drive, all the way out to the Fauquier County line, to the Old Bust Head Brewing Company. Old Bust Head was (and still is) under heavy construction at the time, so they were serving beer out of their brew house, which was an added bonus in my opinion – what better environment to drink beer in than in the stainless steel jungle? They also had a food truck serving burritos – also in the brew house – and some music playing on the speakers.

Horses get thirsty too at Old Bust Head

The beers they had were their Wildcat IPA, Chinquapin Chestnut Porter, Bust Head English Pale Ale and Chukker Czech Pilsner. The Wildcat is a slightly more bitter than sweet, IPA and is quite nice. The Bust Head Pale Ale is also more bitter than it is sweet, and finishes like a less hoppy version of the IPA. The Chinquapin is very interesting as it is made with chestnuts, which are very prominent in the taste, much like a nut brown ale. My favorite was the Chukker, which is strange to hear a hop head say, but it was one of the better pilsners I've had in quite a while. A rare thing indeed.

Old Bust Head is quiet, laid back, and warm and welcoming. Their staff is very friendly and the overall vibe is pleasant, just like you would expect from Fauquier County, Virginia. They are in the process of building the rest of their facility, including a proper tap room, so here soon, we won’t be sitting in the brew house drinking anymore (bummer). They also tend to have petting zoos on the grounds, so go talk to the animals… and have a beer! It’s totally worth the drive.

Lost Rhino Brewing Company | Ashburn, Virginia

On Independence Eve, I decided not to go to work, and instead drove up to Ashburn to the Lost Rhino Brewery. These guys are a bit of a hike for me, but always totally worth it… their beers are awesome! They also must have had some construction done recently because the place was completely different on the inside. No more stage with toys underneath it for the kids, for example. Maybe they had the face lift done a while ago and I just don’t get out there often enough (certainly possible).

Slinging beers at Lost Rhino

The beers I had at Lost Rhino that day were their Tupper’s 25k Rye IPA, Piedmont Pale Lager, Smokey and the Rhino Rauchbier, Final Glide Hefeweizen, Face Plant IPA, Meridian Kölsch, Bone Dusters Paleo Amber Ale, New River Pale Ale and Rhino Chasers Pilsner. By far, the best were Tupper’s 25k Rye, which was brewed in conjunction with Bob and Ellie Tupper’s 25,000th beer tasting, and the Bone Dusters, which was fermented with wild yeast from an ancient whale skeleton. The Face Plant, Final Glide and New River were also quite delicious as always.

I lived in Ashburn during the Old Dominion days, and even though those days are long gone, it’s pretty cool to know that Lost Rhino is up there, using the same equipment (and some of the same people) as Old Dominion did, before they took their talents to Delaware. I’ll definitely be back to Lost Rhino.

Forge Brew Works | Lorton, Virginia

And then there is Forge. Since Forge is located right next to my office, and since I am married to one of their employees, I seem to drink quite a bit of their beer… good thing it’s so awesome! I went over there last Thursday after work to drink a few beers with some friends, and as usual, the beer was great.

Forge brew master Matt Rose making something delicious

On this most recent occasion, I got into their Radler, Seaward Imperial IPA and Belgian Pale Ale. The Radler is a 50/50 blend of their petite saison and grapefruit soda, so it takes on a tropical sense – it reminds me of the Floridaweiss beers that they make down in Florida where they make a Berlinnerweiss and add tropical fruits to it. This one isn't as sour, but the flavors are similar. And obviously, the Seaward was tremendous as it always is.

Forge is currently serving a new single hop IPA made with Pacific Gem hops (get it while it lasts) and they just tapped a Rye IPA that was unofficially “randalized” as opposed to dry hopped, which I’m sure gives it a delightfully hoppy nose on top of that delicious rye backbone. I’ll have more to say about that once I've had it.

So that’s my summer so far… not too bad if I do say so myself. I am currently planning an expedition up to the district to stop in on Bluejacket Brewery and perhaps check out DC Brau’s new digs. Or Atlas, or 3 Stars, or Chocolate City… you know, whatever. I also want to get back down to Adventure and drink their new beers, and take a long weekend in NORTHERN Northern Virginia to stop in on Old Ox Brewery, Adroit Theory Brewing Company, Corcoran Brewing Company, Leesburg Beer Company, Vintage 50 Brewery, Crooked Run Brewing, etc. So much beer to drink, so little time.

Here’s to craft-brewed happiness… Cheers!

Rare Beer Hunting Pays Off... Again!

I know I've written on this topic before, but I have cause to rehash it… I have cause to celebrate. I recently got my hands on a very special beer that is absolutely impossible to find in my neck of the woods. This rarity is considered by most enlightened beer people to be either number 1 or 1-A on the list of the best craft beers on the planet. Needless to say, this is a pretty big day in my life… right up there with my wedding day or the days my children were born. I’m just being honest, people.

Oh, and the beer in question is the coveted Heady Topper American Double IPA by The Alchemist, located in Waterbury, VT.

Another white whale has been checked off my list!

How did I get it? Glad you asked. If you remember back to some of my earlier expositions of rare beer hunting, the key to success is an expansive network of friends, partners, snitches, and well-wishers. Craft beer is truly a team sport, and to try to go it alone is only asking for heartache.

Not sure what perfection is, but this has to be close

In this particular case, one of my most trusted drinking collaborators was traveling home to the Boston area and knew a guy who knew a guy over in Northern Vermont, where Heady Topper is made. This mutual friend of a mutual friend was able to score a healthy amount of Topper and just like in the days of the Volstead Act, these shining cans of malted-barley-based ecstasy made their way across state lines and eventually into my fridge.

Heady Topper is only sold within 25 miles of Waterbury, VT and usually sells out within days or even hours of being released. This probably has a lot to do with the beer's reputation and lengths people are willing to go to get some. In fact, according to a news story from August 2013, Heady Toppers were being sold for $18 per can on the black market in Washington, DC.

As I mentioned, Heady Topper is a Double IPA, but it is not designed to be the most bitter or the strongest. The brewers’ intent is to highlight the different hop flavors and aromas of the six different hops that go into it. Flavors like orange, tropical fruit, pink grapefruit, pine and spice take center stage on your palate. It weighs in at 8% ABV and 75 IBU.

Just like with other white whales I've bagged over the years, I couldn't have done it without the network of friends and informants that made it happen. If rarities are what you seek, you need to know people, and in many cases, you need to know people who know people who know people. And so on, and so forth.

Beer in a can... always better!

P.S. - It's delicious! Here’s to The Alchemist, Heady Topper, people who know people, and America! Rare craft beer too!

Here’s to craft-brewed happiness… Cheers!

"Prehistoric" Beer

I am the Ron Burgundy of beer drinking. Seriously.

You might think that by now, it’s pretty hard to impress me with beer. After all, I've been scouring the mid-Atlantic region and other various locales for a number of years now and I've seen and drank quite a few beers. I am on approach to the coveted rank of “Extraodinary” on Untappd. In other words, I’m kind of a big deal, if I do say so myself. And yet, every now and then, I stumble upon something truly remarkable that astounds even me. This past Thursday, on Independence Eve, I was once again amazed by beer.

And by the way, happy belated Independence Day!

The beer I found that astonished me on this occasion was in Ashburn, Virginia at the Lost Rhino Brewing Company, and was called Bone Dusters Paleo Ale. As a beer, taking no other information into account, Bone Dusters is a very tasty amber ale with a sweet finish and sessionable drinkability. But when you peel back the onion a little bit, you realize how interesting this beer really is.

Pretty cool artwork too.

Apparently, Lost Rhino’s yeast guy teamed up with an old college friend of his from a non-profit called Paleo Quest and cultivated a wild yeast strain from a prehistoric whale fossil that was unearthed in Dismal Swamp, near Chesapeake, Virginia. He then used this wild yeast to ferment Bone Dusters, with a percentage of the proceeds going to buy lab equipment for schools. It doesn't get much cooler than that.

Now before you freak out, let’s think about this. No, the yeast is not prehistoric. It was captured from among the fossilized bones, but unless preserved in amber, or frozen in ice, yeast cannot survive that long. This yeast is a contemporary strand of living wild yeast that was hanging out with the matrix (the stuff that bone fossils are surrounded by) around this prehistoric whale’s skeleton. Wild yeast is used all the time in making beer. In fact, wild yeast is all around us all the time, on the food we eat and in the air we breathe. You are breathing it in right now as you are reading these words.

So no, this is not gross. Not even a little bit.

The yeast they discovered hanging out with the whale bones is a subspecies of brewer’s yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) called Saccharomyces cerevisiae var protocetus, named after the protocetid whale fossil that they swabbed to get it. Lost Rhino’s yeast guy recalled doubting heavily that the yeast would actually ferment, as it didn't hold up well in an alcoholic environment, but he was pleasantly surprised when they sprung to life and began converting sugars.

Jason Osborne (Paleo Quest) and Jasper Akerboom (Lost Rhino)
working on the Bone Dusters project

Some are skeptical about the use of the words “prehistoric” and “paleo” on the beer’s label and press release, saying that there is nothing prehistoric or paleo about the beer, and it’s just a publicity stunt. Sam Calagione, founder of Dogfish Head and maker of unusual beers for the sake of unusual beers, says in his book Brewing Up a Business (I’m paraphrasing) that there is no such thing as bad publicity, because in order to be taken seriously, you have to be recognizable. Recognition can be achieved through “good” publicity, but it can also be achieved through “bad” publicity. It’s easy for skeptics to bemoan what they deem to be marketing ploys or publicity stunts, but that is what sells products. Unfortunately, reputation alone is usually not enough. In Lost Rhino’s case, the beer isn't necessarily prehistoric, but it’s related to paleontology, so calling it “paleo ale” is not an attempt at deception – it’s selling a product.

But if you allow yourself to see a beer for what it is, and more importantly drink it for what it is, what you’ll find is that Lost Rhino’s Bone Dusters is a very tasty amber ale, as I alluded to earlier. Not only is it tasty, but it’s a tasty amber ale with a pretty cool story to tell. And some of the proceeds go to a good charitable cause. And science. And Virginia. What’s not to like?

It is currently available to drink or purchase out of the tap room in Ashburn, if you are in the area. I know they plan to make more, and I think they may even send it out to retail, so there is a good possibility you non-locals can get your hands on it soon, wherever fine Lost Rhino products are sold near you.

Here’s to craft-brewed happiness… Cheers!