On tap at Plank Pizza, sugared chai spicing elevates bittersweet black chocolate malting and cocoa-powdered cardamom, clove and ginger piquancy. At finish, dark-roasted coffee buttresses mounting black pepper bittering while anise-seeded blackcurrant surge sidles sedate chai tea spot.
Not living up to its lofty Triple Chocolate Stout boast, dry medium body utilizes oats-flaked cocoa nibs to enhance fudgy dark chocolate and black coffee overtures. Wispy Baltic porter tendencies (dry Saaz hop oiling and soy-milked souring) slip into the back end of over-hyped mocha elixir.
Politely rounded moderation receives peppery herbal streak to reinforce lemon-seeded orange tang and leathery barnyard-dried grassy hop astringency. Clean mineral water crisping overrides minimal phenol acridity. Perfumed orange blossom honey slipstream and light basil-thyme seasoning regale bittersweet citric tones to French breaded bottom.
Sessionable Belgian-inspired American pale ale is a hopped-up version of brewers’ sweeter flagship offering, Blonde Hunny. Raw-honeyed citric dryness overrides subtle candi-sugared Belgian yeast spicing. Persistent tangerine tang lingers above lemony mandarin orange and Valencia orange juicing as salty lemongrass herbage gains strength.
PURCELLVILLE, VIRGINIA
One mile up the road from Adroit Theory in a red brick medical center lies CORCORAN BREWING COMPANY, a modest retreat with a turf-floored picnic area and pristine tap room serviced by brewmaster Kevin Bills’ well-rounded brews. Opened for business, 2011 (and closed ’round 2020), and operating out of its current space since March 2014, Corcoran was Purcellville’s first microbrewery (but closed down a few years hence).
Oak barreled tables surround the lacquered wood bar while the cement floor, exposed aluminum ceiling and pendulum lights offer a cold industrial ambience during my September ’15 visit. As two TV’s entertain a few solo drinkers, tasting room manager Trevor Dodge turns his attention to me and serves up seven heavenly nectars.
Pleasant Wheatland hefeweizen brought lemony banana-bubblegum-clove tartness to crystal-malted wheat sweetness, leaving recessive honeydew, peach and melon illusions. A fruitier version, Weatland Peach, regaled tart peach tones with floral perfumed hops and banana bubblegum sugaring.
Worthy light-bodied autumn seasonal, Corktoberfest, countered its leafy hop astringency and tangy lemon spritz with toasted caramel malts.
“Hopped like an IPA” and aged like a lager, IPL moderated its juicy orange-grapefruit tang with yellow wood dryness and resinous hop bittering.
Things really get exciting now as Dodge breaks out the Big Beers starting with Raiders Ghost Imperial IPA aged with Ghost Peppers. Though the ghost pepper heat increases at the citric finish, it’s not at the expense of the perfumed yellow grapefruit, orange rind and pineapple tang. Sticky sweet maple syruping, rum-spiced brandy wining and latent orange bruise bring sugary surety.
Smooth Irish-styled dry stout, Slainte, pleated its dark-roasted black malts with smoky charcoal overtones, soy-sauced dried fruiting, charred nuttiness and black chocolate-y cocoa powdering.
Best bet: Jeb Stuart Stout – a soft-toned bourbon-aged Imperial accumulating bittersweet dark chocolate and roasted coffee tones to offset its whiskey-nipped dried fruiting. Dry black cherry, fig and orange illusions play backup at the light black-malted chocolate bourbon finish.
Bottled versions of Corcoran’s military-themed Three-Nine Kolsch, Blue Ghost IPA, Haze Gray Imperial IPA and Heroes Stout are reviewed in Beer Index.
Efficient military salutation (with dry Irish stout and Baltic porter tendencies) buries heightened 8% ABV beneath mighty mocha mass. Black patent malts bring cocoa-dried iced coffee bittering and black chocolate creaming to Chinook-hopped black tarring and white pine char without overwhelming sugared oatmeal sweetness. Sour-creamed soy milking and light bourbon latency underscore fine dark ale.
Harmoniously integrating toasted caramel malting and sugar-caked vanilla piquancy into stylish orange-peeled grapefruit and pineapple bittering, succulent Imperial IPA never lets sharp hop astringency or pungently heady 9.2% ABV run wild. Instead, almond-glazed marmalade, red cherry, tangerine and peach tang reinforces juicy citric appeal as well as caramelized honey nut sweetness.
Delectable medium-bodied flagship IPA (in a can) brings lilting spice-fruited tang to pungent hop-grained astringency. Effervescent lemon zest, musky orange oiling and bitter grapefruit rind sedation briskly tingled by Seltzer-like carbolic prickle.
Viable bottled kolsch (a.k.a. Commonwealth Kolsch) segues sweet ‘n sour orange-grapefruit tartness and white-peppered herbal hop pep into sourdough-breaded pilsner malting. Honeyed lemongrass tea flicker and light spicing relegated by orange-rotted lemondrop finish.
LORTON, VIRGINIA
Inside an inconspicuous red-bricked industrial mall building with a large bay window, green awning and readymade front deck, Lorton-based FORGE BREW WORKS opened its doors during October 2013 (and closed 2024). Concocting fulsome American ales alongside well-rounded Belgian-styled fare and whatever strikes their fancy, this admirable Northern Virginia microbrewery provides owner-brewer Matt Rose with the friendly local hangout he’d envisioned as a home brewer.
A black and white Forge signpost, rustic wood furnishings and reclaimed wood-lacquered serving station adorn the barebones space. Veterans are saluted by the Marines, Army and Navy flags hanging on the right wall and a cornered TV shows the Michigan State football game as I settle in at noon on a sunshiny Saturday, September ’15.
Doing “modern takes on old recipes,” Rose now bottles the locally popular Kelsenator Doppelbock (reviewed in Beer Index) and plans to have more styles readied for retail shops soon. Presently, Forge crafts six flagship beers ranging from easygoing saison to rich stout.
The above-mentioned saison, simply known as Farmhouse Ale, stayed light on the tongue as white-peppered yellow grapefruit and navel orange tartness picked up candi-sugared plum tones over grassy-hopped earthen herbage and modest barnyard acridity.
Sunny day rejuvenator, Belgian Blonde, brought peppery citrus spritz and beet-sugared sweetness to toasted pilsner malts for another winsome moderation.
A few fruitier choices made the rounds as well. Shandy-like crossover, Grapefruit Radler, provided stylish salted coriander and lemon-limed tartness to this grapefruit-juiced ‘petite saison.’
Dry Jaryllo hops deluged Jary Dewit (a wit-styled saison hybrid) with its floral-perfumed grapefruit peel zest and orange rind bittering while the aspirin-like solvency gained astringency.
Peat-smoked malts inundated washed-out Smoked Berry Blonde, where honeyed blueberry tartness faded alongside ancillary blackberry, boysenberry and raspberry undertones.
A few more flagship brews caught my attention thereafter. Soft-tongued Abbey Ale, a strong dark Belgian knockoff, brought candi-sugared fig and dry prune-raisin-cherry fruiting to sweet molasses malts.
Salted yellow grapefruit-peeled bittering spread across Slake IPA, a pine-oiled citric hop topper with lightly spiced pineapple, orange and juniper splendor given ethyl alcohol fuming.
Even more vibrant, heavily hop-embittered Seaward DIPA loaded tangy grapefruit, orange, peach, tangerine and cantaloupe luxuriance atop subtle 10.2% ABV as its Cascade, Centennial, Chinook and Columbus hops created a Northwest India Pale Ale likeness.
Another popular flagship, Roggenbier, allowed subtle rye spicing and tamped-down dry hops to spread across wispy banana-clove sweetness and candied orange tartness.
Meanwhile, Wild #3 Experimental Sour Ale doused green grape esters with light balsamic vinegaring.
Though the ever-popular Oatmeal Stout was unavailable, an adjunct version scored well. Cask-conditioned Oatmeal Stout with Cranberry & Cinnamon brought soured dried fruiting to cocoa-dried Baker’s chocolate. Mild orange, fig and gooseberry soaked up the tart cranberry pucker softly contrasting the reclusive cinnamon sugaring.
For dessert, fabulous Daywalker Tripel sweetened its wheat-sugared raspberry adjunct with hop-spiced orange blossom honey to contrast musky orange-dried tartness and pale-malted yeast phenols. Though presently only a limited edition ale, this Belgian-styled slow sipper deserves serious investigating.
Highly recommended limited bottle edition (2015) deserves year-round status. Chewy dark-fruited mocha creaminess intensifies above toasted caramel malting and brown-sugared pecan nuttiness. Gleaming butterscotch-spiced sweetness and cherry brandy wining further bolster candied German-style full body.
PURCELLVILLE, VIRGINIA
While Purcellville’s Adroit Theory specializes in boozy barrel-aged elixirs and strong hybridized ales, BELLY LOVE BREWING COMPANY relies more on approachable moderate-to-medium body fare. Inside the red-bricked Shoppes at Main Street mall next to Coney Island Diner and a pizza parlor, Belly Love brewer, Tolga Baki, crafts a diverse range of familiar ale styles in his rear brew tanks. Open for business since November 2014 (and closed 2024), its latticed front deck leads patrons to the centralized bar.
A comfy lounge area near the entrance adds a vintage homey atmosphere with its sofas, easy chairs and cocktail table while exposed ducts and pipes fill the high ceiling. Several buddha-bellied statues and insignias serve as mascots for the serene family-owned alehouse.
The limited menu on this sunny September ’15 afternoon featured honey mustard-spiced pretzels, Scotch eggs, artichoke dips, flatbread sandwiches and burgers. My wife and I shared the sour-creamed, bacon-cheesed, potato-fried Tot Nachos while consuming seven fine tapped offerings.
Easygoing Weisse Weisse Baby crossed hefeweizen-like banana and clove sweetness with lemony orange-fruited American wheat ale traits above biscuit-y wheat malts. Lightly grain-charred Smoke ‘Em If You Got ‘Em seared oak-smoked wheat malts into lemony herbal Saaz hops.
Light pilsner-malted Narcissist Munich Helles Lager brought sugary orange and peach spicing to its raw barley musk. In contrast, rich amber-toned Vienna lager, Marz Attacks, draped toasted pilsner malts atop leafy Hallertau hops and tangy orange-pineapple-grapefruit zest.
Mildly fruit-spiced (despite its provocatively harsh moniker), Shut The Fook Up Pale Ale saddled orange-candied tartness with floral-perfumed hops. Better still, Belgian-styled strong ale, 50 Shades Of Gold, placed citric-spiced Saaz hops against rum-sugared coriander sweetness.
For dessert, creamy oatmeal stout, Eye Of Jupiter, loaded mocha nuttiness all over black patent malts, leaving roasted coffee bean, black chocolate, dark cocoa, cola nut and hazelnut illusions in its wake.