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A Toast to Brews, Alexandria, VA (2026)

09/25/2026

A few months ago I signed up for the Tree House Brewing Company half marathon in Deerfield, MA, because:
A: It was 2 weeks before my 40th birthday, and that seemed like a good goal to have and
B: Treehouse was a bucket-list brewery for me.

Unfortunately after logging a couple hundred miles I got a training injury and could not rehab in time for race day. However, all the things had been booked so we still made the trip, and it was awesome.

The place is a vibe, super colorful, lots of plants, big outdoor space. The wait for a b**r can get a little long when it gets busy, but other than that everything was great.

I knew Treehouse is known for their hazies, but they had a good variety on tap, and everything was solid. We left with a couple pallets (and a tin tacker). Some of the b**r highlights:

Julius: Delicious hazy. Lots of tropical and citrus flavors, but good bitterness, and not just a juice bomb. Their flagship for a reason! 5/5.

Green: Hoppier and less juicy than Julius, with more pine and a little earthiness, but still plenty of tropical fruit flavor. Also 5/5.

I also very much enjoyed the oak aged marzen and black IPA they had on tap. Not quite 5/5's, but still very good. Out of the to-go b**rs my favorite was the Czech dark l***r, "Nomad".

We went back on day 2 for the actual race and after party, and though it was rainy, there was still a great turnout. It was an awesome time, I may have to sign up again next year, and hopefully actually run. If you're a runner and a b**r fan you should definitely check it out.

Now I've got to find my next bucket-list brewery, and a good excuse to go.

**rfan **r

08/26/2026

As cool as Great Lakes was, it certainly wasn't all Cleveland had to offer. In fact, we strategically picked our airbnb so we were only a block and a half away from our primary destination, Masthead Brewing Co., and they did not disappoint.

I'm not always a stout guy, but I do enjoy a spicy b**r. They had on "Island Time", an imperial stout with cocoa, coconut, and habanero peppers that was pretty close to perfect. My favorite b**r of the day was their "Cleveland Experiment, volume 9", a West Coast IPA that was hoppy and crushable, with flavors of stone fruits. They also had delicious pizzas, pictured is a Korean BBQ with kimchi & jalapeños, absolutely 🔥! This was my favorite Cleveland stop, so I had to leave with a tin tacker for the collection.

We did find out Southern Tier Brewing Company had a location in town (Southern Tier Brewing Co - CLE), and had to do a quick stop in there as well. Even though it was a little early for it, we couldn't leave without having a "Pumking", the quintessential pumpkin b**r. If it is not in a store near you yet, it will be soon. That said, if you get a chance to have it on draft, do it.

One night was not nearly enough, we will definitely be back through again on a future trip to Iowa. If you've got a favorite Cleveland spot we missed please drop it in the comments and we'll add it to the schedule next time.

**r **r

08/24/2026

On our recent trip back to Iowa we decided to overnight in Cleveland. This, of course, meant a trip to Great Lakes Brewing Company

Great Lakes is one of those craft breweries you can find on shelves about everywhere. In 2025 they were listed as the 26th largest craft brewery in the country. So, we had to see what the taproom was like, and what they had on draft. Of course we tried the staples like Elliot Ness amber and Midwest IPA, but there were a lot of small batch b**rs on, including a nice porter and a tasty double IPA brewed for America's 250th. We even got to try their Christmas Ale, some of the last still left from their annual Christmas in July event.

If you get the chance I recommend a visit. It has an Irish bar vibe, cool people, and a solid variety of good b**r. Pretty low-key, they just also happen to have a separate gift shop and big production facility across the street.

I'll definitely be stopping back in next time we are in Cleveland. Luckily until then I can still find their b**rs at the grocery store down the street.

**rfan
**r

08/19/2026

What better way to celebrate **rMonth than by visiting an award-winning VA brewery?

Caboose Brewing Company has been picking up some serious hardware in recent years. This month they won 3 medals at the Virginia Craft B**r Cup, adding to their impressive collection of Virginia, Great American B**r Festival, and World B**r Cup awards. Clearly they brew good b**r.

So, we started off with a flight of the recent medal winners, adding in a "Boxcar Brown" for good measure. While they were all solid, I saw an Imperial Red Ale on the menu calling my name. "Nero" was surprisingly citrusy, with oranges and reainous pine coming forward over a nice caramel malt base. Coming in at 9.5%, the alcohol is there, but it does not come off as boozy.

Caboose has two locations, we usually go to Caboose Tavern. They have a large, diverse draft list, good food, and are right off of a really nice jogging/biking trail. Well worth a visit if you're in the area.

If you want to see the full list of VA Craft B**r Cup winners go check out Virginia Craft Brewers Guild and check the link in their bio.

🍻Cheers🍻

**rflight **r **rjudge

08/14/2026

Berkley was the best girl.

If you look at our social media, you might think my wife and I's lives revolve around b**r, food, and travel. While those are big parts, our lives really revolve around our dogs.

On Monday, after 13 wonderful years, we had to say goodbye to our first dog, Berkley. She passed in our arms, surrounded by love. She was very brave, and always so sweet. I'll miss her waiting at the top of the stairs for us any time we came home, and how she was always looking to be held or cuddle with her humans. I could write pages, but I wouldn't be able to capture how great she was or how much I will miss her.

I see so many people bringing their dogs to breweries. Lots of breweries are pet friendly, have pet merch like leashes, bowls, toys, or treats, and many host pet themed events or shelter fundraisers. It is clear that there are a lot of b**r people out there who also have the best pets, and who love theirs as much as I do.

So, I wanted to share a few b**r-themed pictures of Berkley.

First up, we have her with her favorite toy, the "Snip Snap" b**r can from Sapwood Cellars Brewery, so you know she had exquisite taste.

Then we have a number of brewery pictures, one of her "reading" one of my b**r books, and one of her diving into a bag of spent-grain treats.

The last two pictures aren't b**r themed, but are two of my favorites. She always loved playing with the big dogs, and one of her favorite spots to nap was wrapped around my neck.

So, thank you to all the breweries that incorporate pets into what they do, and to all the other pet parents and their furry companions for making the b**r scene a more fun place to be.

And of course, the biggest thank you to Berkley for being the absolute best girl. Maddie (our Sheltie), Danielle, and I miss you.

08/07/2026

Sometimes the b**r is so good I forget to snap a picture till its half gone . . .

Thursday was and I wanted to shout out Wake Brewing for making one of the best American IPAs I've had in a while, "Mid Life Crisis." I like my IPAs to taste like pine-sol smells, and this nailed it 👌. Pine forward with a nice supporting lemony citrus. A little syrupy like you get in some doubles, but clean, bitter, and delicious. It was so good I went back on Friday to get some 4-packs to bring back to Virginia.

Wake is a small brewery in Rock Island, Illinios, which we usually try to visit when we are back in Iowa. Its very chill and music-oriented, with a heavy metal theme. This time they had turn-tables set up with a sign-up sheet for people to play later, and the roster was pretty full. Seemed like a really cool idea.

So, happy National IPA day to all my other hop heads out there, and thanks again Wake for putting out some excellent b**rs. Hope to see you again in a few months!

Anyone else discover any great IPA's recently? If so, where at?

**r

07/31/2026

We always get really in to the , and this year was no exception. Lucky for us, Aslin Alexandria & Herndon had all the games on (even stayed open late), as well as some special event b**rs and a match passport.

The passport was a lot of fun. Basically you went, watched a game, drank a b**r, and you got a stamp. 50 stamps was a flight to the next world cup (pretty much impossible). 25 stamps was a $200 gift card, 10 stamps a scarf, 5 stamps a glass, and 1 stamp got you stickers. We managed to score the gift cards with a solid 27 stamps.

The b**rs they brewed for the world cup were also really cool.

Our go to was "Clean Sheet" - a Canadian style l***r that is light and crushable with flavors of stone fruit and some pithy grapefruit.

A close 2nd was "El Tri" - a Mexican dark l***r, which was probably too hoppy for the style, but I really liked it. A little earthy and citrus on top of the dark malts, worked really well with an added lime.

Last but not least was "Yanks", the American IPA. It was solid, grapefruit, pine, lots of bitterness, and a touch of sweetness. The 7.1% was a little too high to be drinking for multiple games though.

Huge shout-out to all the staff at the Alexandria location, they were always super nice and fun, whether the games were packed or if we were some of the only ones there.

Now we'll have to wait until next year for the women's world cup. Until then I'll be on the hunt for some more brewery jerseys to expand my soccer wardrobe, if you saw any good ones let me know.

**rfan ⚽️ **r

07/19/2026

SNALLYGASTER tickets went live last week. If you are free October 10th do yourself a favor and snag one while you can.

Over 150 breweries show up. This year there are 50 first time attendees and 30 international breweries, so if you're local, you're going to see some new stuff. If you're traveling in, they are also featuring 34 local breweries, so you can get a taste of the DMV area b**r scene.

This will be our 4th year attending, and we've always had a blast. If you're a huge b**r fan the VIP tickets are definitely worth it. You get an extra 2 hours, and some of the popular places will kick kegs before GA gets in. GA is still a lot of fun though, there's plenty of b**r to go around.

Hope to see you there!

**rfestival **rfan

05/18/2026

Why's all the rum gone???

Because needed the barrels for their "Black Pearl" barrel aged stout.

Yesterday, in addition to releasing Black Pearl, Lake Anne Brew House hosted their annual Tiki on the Lake fundraiser to support the South Lakes PTSA Food Pantry. Cool b**r, good cause, count me in.

We brought serveal bags of non-perishable food and hygiene products and then treated ourselves to some tasty b**rs. The Black Pearl isn't my usual jam, I generally prefer IPAs to stouts. The rum and oak in this really came through, along with a lot of vanilla. Dark malt flavors like chocolate and molasses, some booziness, and enough bitterness to balance made this a nice change of pace from my usual hoppy b**rs.

Their schwarzbier (roasty with notes of licorice), and the "Lord Fairfax" English pale ale were also really good.

A big thank you to the pantry. Almost 40% of the students at SLHS are on free and reduced lunch, and the pantry helps close the nutrition gap for many of those students. They reported serving 550 students and families every week and have distributed 2.7 million pounds of food and toiletries since they opened. Another big thank you to Lake Anne Brew House for fundraising!

I see charity events at breweries all the time. Charity tap lines, 5k's, raffles, trivia, etc. What's been the coolest brewery fundraising event you've seen?

**rgoodcause

05/15/2026

As we approach the end of **rWeek (May 11-17) I wanted to highlight some of the breweries that had the biggest impact on my love of craft b**r.

- Hazy Little Thing was the b**r that got me to switch from domestic l***rs to hazy IPAs. Years later we finally got to visit the taproom in Fletcher, NC after my b**r judging exam in Asheville. It was awesome!

- so many fun times with friends here! Also so many great b**rs, this is where I started to try things other than hazy IPAs. Though their hazy Easy Eddy is amazing (GABF gold 🏅)!

- not a brewery, but the best craft b**r bar in Iowa. They hosted a b**r school, bringing in brewers from across the state to talk about b**r and do tap takeovers. This prompted me to get my certified b**r server qualification and pursue cicerone.

- Richmond has a great walkable b**r scene, and Ardent is one of my favs down there. This is where I learned about the **rCup and decided to become a b**r judge. One year later I had passed my test and was BJCP certified!

- Quickly became our home base after moving to Virginia. Great b**r, great people. We have gone to so many fun events and made a lot of friends. Also, their Optimal Wit has won about every award there is.

This list could go on and on. We have been to so many great breweries and tap houses, but these are a few that really helped build my love of craft b**r. I can't wait to keep traveling, trying new places, and adding to this list in the future!

What breweries had the biggest impact on your love of craft b**r?

Happy American Craft B**r Week!!

**rlover

A Toast to Brews

09/25/2026

08/26/2026

08/24/2026

08/19/2026

08/14/2026

08/07/2026

07/31/2026

07/19/2026

05/18/2026

05/15/2026

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