Virginia is for Craft Beer Lovers!!!

I’m not sure if you heard this or not, but August has been declared Virginia Craft Beer Month! There will be festivals, promotions, parties and lots of beer… all month long! It all boils down to a lot of self-congratulations and government/media “look at me” moments, but there’s beer involved… so it’s awesome!

Speaking of awesome “look at me” moments, have you noticed how many new breweries there are in Virginia? Just in Northern Virginia alone, growth has been through the roof! By way of illustration, here are some maps to compare and contrast. The first was what Northern Virginia’s craft beer scene looked like three short years ago:

Ah, memories...

Now, here’s a map of what we look like today:

Wowzers in me trowsers!!!

That is a literal crap-ton of growth in just three years’ time. In order to better dissect the second map, allow me to clue you in to what breweries those little icons represent.

In no particular order…

·        Adroit Theory Brewing Company – Purcellville, Virginia

·        Corcoran Brewing Company – Purcellville, Virginia

·        Belly Love Brewing Company (COMING SOON) – Purcellville, Virginia

·        Leesburg Beer Company – Leesburg, Virginia

·        Vintage 50 Brewery – Leesburg, Virginia

·        Crooked Run Brewing – Leesburg, Virginia

·        Lost Rhino Brewing Company – Ashburn, Virginia

·        Old Ox Brewery – Ashburn, Virginia

·        Beltway Brewing Company – Sterling, Virginia

·        Ocelot Brewing Company – Sterling, Virginia

·        New World Brauhaus (COMING SOON) – Vienna, Virginia

·        Caboose Brewing Company (COMING SOON) – Vienna, Virginia

·        Twinpanzee Brewing Company (COMING SOON) – McLean, Virginia

·        Mad Fox Brewing Company – Falls Church, Virginia

·        Capitol City Alehouse – Arlington, Virginia

·        Port City Brewing Company – Alexandria, Virginia

·        Forge Brew Works – Lorton, Virginia

·        Fair Winds Brewing Company (COMING SOON) – Lorton, Virginia

·        Potomac Ale Works (COMING SOON) – Woodbridge, Virginia

·        Heritage Brewing Company – Manassas, Virginia

·        Bad Wolf Brewing Company – Manassas, Virginia

·        Tin Cannon Brewing Company (COMING SOON) – Gainesville, Virginia

·        Old Bust Head Brewing Company – Warrenton, Virginia

·        Adventure Brewing Company – Stafford, Virginia

·        Barley Naked Brewing Company (COMING SOON) – Stafford, Virginia

·        Spencer Devon Brewing (COMING SOON) – Fredericksburg, Virginia

·        Blue and Grey Brewing Company – Fredericksburg, Virginia

·        Three Brothers Brewing – Harrisonburg, Virginia

THAT’S A LOT OF BREWERIES!!! AND I PROBABLY MISSED A FEW NEWCOMERS TOO!!!

Now you understand why Virginia is regarded as one of the fastest growing craft beer states in the nation. And why we need our own month. Virginia has seen the number of craft breweries increase by over 100% in the last three years, and expects that number to increase by another 100% in the next two years. This is not done yet folks. Virginia is well on its way to catching up to the elite craft beer states like Colorado and California. That’s right, I said it!

So drink up Virginia… this is your month. And as homework, you must visit and drink from all of the above listed breweries before Virginia Craft Beer Month ends. You have exactly 22 days remaining from the date of this publication. Ready… go!

Here’s to Virginia, craft beer and craft-brewed happiness… Cheers!