An update on Northern Virginia’s growing beer scene: Here’s what’s happening in Prince William. And for a full list, Northern Virginia breweries.
2 Silos Brewing
After receiving a homebrew kit as a birthday present from his wife, 2 Silos Brewery co-founder and head brewmaster Forrest Morgan spent the next 10 years developing his newfound hobby into one of NoVA’s upcoming breweries. “The hobby quickly outgrew the kitchen, then the guest bedroom, then the garage, and then in 2014, I pitched a wild and crazy idea of opening a brewery to Marcus [Silva, co-founder],” Morgan says. “And the rest [is] history, as they say.”
The brewery campus, which will inhabit a 6-acre plot of land that includes the historic Thomasson Barn in Manassas, will encompass the brewery along with a tasting room, a bistro and a beer garden with a stage for live music. It’s set to open late spring or early summer 2017 with a vast array of unique, big-character beers and seasonal ales on rotation that are brewed both on-site and at local farms. The year-round recipes will include a pale ale, double IPA, black lager, Czech pilsner, cream ale and a white Belgian, plus a handful of seasonal releases: pumpkin, gingerbread and wild blueberry ales, an Oktoberfest-style beer and a coffee stout.
To complement the artisan beers on offer, Farmers & Brewers Bistro, located across from the tasting room, will serve locally grown fare. “We believe that great beer deserves great food—an ideal marriage,” Morgan says.
“Our beers will reflect our passion for brewing,” says Morgan. “We pride ourselves on brewing beers we love to drink.”
Water’s End Brewery
Like many brewery origin stories, Zach Mote, the president and head brewer for Water’s End—which, located 3 miles from the Occoquan River, gets its moniker from the river’s Native American name meaning “at the end of the water”—was inspired to start his own venture after experimenting with a homebrew kit his brother gave him. Co-founders Josh Fournelle and Ryan Sharkey joined the Lake Ridge enterprise after Mote pitched it to them. “Ryan and I are both longtime friends of Zach’s and were sold on the beer and vision of the brewery over informal homebrew tastings that Zach held on his back deck,” says Fournelle.
Now, set to open this Saturday, the brewery’s team has been working hard for two years to deliver a range of beers catered toward their customers’ tastes. “Something that makes craft beer so great is the constant innovation behind it,” says Fournelle. “Staying close to our customers, we’ll learn about new things that they like [and] dislike or trends they’ve heard about.”
The first selection of Water’s End beers will include its signature Damn Beer pale ale, a fruit-infused white IPA, the Adventure Hat rye malt, the Belgian-style Zest Fest and an English brown ale. In addition to the beers on tap, the brewery will occasionally serve food, but guests are encouraged to bring food from home or order in from local restaurants.
