Editor’s Note: For more on Northern Virginia’s beer scene, plus a directory of breweries both opened and almost-opened, check out the Beer Awards issue, on newsstands now.
By Susannah Black
Longtime Reston residents Melissa and Jason Romano are turning their homebrewing hobby into a family-run nanobrewery in Reston’s Lake Anne Plaza, slated to open late this August as Lake Anne Brew House.
“Craft beer has always been a real passion for him, and me too,” says Melissa, referencing her husband‘s 20-plus years of homebrewing. Professionally, they’re starting out slowly with a nanobrewery (brewing under 500 barrels of beer per year). “We want to keep everything really small … we want people to have a place to feel like they’re at home,” Melissa says.
Having kept their eye on a location in Lake Anne Plaza, the Romanos will operate Lake Anne Brew House in the former Singh Thai space. “It’s the perfect size to do something small,” Melissa says. The location can fit about 50 people plus another 30 on the patio.
They plan to have 12 taps available at a time serving a variety of styles—stout, IPA, pale ale, brown ale—as well as experimental, seasonal and holiday beers. During farmers market season, Melissa will source ingredients for their seasonal brews like herbs, pumpkin and fruit directly from their neighbor Reston Farmers Market.
While the brewery will not offer food service besides light snacks, like many breweries in the area, guests are welcome to bring their own food from home or any of the neighboring restaurants.
For now, the Romanos do not plan to distribute or expand into a brewpub; they plan to keep their business intimate to the Lake Anne community. “We feel like this has always been our stomping ground … we want to keep everything craft and community focused.”/ Lake Anne Brew House; 11424 Washington Plaza, Reston
