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A Toast to Brews, Alexandria, VA (2025)

10/01/2025

We had a blast at the 10th Anniversary Party this past weekend. The weather could have been better, but everything else was on point.

They had all their regular beers available, but there was also an "alternate reality" tent where each beer had a twist. Some were pretty normal, like an IPA with oranges, while some were wierd, like a lager with pizza.

My favorite was probably "Master of Oregon", and Imperial Double IPA with Vic Secret and Citra hops. Nothing crazy, but really good. All the varieties of "Johann the Mango Thief" were also great.

For the wierd, "Sweet Baby WTF" was a lager with BBQ added. Tasted like BBQ potato chips in a surprisingly good way. The festbier with ranch, hard pass.

The beer everyone was talking about was the "Hot Sauce", their "Volcano Sauce" sour with habaneros and ghost peppers. Its not the spiciest beer I've ever had, but it was close!

They also had a ton of barrel aged stout bottle pours, along with samples of "Wax", their THC non-alc beer. There was something for everyone.

As if the beer weren't enough, they had food trucks, several bands, and some comedians. was hilarious!
va knows how to throw a party, and make some pretty good beers. Cheers to 10 years, here's to 10 more! 🍻🍻

09/26/2025

Last weekend hosted their annual ale trail, and it was awesome. The event is out at Lake Needwood in Rock Creek Park.

They set up in this valley by the lake with tree-covered hills all around. There is a concert stage, a bunch of food trucks, several beer tents, and some activities for kids.

The coolest part is that there is a mile long trail that leads to a smaller area that had a couple more food trucks and beer tents. So, you grab your beer, hike a mile for another beer. Then rinse and repeat to your heart's content.

The weather was perfect and the scenery was beautiful. The beers were also on point. First up I had an IPA from . Lovely bitterness, plenty of grapefruit, but a tad heavy for hiking. Thankfully had a nice light German Pilsner at the other end of the trail to balance things out. I wrapped up with the Oktoberfest from , because it is the season. They also had the coolest beer trailer.

It was a pretty great day, I'll definitely be adding this to the calendar for next year as well. What's your favorite fall beer festival/event?

09/10/2025

We're back in Iowa for a week, and on our drive back we always overnight in Ohio, usually Columbus, to break up the 13 hour trip and to discover some new breweries. This time our airbnb was within walking distance of two new destinations I would definitely visit again.

We stopped at first. It is not a huge taproom, but there is a lot of outside seating and a pretty extensive draft list, along with wine and cocktails. Their flagship, "Combustion IPA" was my favorite of the day. It had a light malt profile with loads of hops, great bitterness, grapefruit, a bit of resin, and a slightly tropical finish. I really enjoyed the pilsner and the Czech amber lager as well.

A couple blocks away was , where we went to get some pizza . . . and more beer. I channeled my inner gen alpha as I ordered the "skibidi Ohio rizz", a really nice Czech dark lager with flavors of cola and molasses, a light body, and good bitterness. The rice lager was also great, light and crisp with plenty of lemon, it went great with the crispy pepperoni.

Per the usual, I was pretty impressed with what Ohio had to offer. The only downside was all the Ohio State fans. Joking!! The fans were all great and it was nice to be in a college town on a football Saturday, especially after a win. Hopefully the Hawks can pull one off this next weekend.

09/04/2025

We celebrated Labor Day by going about as opposite as you can, attending an adult gaming playground. is located in Tyson's Corner Center Mall in Virginia, though they have a couple locations in other states as well. It has 40-50 different rooms, each with a new puzzle, game, or some type of physical obstacle to beat. The rooms take a couple minutes each, and you'll have to retry most several times to beat them. Rope swings, ball tosses, puzzles, memory games, you name it. There's even a plank where you dodge swinging axes. Very Indiana Jones. It was a blast, we'll definitely be going back.

Also, it is connected to , which had a ton of drafts, some local options in cans, wine, and cocktails. I got to try several IPAs I hadn't had before. My favorite of the day was the "Road to Victory IPA", pine, citrus, crisp, pretty solid.

Good food, good beer, and a good time. This place would be fun for a date night or a group of friends, and the beer really seals the deal. Check it out if you get a chance.

08/22/2025

Last weekend we hit the port to port beer fest at . It wasn't huge, but it was great. Solid beers, not too overcrowded, good music, 9/10. Not perfect, but damn close.

As far as beers go, my standouts were the cream ale from . Slightly sweet, a light creamy, but not overly corny, this was a great warm weather beer you could enjoy all day. Also extraordinary was the West Coast Pilsner from . Everyone I told this about tried it and loved it. Perfect hoppy beer for a hot day and definitely a crowd favorite.

This was a well organized festival with some really solid breweries. If you have the chance to go next year, do it! Just make sure to secure a spot in the shade early 😎.

What are your favorite beer fests and what makes them great? We're always on the lookout and not afraid to travel, so please drop them in the comments. Convince us, cause we will go!

ale

08/12/2025

Last Thursday I got to celebrate at one of my favorite breweries, .

It is a bit of a drive for us to get up to , but luckily for me my wife Danielle is a big fan of . It just so happened that was hosting a workout class at a gym there. So, we got to meet up with some friends, get a workout in, and then have some delicious food and beers. Pretty solid Thursday.

The beer of the day was "seas mcqueen" a solid American IPA that drinks pretty light and leans heavy in to the pine, with supporting floral and grapefruit citrus flavors, over a nice bready, slightly toasty malt. Checks all the boxes.

On a side note, the workout class was a lot of fun, and a much better workout than I thought it would be. Both Sarper and Shekinah were super nice. If you're a 90 day fan is probably worth a go, especially if there is good beer nearby.

07/25/2025

Huge fan of the tap takeover. They always bring in solid breweries and unique beers. Usually they are local, but sometimes they bring in heavy hitters like . They always have swag, stickers and coozies up for grabs, and t-sh*ts, coolers, or wall signs for the raffle. 1 pint of featured beer = 1 entry.

Today I started out with a fat tire, a classic. Then moved on to the Voodoo Ranger Juice Haze, a nice citrus hazy IPA. I finished off with a Ha-Chi 5251, a delicious grassy pilsner with a crisp citrus finish.

3 winning beers and 2 winning raffle tickets. I left with a Voodoo Ranger t-shirt and a New Belgium bottle cap tin tacker (plus stickers).

If I haven't sold you on this place yet, they also have awesome food (pizzas and sandwiches) and a great bottle/can beer selection.

Do yourself the favor and check this place out. Support a great venue, local breweries, and get some swag.

Almost forgot to mention we got to try , their new "hard refresher". Not carbonated, its basically a Gatorade with 5% abv. It was pretty good, and may be my new go to post 5k drink this summer.

07/19/2025

Found the coolest new brewery in D.C. yesterday. opened back in May, but when you walk in, it feels like it's always been there. The vibe is comfort, a little old-school, a little country club, but all elevated. There are a ton of different seating areas that are a little secluded, perfect for small groups or a date. There is a little something for everyone, wine, cocktails, n/a options. The food menu is small but delicious, and again, elevated.

Most importantly, the beer. They had a little of everything, dark, light, hoppy, sour, you name it. We tried 6 different ones and they were all very well done. The standout for me was the West Coast. Really bitter, loads of pine, a bit of citrus, and just enough caramel malt to give it balance, just about perfect. A close second was the Czech pilsner, which was nice and light, a little grassy, not too heavy on the malt, but still really flavorful.

The food, the staff, the drinks, the space, all 10/10. This place was a great find, I can't wait to go back!

P.S., if you go and like cocktails, they also have a little secret you should ask about . . .

06/04/2025

Did you know there is a Michelin star brewery? There's only one, and it is in Chicago. So of course on our last night in town we had to go.

But first was a pit stop to another very cool brewery, which is actually a two for one deal. specializes in some funkier stuff, beer wine hybrids, natural fermentation, and cool ingredients. Don't let it intimidate you, it's delicious! is their branch that puts out more traditional (but equally delicious) beers. My favorite was "river yacht", a cold IPA that was light, clean, and very fruit forward (tropical, citrus, and berries). This was definitely one of my top stops in Chicago.

While we could have stayed all night, that Michelin star was calling to us, so off to we went. The place is just cool. It's a little dark, a little sexy, but still approachable. The beer was solid. The "aperitif pilsner" won the night for me, though they had a dark lager that came in at close second. While the beer was good, the food was great. After several appetizers we settled on duck and steak for the mains (duck won).

Our last night in Chicago was definitely a success, I would hands down recommend both these places to anyone in the area.

It was a full week with lots of beer. I left with a renewed fondness for Chicago, we'll have to plan another trip back soon.

I know there were plenty of stops we didn't make it to, so if anyone has other favorite Chicago/Illinois/Midwest breweries please let me know so I can add them to the list.

P.S. thank you to my wife for letting me tag along on her business trip.

Cheers!

-of-a-kind

05/30/2025

We took advantage of the long weekend to do a little exploring. About 2 hours from us are the Luray Caverns, the largest caverns in the Eastern U.S. We took the mile long underground walking tour, and it was pretty cool. A little touristy, I expected it to be cave-ier, but still neat.

The caves were not the only exploring we did in Luray, a short drive away is . It may be small, but the beer was solid. My favorite was the "Hooray for Luray", a nice bitter American IPA with plenty of hops, a nice caramel malt backbone, and a bit of citrus. If you're in the area it is worth a stop.

A little farther out was . Repurposed out of an old horse barn, it is a beautiful space putting out some decent beers. The winner here was the "Out the Gate" pilsner. Light and crushable, heavy on the citrus, nice summer beer.

An adventurous and enjoyable weekend. I hope everyone else had a great Memorial Day, and hopefully some fun plans for the upcoming weekend too!

05/23/2025

What's your favorite Chicago area brewery? Cause I'm not sure I can pick.

Day 3 of the Chicago trip was our penultimate night, and the biggest one for breweries.

First up was . While I tend to lean toward IPAs, sometimes you have to switch it up, and their traditional European beers are among the best out there. The Vienna lager was the winner for me. It leaned more butterscotch and toffee than the typical caramel, and had a nice hoppy zip at the end.

Up next was , which definitely scratched that IPA itch! We tried just about everything on, but people know Grid for a reason, and it was still my fav of the day. If you haven't had it, just do yourself the favor and go find it.

Last, but certainly not least, was . As a big Anti-hero fan this was a must stop for me, and I left with a tin tacker to add to the wall. Solid beers, and a huge space, just look at all those barrels!

3 great breweries with so many great beers, definitely was a great trip up to this point. Only one more night (the boujie-est) left to report out on, be sure to check back in!

05/21/2025

Had a blast this weekend at the .va ! The beer was flowing and the weather couldn't have been better.

The standout beer of the day for me was "Soul Slabs", a New Zealand style pilsner from . Light, crisp, citrus & stone fruit, and a little bit of that new world earthiness, perfectly refreshing on a hot day.

Runner up went to for their lime lager "Lime Snaps". Loads of lime, effervescent, it was like drinking a shandy with lemon-lime soda, another perfect option for the warm weather.

They also brought in a running club to do a beer mile. I think first place was just over 7 minutes. Definitely more impressive than my morning 5k time, but gotta to work those beers off one way or another.

Thanks Aslin for a great time, will definitely be back next year! Until then, anyone have any other good festivals coming up? And what's your go-to to summer lager?

A Toast to Brews

10/01/2025

09/26/2025

09/10/2025

09/04/2025

08/22/2025

08/12/2025

07/25/2025

07/19/2025

06/04/2025

05/30/2025

05/23/2025

05/21/2025

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