By Raquel DeSouza
Brambleton is showcasing 24 local breweries at its inaugural Brew Fest this Saturday, May 30.
Most of the participating breweries are a year, or less, old and are a within an hour’s drive of Brambleton, but also include participants from Washington, D.C., and West Virginia as well. Some new Loudoun County breweries that will be attending the festival include Old Ox, Adroit Theory and Ocelot Brewing.
Be prepared to see a mixture of local favorites, seasonal brews and new flavors.
“I’m trying to keep it a nice balance, so there’s not too many of one type of beer,” says Brambleton Community Association events and programming specialist Dana Vinci. “But pretty much I’ve let the distributor and the brewery pick what they want to bring.”
Vinci says there will also be eight food trucks and live music from bands Hypnotic Willie and Crowded Streets.
Lost Rhino Retreat is sponsoring the event and will also have an open house of its new location at Brambleton Plaza, right in front of the Brew Fest. At the open house, there will be a preview of their beer selection and menu. The brewery’s sales representative, Chris Drummond, says that their chef, Josh Miller, has incorporated their beers into some of the food, like in marinades.
The brewery has a beer called Native Son, and it is their first Virginia beer to be made entirely from Virginia ingredients. The malt is from Northern Neck, the yeast is from Ashburn, and the hops are from Leesburg. It has been made for two years, and Drummond says they hope to bring it back annually, but it will taste slightly different every year depending on the available ingredients.
“A really good portion of our beers do have some local ingredient in it, and that’s very important to us,” he says.
He thinks that as local interest in craft beer increases over the next couple of years, there will be more Virginia ingredients in Virginia beers.
According to the Brewer Association, craft breweries now account for every one in 10 beers sold in the United States. Drummond says that Loudoun County is also experiencing this national boom of local suds.
“I think this community has always really liked craft beer,” he says. “I don’t think they want something that’s mass-produced. They want something that’s local, that they can feel a part of, [that] they can support and call their own.”
Brambleton Brew Fest
May 30, 1 p.m.-6 p.m.
Tickets: $30 per person (includes entrance, sampling glass and six 5-ounce samples)
