OD Brewpub, 9th & M

[denver brewhoo]

anybody know anything about this?

http://lifein.mountvernonsquare.org/index.cfm/2007/1/9/Old-Dominion-Brew-Pub-May-Open-This-Week

I have not read one word about this, here, beeradvocate, Lew Bryson's page, anywhere....

I can now say, as recently as 8 months ago I was pursuing a similar idea not so very far away from this--and had not a clue, not an inkling, OD was on the same trail. Not sure whether I'm glad or sad my plans changed.....I will say DC is not the easiest place for a non-local to get things done!

[MeridianFC]

It's come up in a couple of dicussions here and on the DC Beer list but nobodies had much to say about it.

[D0nc0smic]

Well, the place is officially open now, and it does appear to be an old dominion brewhouse. Kinda strange that there is nothing on their webpage about it, but i guess everything is a little hectic over there these days.

[Fritz_Hahn]

Originally posted by D0nc0smic
Well, the place is officially open now, and it does appear to be an old dominion brewhouse. Kinda strange that there is nothing on their webpage about it, but i guess everything is a little hectic over there these days.

That's because it's not owned by the Old Dominion Brewing Company. It's a franchise, similar to the way the Dogfish Head Alehouse isn't [officially] tied to the brewery. The guy who owns the new Brewhouse also runs the sad little Old Dominion pub at Dulles Airport.

Sixteen Old Dominion beers on, plus the root beer, and 16 others from the Macro-Guinness family. Aviator tasted just like I remember from McGarvey's, which can only be a good thing. A full review/happy hour/etc. write-up is here (http://blog.washingtonpost.com/goingoutgurus/2007/01/a_bit_of_the_old_dominion_in_d.html).

[denver brewhoo]

thanks Fritz.

from the Post:

"First, let's clear up two misconceptions: First, this isn't a brewhouse in the common sense of the word. No beers are made on site -- it's simply a bar that sells brews. Second, it's not owned by the Old Dominion brewing company -- it's a franchise run by Haney Chen, who also runs the Old Dominion pub at Dulles Airport."


Is this a mid-Atlantic phenomenon? (viz. Dogfish Head)

If something is called "brewpub" or "brewhouse" or "brewery" in Colorado, you can bet there's a kettle and a mashtun and some fermenters in the darned thing, even if it's a chain like CB & Potts or Hops or something. Conversely, even though the Old Chicagos usually sport 5-6 taps from their parent, Boulder Beer, they ain't called "Boulder Brewhouse".......

[D0nc0smic]

The Dogfishhead alehouses may be franchises but i'm pretty sure the parent company still has a pretty significant stake in them. OF course, Sam is not a person to just sell rights and let someone else do whatever they feel like with a brand name he created, as for OD, i dunno

[MeridianFC]

Popped in there last night after being at the GB on 9th Street. I have to say it's not my kind of place. I guess the owner's expertise in airport bars will pay off with this place's Convention Center location but it doesn't feel warm and welcoming for locals. My wife hated the place. There's some weird architectural bits; expensive looking wood wall pieces mixed with crap dropped ceiling. Oddly high and low. There's some neat brewerania there but not enough. The prices seemed fair with $5.25 for a 20oz micro. The bar is in sports flat screen overdrive. Not recommended for epileptics. They need to work on the hood in the kitchen, the grease smell was overpowering on the far end of the bar.

32 Drafts IIRC, of which on 14 are Dominion product (both Tuppers, Irish Red, Aviator, Oak Barrel, Ale, Lager, Light, Black & Tan, etc.). The chalkboard out front was a Heineken advertising piece. The staff are all kitted out in Dominion gear.

Did anyone catch the short fluff piece on the Channel 5 news this morning? Basically interviewed the head brewer on the bottling line.

[Insidious Rex]

Stopped by here last night and was happy to see they have expanded their choices with some very nice beers on tap. A few Stones, some Smuttynose and several Bell's (including Oberon and their Porter) in addition to a Victory Prima Pils means the loss of New River and the Tupper beers (they kicked the pilsner earlier that very same day!) isnt quite so harsh. And if you do like sports its worth an hour of your time Id say before heading elsewhere. Cant go wrong with a Stone IPA/Prima Pils evening...

[jesskidden]

Originally posted by denver brewhoo



Is this a mid-Atlantic phenomenon? (viz. Dogfish Head)

If something is called "brewpub" or "brewhouse" or "brewery" in Colorado, you can bet there's a kettle and a mashtun and some fermenters in the darned thing...

Yeah, unfortunately, it is. There are a number of "establishments" that I've come across that use such a name for a bar. Over on the BA forums, in fact, I just discussed it in the Mid-Atlantic group, since there's a new multi-tap bar in Wildwood NJ called "Good Night Irene's Brew Pub" http://www.goodnightirenes.com/ and there's another bar in Northeast PA called "Pocono Brewing Company". I came across something similar several years ago in New Hampshire, as well.

Now, I know the subject of gov't regulation is a touchy one on the beer forums, but, since in many states (like NJ) a "brewpub" is a legally licensed facility- distinct from a "brewery" license, I can't understand how an non-brewpub gets a liquor license with such a name.

And, it's not like there aren't a lot of names for establishments that SERVE alcoholic beverages to chose from - Bar, Tavern, Cafe, Bar and Grill, Saloon, Hotel, Tap Room, Alehouse, Pub, Public House, Lounge, Inn, Lodge, Roadhouse...just to start the list....

And, having a "...kettle and a mashtun and some fermenters in the darned thing..." isn't even an assurance they brew- supposedly Climax in NJ supplies some of the "brewpubs" in the state and I've recently visited a brewpub in PA. where the "brewery" section sure looked unused.

[threecb]

AFA Goodnight Irenes, do you think it's the fact that there's a space between "Brew" and "Pub" that let them get away with that. When I first saw the ad for the place over the summer I was excited until I read it more closely. Still, it's a good place in the 'Wood, as I commented on the BA thread (i'm "schteve" over there).

I remember the first time I was in the Pocono Brewing (Tannersville?) and they did have house brews. A selection of 2 that tasted like extract brews. I went back less than a year later and that had stopped. So I guess they had plans that didn't work out for them.

Curious as to where you went in PA and which Brewpubs are being supplied by Climax. Besides the one in Montclair, which was extract at first and I'm not sure if they're brewing at all anymore, I thought everyone else was brewing on premise.

[ClockworkOrange]

Originally posted by threecb
Curious as to where you went in PA and which Brewpubs are being supplied by Climax. Besides the one in Montclair, which was extract at first and I'm not sure if they're brewing at all anymore, I thought everyone else was brewing on premise.

Me too. C'mon jess, do tell...

[chazwicke]

Would it be the Porterhouse?

http://www.porterhousepub.com/

[jesskidden]

Originally posted by threecb
AFA Goodnight Irenes, do you think it's the fact that there's a space between "Brew" and "Pub" that let them get away with that. When I first saw the ad for the place over the summer I was excited until I read it more closely. Still, it's a good place in the 'Wood, as I commented on the BA thread (i'm "schteve" over there).


Yeah, I thought of that, too, but it's still B*llsh*t. Hey, I'm a hard to please guy to begin with <g>, why piss me off by misnaming the joint?

Originally posted by threecb


Curious as to ... Brewpubs are being supplied by Climax. .

Yeah, that's kind of a B*llsh*t deal on my part to write that, isn't it? I tried to Google it, since I can remember reading an article by in a legit publication on either Climax or NJ breweries in general and the writer of same wrote something like "...it's not well known, but Climax actually brews the beers for some of NJ brewpubs".

The only thing I could find when I went to verify it today was another post I made where I repeated it- so it's heresay (readsay?). A few years later I read that Climax's owner/brewer Hoffman WAS going down to the Toms River Basil T's to brew, but I think that was just coincidence and had nothing to do with the other claim of a few years before.

From what I remember, the implication was that Climax did certain beers or only did it on certain occasions, so they'd have a full line-up, etc., rather than the bp not brewing ANY of their own.

Actually, I sorta wish Climax DID brew some of the brewpub beers, since his beers (rare for me to find only 30 miles or so south) are a lot better than some of the stuff I've had in some bp's.

[jesskidden]

Originally posted by chazwicke
Would it be the Porterhouse?

http://www.porterhousepub.com/

Hey, Chaz got it! I had only been there once (pre-fire, under a different name and hated it) but had recently been reading about Yards taking over the brewing (tho', I admit I thought they went to Lahaska to brew AND also had their beers on tap along the Porterhouse's), so I stopped in the other day when I was in the area.

Still, very "un-beer-centric" and neither the bartender or a manager type was very forthcoming when I asked about the beers or the brewery (which was dark and looked unused)- and I was the only one in the joint.

They had 4 of "their" beers on tap as well as 3 others (none from Yards, which is why I went). And no "porter" at all- wouldn't you ALWAYS have a porter on tap if you were named "Porterhouse" (ditto an "ale" in a place called an "alehouse") <g>.

The menu still said the beer was brewed by River Horse, but the beer list on the wall said Yards - either way, if it's not brewed in-house, is it a "brewpub"?

[jesskidden]

Originally posted by jesskidden
I tried to Google it, since I can remember reading an article by in a legit publication on either Climax or NJ breweries in general and the writer of same wrote something like "...it's not well known, but Climax actually brews the beers for some of NJ brewpubs".
.

Found it (and with only one slight error- "tri-state brewpubs" rather than just "NJ brewpubs")-

"(Hoffman's) beers are so good that other brewpubs in the tri-state area buy his and pass it off as theirs, though we'll not reveal that sensitive information here."

http://www.realbeer.com/library/authors/epps-k/jersey.php

(Hey, that web address looks familiar...)

[chazwicke]

When I was last in the Porterhouse they intimated that their brews were brewed at Yards and there were a couple of Yards beers available but the couple of theirs that I had tried were not so good. I'm actually thinking they were probably Riverhorse product which I was never fond of. That visit was late October last year. The meal I had was decent. The place was crowded as it was the fall season and leaf peepers and shoppers were all over Peddlers Village.

[jesskidden]

Originally posted by chazwicke
When I was last in the Porterhouse they intimated that their brews were brewed at Yards and there were a couple of Yards beers available but the couple of theirs that I had tried were not so good. I'm actually thinking they were probably Riverhorse product which I was never fond of.

Yeah, I'm pretty sure that the current situation is that now the Porterhouse beers are made by Yards (tho' I had thought I read somewhere that the Yards' brewer did some of them on site to fulfill the place's "brewpub" designation). I just mentioned the "River Horse" logo still on the menu to point how what I thought was their lack of interest in their own beer- I mean, they can't get new menus or just print stickers on a pc that say "Yards" to put on them?

So, I was surprised to not find any Yards' own beers on tap, but I guess that could be due to the current shake-up down there.

Originally posted by chazwicke
The place was crowded as it was the fall season and leaf peepers and shoppers were all over Peddlers Village.

I'm usually in the area early in morning flea market shopping (in fact I often have to kill time waiting for the places to open) but I'm always surprised at how empty bars are these days during what's traditionally "lunch time"- I always think I'm going to walk into a place full of local business-owners, office workers and tradespeople from the area and then nobody's there except a table of retirees.

[chazwicke]

Originally posted by jesskidden


I'm usually in the area early in morning flea market shopping

Jess do you know Rayner Johnson?

[Wit Memo Jeff]

Originally posted by Insidious Rex
...in addition to a Victory Prima Pils means the loss of New River and the Tupper beers (they kicked the pilsner earlier that very same day!) isnt quite so harsh.

Had I known they had Tuppers' Pils so recently, I would have made it a point to visit so I could cry into the last available draft pint of my favorite beer.

I'm down to my last six, which I'll keep in a cool dark place for a while, but not for too long. Bob Tupper has said that the pils keeps fairly well, and I agree, but it obviously isn't a barleywine or a claret.

[D0nc0smic]

Just buy a keg of it whenever it starts being brewed by clipper city or whoever is taking over the contract for teh tuppers stuff

[Wit Memo Jeff]

Originally posted by D0nc0smic
Just buy a keg of it whenever it starts being brewed by clipper city or whoever is taking over the contract for teh tuppers stuff

When/where did you hear this? The guy at Magruders told me this just today, after I'd posted above. Hope it works out! I wonder if the benevolent hand of Tom C. was involved...

[chazwicke]

Originally posted by Wit Memo Jeff
Had I known they had Tuppers' Pils so recently, I would have made it a point to visit so I could cry into the last available draft pint of my favorite beer.

I'm down to my last six, which I'll keep in a cool dark place for a while, but not for too long. Bob Tupper has said that the pils keeps fairly well, and I agree, but it obviously isn't a barleywine or a claret.

I saw several sixers of the pils at Total Wine in Fairfax last evening. It's still out there.

[Wit Memo Jeff]

Originally posted by chazwicke
It's still out there.
Thanks.