Tag Archives: craft brew

Local Craft Breweries: Expanding Past the Horizon

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Within the past 30 years, local craft breweries have been on a steady increase in the D.C. metropolitan area. With no decline in popularity in sight, expansion in every aspect of the business will be a looming reality sooner rather than later.

Craft breweries have become so numerous and popular that Virginia’s official government website has created an interactive map showing locations of breweries near you. Gone are the days of scouring the landscape in search of good local beer.

Local breweries such as Port City, D.C. Brau and Mad Fox have made waves in the industry finding their way into local taps across the region. Some breweries such as Mad Fox and Rock Bottom built restaurants around their breweries and add on to their franchises while others stick with a tap room atmosphere.about-1

Now let’s set on eyes on one particular brewery, D.C. Brau. Founded in 2009 by D.C. residents Brandon Skall and Jeff Hancock, the brewery has grown exponentially in the past five years. Appalled by the fact that no brewery had been opened in the district for 60 years, the pair began building the foundation for a brewery.

Dancing through a limbo of zoning laws, health regulations and outdated D.C. regulations, the brewery was finally conceived. Branding its distribution as a canning-only brewery for cost efficiency and longevity, D.C. Brau has set itself apart from its competitors.

Currently prepping for a five year anniversary, D.C. Brau’s head honchos were unavailable for an interview. With a little digging and taproom banter, luck brought a very knowledgeable source with ties to the brewery.

An official source who asked to remainDCBraut_5yr anonymous, shed some light into the future expansion of the brewery and its inner workings. Boasting almost 50 current employees to date, the brewery is expanding and gaining ground in distribution. With its beers reaching as far as New Jersey, the brewery is aiming to expand distribution past the turnpike.

With no slow in demand for its beers, the brewery’s current canning line is right for an expansion. In the coming year, the brewery looks to purchase local property and convert the facility into brand new canning line.

Homebrewing: The Birth of the Craft Beer Boom

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While perusing the beer aisle at your local distributor, it can be tough finding the right beer. If you have some money to spend and a hankering for a new hobby why not brew beer yourself!

Since the end of prohibition in the United States in Dec. 1933Prohibition_wastage, homebrewers have been hard at work honing their craft all in the name of good beer.  From start to finish, home brewing is a labor of love and is not for the impatient.

To begin homebrewing, one must understand and get acquainted with the beer making process. The four essential ingredients that are required to make beer are barley, water, hops and yeast. Through the four step process of mashing, boiling, fermentation and bottling, homebrewers can get their first taste in as little as one month to allow for bottle conditioning.beerprocess0b3

No time is better to start brewing up some beer than now since we are in what some call the golden age of craft beers. According to a 2013 American Homebrewers Association survey, there are currently 1.2 million homebrewers in the U.S. alone with a combined brew of 2 million barrels of beer annually.

Homebrewing outlets can be found online and for local Virginians as close as Falls Church for all your supplies. For as low as $139.99, brewer prospects can start homebrewing with a kit that includes everything needed minus the bottles.

Some brewers are limited by space while others are affected byaha_logo budget concerns. Napoleon Aparicio, a one year local homebrewer, had this to share:

“Homebrewing can become an expensive endeavor with some kits and equipment reaching up to $500. Due to the fact that I live in an apartment where a propane burner is out of the question, I use my stove top which works but limits my beer output. Ultimately it is the equipment that drives costs up.”

Through trial and error, homebrewers can perfect new and exciting recipes to share with friends and maybe even turn their hobby into a full fledge microbrewery. Craft beer shows no signs of slowing down in popularity and for those who want to gain appreciation for the art of brewing; this hobby just might be the perfect fit.