So you want to to open a brewpub?

Bill Madden is a doyen of brewers in the Washington, D.C. area. For the past 14 years, he has brewed at other people's breweries.

Now, he's planning to open his own —Mad Fox Brewing Company— a brewpub in Falls Church, Virginia. Beer blogger HolzBrew recently interviewed him.

Among the questions and answers, there are these exchanges that could be illustrative for anyone else who might wish to open their own brewpub:

Talk with someone who has business acumen

a great friend of mine and current business partner, Rick Garvin, started to mentor me on how to go about developing a business.

Have the time.

We would talk and then I would be given a task list to go out and work on and then I would get busy with a beer festival or some other distraction. The business took longer and longer to develop.

Have the experience

Rick has started numerous businesses over the years and I have helped in the opening or restarting of 7 brewpubs in the area

Seeding the finances is, obviously, ultimately critical

Rick put up startup capital and he has been instrumental in helping me to deal with the startup business issues. [Even lowballing the rent per square foot in Falls Church at $25, the rent check for the 8,000 square foot location would be a hefty $200,000 per year. That's a lot o'beer! ]

A brewpub is a restaurant first, brewery second

I have a number of consultants from investors who are successful local restaurateurs

The beers will be similar to those Madden brews now at Vintage 50 in Leesburg, Virginia, and to those he has brewed for other breweries in the Washington, D.C. area over the past 14 years. He has won several medals for his Kölsch and his Wee Heavy.

As to the food, Madden states that much will be locally sourced, and that the primary menu emphasis will be on pizza.

There are great pizza places in this town and there are great beer places but no one to date has put the two together. [Since there are some good-pizza-good-beer spots in the DC area, I think that Madden is referring to a dearth of DC area brewpubs specializing in pizza.]

Madden concedes that planning for a November 2009 opening might be overly sanguine, but he is confident that Mad Fox will be operating by the first quarter of 2010. [UPDATE: The latter projection seems on target, as reported in the Falls Church News-Press on 20 August 2009.]

• Read the entire interview at HolzBrew's Interview with a Brewer: Bill Madden.
• More from YFGF about Bill Madden and Mad Fox: Here.
• So you want to open a bar? Here.

Mad Fox Monday!

At 11 am today, Mad Fox Brewing Company opened its doors to the public for the first time, and Falls Church, Virginia, a city of 11,000 or so, situated 8 miles east of Washington, D.C., became home to its first ever brewpub.


Mad Fox is a collaborative project of Brewmaster/CEO Bill Madden, a long time doyen of the Washington, D.C. brewing establishment and principal investor Rick Garvin, himself a national homebrew judge and self-professed 'foodie.' Joining them is coterie of area investors, who believed enough in Madden and the project to invest despite an economic downturn.

I was fortunate enough to get a preview.


Staff training is one thing, but operating a restaurant when customers are present is another. Thus, Friday evening past, investors, wine salesmen, friends, and members of the press were invited to enjoy the food and beers (and some wine and cocktails) and offer critiques. Beer blogging occasionally offers benefits.

Joining me were Nick Anderson of The Beermonger and Andrew Nations of dcbeer.com, and their significant others. The two had not met each other personally but immediately recognized each other's Twitter handles: @The-Beermonger and @drinkrealbeer, respectively. It's a brave new Web 2.0 world we live in.

The entrance is not on the Broad Street side, but along the interior courtyard. There are many glass doors, none marked "open here." Look for the one in the center, marked "Suite I." At some point soon, the restaurant will have outdoor seating as well. Parking is not an issue: there is an underground garage in the complex.


Open the door, then open the doors of the inside foyer, and then ... there they are! Serving as function and aesthetic, six stainless steel serving tanks sit immediately behind the host stand, reminding the customer that this is a brewery as well as a restaurant. Each holds 13,720 pints of beer. The tin ceiling overhead is actually cleverly disguised acoustic tiles. The high ceilings and lots of wood of the 9,000 + square foot interior are well-lit by sunlight through the plate-glass windows ringing the establishemnt and by diffused light from attractive overhead fixtures.



The dining room is to the left and the bar area is to the right. The very back wall of the dining area is now empty, but it will eventually be a floor-to-ceiling shelf holding wooden barrels of aging beers.



Diners can see the brewery behind tall windows in the dining room.

In addition to a 15-barrel brewhouse, there are several 30-barrel fermenters, double jacketed so that both 15-barrel and 30-barrel batches can be brewed. If a tank is needed to ferment or serve a beer, the remaining finished beer will be racked into kegs. He'll need to do that, because he plans to have at least 12 to 15 beers on tap at any given time.



The long bar seats some 30+ customers, and the bar area can accommodate many more, with several bar tables, as well as booths and bar stools along the windows. A service area sits at the end of the bar, not for staff, but at which customers, not sitting at the bar, can order.


Wrapped past the bar, and parallel with Broad Street, is a narrow room with long tables, and a fireplace at the rear wall. In Germany, a communal table like this is referred to as Stammtisch. This room can also be used for private parties and special events. Beer dinners, Madden promises!



THE BEERS

There are 30 taps, split between two towers. For the mock opening, Bill was pouring four: his 'signature' Kölsch (a 'lagered' ale, previous iterations of which have garnered Madden medals) a 6.5% alcohol-by-volume (abv) American Pale Ale (malty and toasty, with a hefty citrusy aroma and finish), a 6% abv Porter (dark reddish-brown, with characters of bakers chocolate and dark fruit), and a 6% abv Saison (orange-hued, demi-dry, and earthy).




THE CASK ALE

 Sometimes referred to as real ale, cask-conditioned ale is beer which has been refermented within the cask from which it is served. It is living beer, so to speak, and very fresh. (More here.)

Madden has long been an advocate for cask ale, and his new brewpub will be a showcase for it. Six firkins (10.8-gallon casks) rest in refrigerated coolers under the bar, the temperature set in the low 50s °F, which some refer to as traditional English cellar temperature (but which is definitely not room temperature). A row of hand-operated 'beer engines' sit above, used to handpump the beer up to the bar.

Madden will have four cask ales tapped at any one time. The other two casks will sit undisturbed in the coolers for several days, allowing the beer to 'come into condition': natural carbonation created, and proteins and yeast in the unfiltered beer settled out of solution. He'll serve no beer before its time!



Beer to go —filled into 2-liter glass 'growlers'— will be offered, although not for cask ale. Bill is a stickler for details. Nothing other than beer can be poured into his "beer-clean" glasses, (He has different shaped glassware for different styles.) and no chemical sanitizers can be applied. The glasses are cleaned and sanitized in a high temperature dishwasher, separate from the plates, utensils, and dishes in the kitchen.

That evening, Pale Ale, Porter, and an 80-Shilling Ale were offered in cask. The last —dark red, caramelly, but not sweet- think of as 5.2% abv version of the much bigger Wee Heavy Scotch Ale, that is yet to finish its fermentation, and for which Madden has won several awards.


THE MENU

Mad Fox scored quite a coup in attracting their chef, Russel Cunningham. He has built a reputation among Washington, D.C. area foodies, having previously 'cheffed' at such places as Dupont Grill and Agraria. Cunningham and Madden refer to menu as from a "scratch kitchen". They source many of the ingredients locally, use food in-season, and produce many items in-house.

The menu for the 'mock' service was quite extensive, if not the complete menu that will be offered once Mad Fox opens today.. We ordered several appetizers for the table including house-made onion rings, house-made fried pickles (called Frickles), Prince Edward island (P.E.I.) mussels prepared 'Bloody Mary': vodka-tomato sauce with fresh horseradish, and a Tuna and Avocado Salad over shredded cabbage (the tuna was beautifully rare).



As much as we enjoyed our choices, we could not help overhearing the "oohing" over the Virginia Pork Belly at other tables: "slow roasted for 12 hours, glazed with molasses and local honey," read the menu.

For our main course, we skipped all but one of the entrées: Shrimp & Grits (Cajun-spiced sautéed jumbo shrimp, served with smoked Gouda grits, and braised greens).



This was not because the choices didn't sound promising -NY Strip Au Poivre, Grilled Lamb Chops, Slow-smoked 'St. Louis' Ribs, Pan-Seared Sea Bass, to name but a few- but because the restaurant touts the pizza as the star of the show.

Mad Fox has two pizza ovens in its kitchen: one, a New York-style convection oven (a chewy and thin crust for holding more sauce) and the other, a wood-burning Neapolitan-style oven ("High-moisture fresh mozzarella and low-gluten flour).

We ordered:
the Carbonara Pizza (with a cooked egg on top), the aptly named Garlic Pig Pizza (artisinal pepperoni and bacon), and the Salami & Goat Cheese Pizza (without the salami for me, a vegetarian: a demonstration of the kitchen's versatility to adapt). All were prepared Neapolitan-style: a nice level of char on the underside of the crusts, and toppings cooked just-right.

Choices for vegetarian fare were more limited. There were salads and gazpacho soup. If dairy, there were the pizzas, of course. Specifically vegetarian, there was a house-made Black Bean Burger, The Veg —a sandwich of roasted red peppers, grilled eggplant, etc.— and a Crispy Tofu entrée with sautéed spinach, wild mushrooms, Israeli couscous, and and carrot-apple broth.  (None, except for the pizza, were sampled that evening.) More are promised.



Go for the food, stay for the beer. Go for the beer, and stay for the food. Mad Fox should be a hit as a brewery and a restaurant.

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• Lunch will be served and there will be continuous service throughout the day into the evening for dinner.
  
• The address is 444 W. Broad Street [just off the intersection of Broad & Pennsylvania], Falls Church, Va. 22046. The telephone number is (703) 942-6840.
  
• Metro access is a mile away at the East Falls Church station on the Orange line. The website dcbeer has a useful list of Metro buses that will take you there. Keep in mind that the routes stop earlier than bar hours! You might not have a return bus trip after 10pm.
  
• The website at www.madfoxbrewingcompany.com is still under construction. Better to follow Mr. Madden's blog at maddbrewer.com or the restaurant blog at madfoxbrewing.wordpress.com.
  
• More photos, including construction: here.
  
• Read a pre-opening write-up at dcbeer.com: here.
  
• Read an interview with Bill Madden: here.
  
• Click for more blog posts about Bill Madden and Mad Fox.
  
• CAVEAT LECTOR: As a salesman for northern Virginia beer/wine distibutor Select Wines, Inc., I sell wines to Mad Fox.

Vintage 50 Brewpub opens in Leesburg

Bill with long-time fan of his beers
Congratulations are in order for Bill Madden and crew, who had a 'soft' opening of their new Vintage 50 Restaurant and Brew Lounge yesterday.

50 Catoctin Circle NE, Leesburg, VA
703-554-1207

It's the old Thoroughbreds Grille and brewpub (itself barely a year old when it ceased operations) so the decor, although adjusted to reflect the new name, is still quite classy with lots of dark wood and a beautiful tap system.

The beers are Kevin Kozaks' final brews from Thoroughbreds and are still in good shape: helles, pale ale, dark mild, cherry stout, IPA and imperial IPA. Licensing for brewing operations has been granted. Bill has wasted no time in beginning to fill his tanks; look for his brews soon. I tried a couple of appetizers which were quite tasty.

Bill was, for nearly a decade, the 'corporate brewmaster' for the Capitol City Brewery chain (2 in DC, 1 in Shirlington, VA, 1 in Baltimore; and other non-brewpub restaurants in the area). There, he won several medals for his beers at the Great American Beer Festival. Subsequently, for a brief time (2004-2005), he was a part-owner and brewmaster for Founders in Alexandria. That location ceased operations but Bill unable to improve systemic problems had left the management well before the pub's demise. (Sadly enough, 2 brewpubs have now failed in the same spot: the Virginia Beverage Comapny and then Founders.)

Favorites of fans of his oeuvre (such as Madonna, pictured with Bill at the soft opening on Monday evening; and there are many others in the DC area) are his Kolsch and his American Imperial IPA. Both, Bill says, will make their return at Vintage 50.

From Chuck Triplett who posts to www.realbeer.com and other beer sites:

Across town, Anthony Cavallo and Bill Madden are putting the final touches on Vintage 50 a restaurant/brewery the two men are preparing to open Nov. 6 in 50 Catoctin Circle. The brewery and restaurant will fill the restaurant space Thoroughbreds Grill previously occupied. Dinner will be served nightly starting at 4 p.m.

The restaurant will seat 100, which Cavallo said is "very small" in terms of restaurants but provides him and his staff the opportunity to be very customer oriented.

"We want people to come in and have a dialogue with us," he said. Dinner shouldn't be rushed, but should provide diners a chance to try different wines and beers with one of the 10 standard menu items or the special of the night.

The smaller menu, "allows us to do our menu items really well," Cavallo said, and, coupled with the restaurant size, enables the chef and sous chef to be the true cooks in the kitchen, rather than having line cooks make the meals, he added.

In addition to the nightly meals, Vintage 50 plans to hold wine dinners and beer dinners, special events that will allow diners to pare different drinks with foods to see which ones match.

"It's a good way for people to learn about wines," said Angie Bishop about the wine dinners.

The beer dinners will highlight the work of beer master Bill Madden who spent 10 years brewing for Capitol City Brewery in Washington, DC.

In addition to four core beers that will always be on tap, Madden said he plans to offer seasonal beers and other recipes he has found to be popular with customers.

"We want to get Leesburg involved with brewing some of these beers," he said, and wants to incorporate preferences into what he brews. Each batch he brews is the equivalent of 20 kegs of beer, he said.

Guests can sample a tapas-style menu in the bar area, American fare cuisine in the main dining room and specialty drinks and wine in addition to its brews throughout.

"Leesburg does not have that late-night feeling yet," Cavallo said. "My bar will not close until 1 a.m.," offering guests a smoke-free lounge that will serve a limited menu once dinner ends at 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday. The entire restaurant is non-smoking; smoking will be permitted on the outdoor patio.

A Mad Fox in Falls Church, Virginia

I've kept the secret for a couple of weeks, but the cat's out of the bag now ... or, I should say, the fox.

Long-time local brewer Bill Madden has decided upon on a location for his new brewpub, to be called Mad Fox. As reported today by Gregg Wiggins of Mid-Atlantic Brewing News:

when it opens for business around the end of 2009 the Mad Fox brewpub will be located at 444 West Broad Street (Va. Route 7) in Falls Church. <...> Bill Madden called me this afternoon and told me they'd signed a letter of intent to lease space in the building under construction at that address.

Gregg Wiggins
as posted to DC Beer
2009.02.26

The location is in a new business development in downtown Falls Church, Virginia, a within-the-Beltway suburb of Washington, D.C.

The spot was to have been a Not Your Average Joe's, a casual-dining restaurant. But that Massachusetts-based small chain's expansion into Virginia may have run into difficulties.


View Larger Map
Fun with Google Maps. The correct address is 444 W. Broad, not 474 W. Broad, even though that is still in the same complex. If you click on the "View Larger Map", the correct address and map appear.

From the Mad Fox website:

Mad Fox and Waterford Development executed a Letter of Intent on February 25, 2009 for 8,618 square feet of space for our first brewpub location at the Shops at Spectrum development at 444 West Broad Street, Falls Church, VA. Our anticipated opening is November, 2009. More to come very soon.

UPDATE: new photos April 2009.

• Bill Madden also maintains a brewer's blog, currently from V-50, a brewpub in Leesburg, Va.
• Earlier YFGF blog post about Mad Fox and Madden.
• DC-beer is an Internet mailing list of people in the greater Washington, DC and Baltimore area who enjoy brewing, drinking, investigating, and discussing good beers.
• Interview of Bill Madden, from June of 2009.
  

After 9 years, Mad Fox closes.

There's sad news from YFGF's former bailiwick. Mad Fox Brewing Company, a brewpub in Falls Church, Virginia —a suburb of Washington, D.C.— is closing its doors and spigots later this month, after a nine-year run.

Friends of Mad Fox Brewing Company
July 9, 2019

Friends, Patrons, and Supporters,

It is with great sadness and a heavy heart that I inform you of the closure of Mad Fox Brewing Company. Our last day of business will be Sunday, July 21st.

The decision to close has been an extremely difficult one to make. We have witnessed restaurant competition in the 2.2 square mile Falls Church City become fierce since our opening in 2010 with multiple businesses opening in the last year alone. As much as we tried to compete, there is an overwhelming number of choices for the local population. Sales have been on a slow decline over the last several years and, unfortunately, staying open is no longer sustainable.

On the brewing side of our business, we continue to see more breweries opening in Virginia with two new Taprooms setting up shop within a mile of Mad Fox in the last year. When we opened in 2010, there were 40 breweries in Virginia. Now there are close to 250. The Brewpub business model is a tough one to maintain compared to a Brewery Taproom with little overhead, lower rents, and outsourced food trucks. Our draw from the surrounding areas has dwindled in what has become an extremely competitive craft beer market, which has resulted in this final decision.

We attempted to work with our Bank and our Landlord for more favorable terms and while both were willing, we ultimately could not come to an agreement that would allow Mad Fox to be break even or better.

We plan a closure date of Sunday, July 21st; however, we plan to continue with our 9-year Anniversary Party on Saturday, 13 July to honor you, our investors, our staff, and the Falls Church Community. Words cannot express how proud I am of the Mad Fox legacy and the opportunity to be a member of such a wonderful community, if even for a short while. We opened the first brewpub in the City of Falls Church and have won numerous medals at the Great American Beer Festival as well as the Virginia Beer Cup. We have celebrated christenings, birthdays, weddings, retirements and many holiday gatherings. You, our guests, along with our spectacular Mad Fox team have enabled us to build tremendous notoriety over 9 years in business. I thank you for allowing Mad Fox to be a part of your lives. Thank you for your years of support and I hope to see you at the Pub in the coming weeks.

Sincerely,
Bill Madden
CEO and Executive Brewer, Mad Fox Brewing Company

Mad Fox has never been known for "notoriety." To the contrary, it has achieved renown for its good beer, often, award-winning —Kölsch, Orange Whip IPA, Mason's Mild, Wee Heavy, to name only four. I —and many more— thank CEO/executive brewer Bill Madden​ for all of those beers. And for his magnificent real ales.

There are lessons to be learned, unintended consequences, as alcohol laws evolve. Mr. Madden's succinct letter points that out. Closing a business can be a visceral pang; one can read 'between the lines' of his letter.

That being said, Mr. Madden is a successful doyen of the area's 'craft' beer scene, both with Mad Fox and for a quarter-century before that. Beyond his own personal successes, he has mentored area brewers, he has organized beer festivals for brewers (beginning back when that concept was foreign), he has long advocated (and practiced) cask ale cellarmanship, and, last, but not least, he was co-instrumental in bringing good beer to Washington baseball.

His influence is beyond doubt. If past is prologue, good things await him (and beer lovers of the Washington, D.C.-area).

Unfiltered cask-conditioned pale ale, served via handpump

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Mad Fox constuction details

I met up with Brewer Bill Madden at the Northern Virginia Fall Brewfest. I asked him about progress on his soon to be built brewpub, Mad Fox Brewing Company.



Most of the equipment has been sourced: in addition to a 15-barrel brewhouse,there will be several 30-barrel fermenters, double jacketed so that both 15-barrel and 30-barrel batches can be brewed. Serving tanks will be sized at 15 bbl to allow batches to be split in two to help ensure freshness. To afford him flexibility in serving different beers, Bill is purchasing a large volume of kegs. If a tank is needed to ferment or serve a beer, Bill can simply rack the remaining finished beer into the kegs. He'll need to do that, because he plans to have at least 12 beers on tap at any given time.

As for the cask ale ...

Bill plans to have 5 cask ales tapped at any one time, using a set-up somewhat similar to that at Churchkey (beer bar in Washington, DC) ... except of course, the beer will be made fresh at the brewery. Firkins will rest in refrigerated units under the bar, the temperature set in the low to mid 50s, traditional English cellar temperature. A row of beer engines will sit above, used to handpump the beer to the bar.



Bill is currently working on the paperwork and planning details, one ear to the phone, two hands on the laptop. Construction begins in January 2010, and Bill says he can't wait. Many thirsty northern Virginia good beer fans would agree.

• The term' brewhouse' refers to the kit of vessels on the 'hot' side of the brewery, i.e., used to brew the beer: mash tun, lauter tun, kettle, whirlpool, wort chiller, hot and cold liquor (water) tanks. Vessels are often designed to combine several of these functions. The fermenters and serving tanks comprise the 'cold' side of the brewery.
  
• A barrel doesn't exist as an actual container. It's a measure of volume: 31 gallons. More on beer volumes here.
• A firkin is the name given to one particular size of cask: 9 UK gallons, which is the equivalent of 10.8 US gallons. More on cask volumes here.
  
• The photo of Bill Madden is reprinted above courtesy of local beer maven Chuck Triplett.
• Prior stories on Mad Fox here and here and here and here.

It takes a good amount of cash to make a good beer

Not to belabor the obvious, but it's difficult to come by a lot of cash, and more so these days, when there's less to get.

It takes a lot of cash to open a brewpub, and more so in prime real estate. Thus it was reassuring to read this on the front page of the Falls Church News-Press:

Amidst an otherwise gloomy economic contraction and stall in the City of Falls Church [in northern Virginia], owners of two new business start-ups are making progress toward buttoning up outstanding issues with their prospective landlord to bring new and tantalizing drinking and dining to the center of the City. <...>

Veteran brew master Bill Madden and his business partner Rick Garvin are eager to introduce the Mad Fox Brewing Company in the currently vacant ground floor space [at 444 W. Broad Street].

Mad Fox Brewing Co., Waterford Close In on 15-Year Lease Pact
By Nicholas F. Benton
Thursday, 20 August 2009

The paper reports that a local developer has stepped forward as a new investor, ostensibly with the necessary political and funding firepower:

A meeting was held Tuesday afternoon [18 August] between the Mad Fox people, including [local developer] Ed Novak, and [Bob] Baxter [vice-president of the development company that owns the building] to hammer out remaining issues.

If —among other unpublished considerations— there are "assurances of adequate parking" for Mad Fox's customers, the 15-year lease is expected to be signed by next week. If that occurs, the brewpub would open in spring 2010, occupying 8,600 square feet, with indoor seating for 250, and additional outdoor plaza seating.

Not overly specific as to the food, Madden says

There will be wood-fired pizza, paninis, salads, entrees, and other menu items. While it will be family-oriented, it will be "beer-centric."

He's more specific as to the beer. Madden expects to be able to brew up to 1,250 barrels of beer per year. Doing the liquid math, that's 849 pints per day, or four million, six hundred-fifty thousand pints over the 15 year lease.

One beer Madden —who received his brewing degree at Cal-Davis— will not be brewing is what the paper's owner/editor Nicholas Benton incorrectly described as a "Scottish-style wheat heavy ale."

Madden will be brewing a Wee Heavy: a strong, slightly sweet, malt-accented, ruddy-hued ale, inspired by historically similar beers from Scotland. Over the past decade, Madden's Wee Heavy has garnered 6 major national brewing awards. But with no wheat involved!

• UPDATE 2009.09.10: Bill Madden interviewed by Falls Church News-Press.
  
• UPDATE 2009.09.05: Mad Fox gets its 1st employee.
• Prior stories at YFGF about Mad Fox here and here.
• Not mentioned in the article is Maddens' affinity for cask-conditioned ale. He has reassured me that he will indeed offer real ale at the brewpub.
• Falls Church is a city of approximately 11,000, located 8 miles west of Washington, D.C., in northern Virginia. It's named for an eponymous Episcopal Church, at which George Washington often worshiped.

VeggieDag Thursday: Beers & Vegetables for dinner.

Pairing vegetables with beer is not always an easy matter.

Mad Fox Brewing Company, a brewpub in Falls Church, Virginia, hosted a vegetarian beer dinner in August. All of the five dishes, prepared by the chef Andrew Dixon were good, some superb, as were the five beers, served with the dishes (well 4 out of the 5), brewed by brewmaster and owner Bill Madden. But, while the dinner on the whole was enjoyable, not all of the combinations were ultimately successful.

THE PAIRINGS

Steamed Buns & Kölsch

A brioche roll pounded flat and steamed, then topped with hoisin-glazed portabello mushrooms, crispy fired shitake mushrooms, and cucumbers, and finished with house-made ginger-mayonnaise. On the side, hot chili sauce. You ate it it like a taco: delicious and fun.

Kölsch is a delicate ale, gently fruity, softly hopped, with just-so malt. Mad Fox Kölsch —although a fine, if somewhat sulfury beer (appropriate to the style)— seemed not bad, but not inspired. The mushrooms needed something more earthy as a foil. (The unfiltered, straight from the fermenter version of the beer —Kellerbier Kölsch— received a gold medal at the 2011 Great American Beer Festival.)

Pairing score: B-

Provençal Vegetable Package & St. Swithin's ESB

A confit of summer vegetables, wrapped within a thin ribbon of grilled zucchini, finished with a tapenade vinaigrette and toasted pinenuts, and topped with a parmesan tuile.

This multi-layered vegetable dish —and I mean that both in terms of cantilever and flavor— was enhanced by the malty yet 'bitey' ale: a cask-conditioned St. Swithin's E.S.B. Caramel flavor preceeded by an earthy/sweet aroma and succeeded by a dry lingering finish.

Pairing score: A

Goat Cheese Tamale & Witte Vos Wittebier

Goat cheese-filled tamales, with red quinoa salad, guajillo chili salsa, and avocado purée. A diner was over overheard telling Chef Dixon: "I'm a meat-eater, but these tamales are off-the-chart!"

Served with Mad Fox's Witte Vos Wittebier. Brewer Bill Madden told the crowd that the beer was a Belgian-style 'white' beer made with imported German pilsner malt, raw winter red wheat, and flaked oats, and spiced with lemon and orange peels, and toasted coriander.

The wit beer was one of the better I've tasted recently, and it's not a style of beer I'm crazy for. But, flavor-wise, the wit and the tamale had little to do with each other.

Pairing score: C

Crispy Tofu & Orange Whip

Battered tofu with braised artichokes, risotto, ricotta, pepperanata, and toasted walnut pesto. The risotto was prepared with a vegetable stock emulsion that was deeply savory: umami-full.

Served with Mad Fox's Orange Whip, Mad Fox's 'India Pale Ale.' Brewed with hard-to-find Citra hops, the beer smells and tastes like orange and grapefruit pith, and finishes with a bracing bite. It's only occasionally brewed, and has reached a cult status in the DC beer scene.

Everything was good with this combo. The beer, the entree, the flavor-pairing between the two. The sauce was stunningly flavorful; the beer proved a worthy companion.

Pairing score: A+

Apple Tart Tatin & Krieken Blonde

The dessert course for the evening was a Peach Tart Tatin: an upside-down puff pastry with with local Virginia peaches, pistachio cream, wildflower honey ice cream, and oat crumble. Chef Dixon suggested waiting for the ice cream to begin melting to meld all the flavors. Tried it: he was right.

The pastry was served with Mad Fox Krieken Blonde, which, brewer Bill Madden told us, was a Blonde Ale, brewed with Belgian yeast, to which Oregon cherry purée had been added post-fermentaion. but, to me, something was was off-kilter about this beer. Rather than a cherry flavor, I tasted something akin to green-olive.

For a pairing, I think the wit beer would have better here, or, for contrast, a chocolaty dark beer, or even the Orange Whip, with its strong citrusy-orange flavor.

Pairing score: C-

THE TAKE-AWAY

Madden was a gracious, informative host. Chef Dixon would follow his beer presentations with concise descriptions of ingredients, techniques, and flavors. The evening was, in fact, the second vegetarian food/beer dinner that the pub has presented.

Pairing the flavors of food and beer —whether through contrast, like-flavors, flavor hooks, or texture cut— can be evanescently difficult. But, oh, when it all falls into place!

***********************

• More photos from the dinner: here.
• VeggieDag is an occasional Thursday post on vegetarian issues. Why the name? Here. Prior VeggieDag Thursday posts: here. Follow on Twitter: #VeggieDag. Logo by Tom Lee, beer columnist for Baltimore Examiner. Suggestions and submissions from chefs and homecooks: welcomed!
• Caveat lector: As a blogger, I was given a reduced price for admission.

Pic(k) of the Week: Brewer farewell.

It was a poignant moment as Bill Madden (r) —president of Mad Fox Brewing— thanked Charlie Buettner (l) for his 4 1/2 years of brewing at the brewpub, from day one, first as Madden's assistant brewer, and thereafter as head brewer.

Madden presented him with a plaque, which read:

Presented in recognition to Charlie Buettner. In grateful appreciation and recognition of over 4 years of dedicated service, devotion, commitment, and some fantastic brews. From the smallest project to the largest undertaking, you were always there to see it through.

Buettner thanked Madden for the opportunity, and thanked all of the brewers, friends, family, employees, and customers who had gathered to bid him farewell.

"He's Mr. Malt. I'm Mr. Hops," Buettner said. To which Madden replied, "You're always welcome back."

Mad Fox Brewing
Falls Church, Virginia.
5 February 2015.

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VeggieDag Thursday: Beer dinner review (and the fare was vegetarian).

It's been 2 months, 17 days, but who's counting? Well, I suppose I just did.

Back on August 24th, 2011, Mad Fox, a one-year old brewpub in Falls Church, Virginia, hosted its first ever vegetarian beer dinner. As a post for VeggieDag Thursday —my occasional look at an animal-free diet and its issues— here's my review.



AS the evening began, Mad Fox's side Stammtisch room was quickly filled to capacity. The more than 40 attendees comprised the largest crowd for any of the four (three, carnivore) beer dinners the pub had held. Welcome and introductions aside, executive brewer and co-owner Bill Madden would describe the beers while executive chef Russel Cunningham would describe the meals. Both would discuss the 'pairing' of flavors.



The first beer was a Kölsch, a style of 'lagered' ale that Madden told us he has been brewing, here and at other breweries in the northern Virginia area, for over 15 years. He has won several awards for it. Madden imports a yeast from Weihenstephan in Germany, specific to the style. The beer was golden in hue, 4.8% alcohol by volume (abv), with a soft floral hop presence, and a slightly grain-sweet flavor. It finished dry with a floral aftertaste.



With the Kölsch, Chef Cunningham served a Chilled Fruit Soup of cantaloupe, papaya, ginger (a lot!), a non-dairy yogurt made from coconut, and a lecithin foam of grapefruit and pineapple.


Separately, the beer and the soup, were delightful. Together: neither complimentary nor hurtful.

Next up was English Summer Ale and an Heirloom Tomato Salad.



Madden explained that Summer Ale is a new 'style' of beer popularized in the UK by newer craft brewers who brew a lighter-colored 'bitter' ale, using American hops. The pub's version was golden and 5.4% alcohol-by-volume, brewed with German Pilsner malt and a bit of wheat malt, and hopped with citra hops, a new U.S. varietal that many find to have an orange taste and aroma.

The salad was arranged with multi-colored heirloom tomatoes from Hummingbird Farms, of Ridgely, Maryland, grilled hearts of palm, and 'micro-greens,' all tossed with a house-made vinaigrette of pumpkin-seed oil and Orange Whip, the pub's IPA, brewed with Citra hops.



I'm not a fan of Citra hops: I find their aroma and flavor to be a weird mixture of artificial orange scent and anise, but I'm in the minority. This pairing of salad and beer, however, demonstrated the ineffable character of such things. Together, there was no single point of pleasure or displeasure, but a tasty melding of citrus and tomato.

The third course served was a Quinoa and Black Bean Cake and a Saison ale.

The 'cake' was deliciously 'meaty' tasting, topped with a spicy green onion sauce. The tempura vegetables were sparingly battered, just right. Another sauce —pureed bell peppers, curry powder, garlic, cilantro, and orange juice 'gelled' with agar-agar (not the yogurt as the printed menu stated)— was served on the side. Both sauces were terrific. The tandem was one flavor too many.

Madden's Saison was a good foil for all the spiciness. 6.1% abv, crisp, yet medium-bodied, with a spicy and 'lemony' flavor and finish, derived, Madden told us, from the French yeast he uses to ferment the beer.

For the fourth course, Madden served his Big Chimneys Robust Porter. He named it for the first permanent building in Falls Church, erected in 1699, noted for its two chimneys. A porter is a dark ale, not quite as roasty as a stout. And Big Chimneys indeed was that: 6% abv, a character of bakers chocolate, toasted bread, and a hint of dark fruit and earthiness. Madden told us that the yeast he uses drops quickly out of the beer after fermentation, yielding a 'bright' beer without filtration. He hops the porter with First Gold, a favorite varietal of his, he told us. First Gold, grown in England, is a dwarf hop, its bines half the height of 'standard' hops. Madden likes its earthy, woody flavor that he finds similar to another English hop, East Kent Goldings.

Cunningham created a Vegetable Wellington to accompany the Porter. He filled a puff pastry with couscous, zucchini, squash, and local mushrooms (button, cremini, shitake) soaked in cognac. He finished it with an apple-carrot/ginger puree, and flash-fried spinach shreds, with grilled local white asparagus, and a crescent-shaped streak of tomato 'water' set in agar-agar, on the side. For two vegan diners, he served a similar Wellington but in a phyllo pastry, containing no egg or dairy.

When talking about pairing beer and food, descriptors can become somewhat fanciful. Suffice it to say, that this pairing 'worked.' The flavors of the porter and the Wellington did not overwhelm each other, but were similar enough (roasty, earthy) that they complemented each other, creating an experience greater than the sum of the two. This was my favorite dish of the evening, and a consensus favorite of other diners. When one asked if it might be added to the pub's 'regular' menu, Cunningham concurred: "Soon."

Then, it was time for dessert: Wee Heavy Scotch Ale with Chocolate & Berry Crème Brûlée.

"It's pure joy for me to brew Wee Heavy," Madden told us. He first brewed it in 1996 for Capitol City Brewpub in Washington, D.C. There, an inefficient kettle caused a long brewing day: the boil lasted for more than six hours. The boil at Mad Fox, with its more efficient system, takes up less than half of that time. Shorter brew days are more conducive to a successful marriage, Madden chuckled. "And, I'm married now.". (His wife Beth is a co-investor. Her maiden name —Fox— is half the pub's name: "She's the fox; I'm mad.") The beer has garnered Madden several awards, some of which are displayed at the pub.

The Wee Heavy was 8.6% alcohol by volume, hopped with First Gold; the grist was English pale malt with only a "touch" of crystal and roasted malts. The result was marvelous: an ale, deep reddish-brown, with flavors of chocolate and dark fruit (think Concord grapes and plums). There's been so much demand for the beer, which has won Madden awards in the past, that he brews it throughout the year, where he once offered it only as a 'Winter Warmer.' Madden told us that some of the Wee Heavy he also matures in oak barrels that have held bourbon and whiskey. These can be seen in the main dining room.

Chef Cunningham's dessert was the Brûlée, a caramelized chocolate custard finished with a reduction of blueberries, raspberries, a and strawberries. For vegans, he brought out a chocolate-ginger cookie, topped with chocolate/soy milk foam, and with a dollop of coconut milk ice cream on the side.

The dessert overwhelmed the Scotch Ale, surprising for a beer of such strength and depth of flavor. There was, fortunately, a simple remedy. Take a taste of the Crème Brûlée. Wait. Take a sip of the Wee Heavy. Wait. Repeat.

At evening's end, Chef Cunningham brought out his sous chefs. They and Madden, and the serving staff, received strong applause. It was a delicious dinner, and I and others made a point of thanking them. A vegetarian beer dinner is a rare thing. Being a non-animal eater, I can only hope for more.

Here, Cunningham (l) and Madden (r) relax afterward.
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• More photos from the dinner: here.
  
• An earlier post about the dinner, with a reference to another vegetarian beer dinner: here.

If rainwater was beer

The Northern Virginia Fall BrewFest was held this past Saturday and Sunday at Bull Run Park in Centreville, Va.

Meteorologists on all the local networks had predicted a washout for the weekend. But the rain held off (except for a short time on Sunday) ... and a beer festival broke out.

A few things of note:

• One of the principals of the Mad Fox Brewpub, Rick Garvin, indicated that 2009 looked good for the pub to open in Northern Virginia. Mum's the word --understandably-- as to the exact location until a letter of intent is signed.[UPDATE 2009.02.26. Done ... in Falls Church, Va.]
• Bill Madden keeps a stealth beer on tap at Vintage 50 (and probably will at the soon-to-be Mad Fox): one has to ask "stealth beer, please" to get one! David Turley —of Fredericksburg's Musings Over a Pint —remembered to ask at the festival (and reminded me). Saturday's was a Saison; Sunday's was an Alt.
  
• Hear Bill Madden's interview on WJFK-FM's Big O and Dukes show.
• Jerry Bailey, founder and past president of Dominion Brewing was pouring at the Stella Artois/Becks booth. Jerry gamely helped out, when other volunteers chose other breweries.
  

The weather —or, more appropriately, the weather forecasters— may have frightened off some potential beer lovers, as things never became hectic. That relaxed atmosphere created more opportunity to talk with festival goers about the beers themselves.

It was busy enough, however, especially on Saturday, that Bill Madden and other festival organizers seemed confident of the gate receipts. A worthy festival, worthy of attending next year.

And the roster of beers? The festival listed the following breweries, winery, and cidery as in attendance. (As a representative for wholesaler Select Wines, Ltd., I brought selections from 7 breweries, marked below with an asterisk.)

Abita (Restoration Ale, Purple Haze)*, Allagash (White, Triple)*, Ballast Point, Bear Republic, Beck’s, Bells, Birra Peroni, Bitburger, Blue Grass, Boston Brewing Company, Boulder, Brooklyn (Oktoberfest, IPA, Post Road Pumpkin)*, Budweiser, Capitol City, Clipper City (Hang Ten Dopple Weizenbock, Balto MarzHon)*, Dogfish, Flying Dog (Gonzo Imperial Porter Old Scratch Amber Lager)*, Fordham, Franziskaner, Het Anker, Hofbrau Munchen, Hook & Ladder, Huyghe/Delirium Tremes, Kona, Kostrizer, Lagunitas, Lancaster Brewing Co. (Milk Stout, Oktoberfest)*, Leinenkugel, Mad Fox, Magic Hat, New Holland, Northcoast, Old Dominion, Oskar Blues, Otter Creek/ Wolavers (Otter Creek Oktoberfest, Wolavers Pale/Brown)*, Peak Organic, Pilsner Urquell, RedHook, Sierra Nevada, Spaten, St George, Starr Hill, Tarara Winery, Van Housebrouck, Victory, Vintage 50, Weihenstephaner, Widmer, Wild Goose, Woodchuck.

No brewery brought a cask.

And, as to Sunday's 15 minutes of rain ... In A Man For All Seasons by Robert Bolt, Thomas More declares:

I wish we could all have good luck, all the time. I wish we had wings.

I wish rainwater was beer. But it isn't.

And what with not having wings but walking-on two flat feet; and good luck and bad luck being just exactly even stevens; and rain being water—don't you complicate the job by putting things in me for me to miss.

More photos here.

Mad Fox gets 1st employee; 1st beer will have to wait

Bill Madden's last day as brewer for Vintage 50 Restaurant and Brew Lounge in Leesburg, Virginia, was yesterday, Friday, 4 August.

Today, Bill is the first employee of brewpub Mad Fox Brewing Company, in the City of Falls Church, Virginia. He's also an owner. Construction starts shortly. [UPDATE 2009.09.17: A 15 year lease has been signed.]

From the Facebook page of Rick Garvin, one of his partners:

Bill Madden is now a salaried Mad Fox employee, the relationship with the landlord is good, the contract with the architect has been signed, one last round with the general contractor to come next week.

The first beer of the brewpub? That'll have to wait until Spring 2010, Bill forecasts.

Back at Vintage 50, brewing now is Dean Lake, a past brewer and Quality Control Director for long-time, but now closed, northern Virginia production brewery, Old Dominion. I asked Dean what his 'philosophy of brewing' was. Without hesitation, he replied, "Let the beer speak for itself."

Indeed!

Earlier YFGF posts about Mad Fox here.

One Mad Fox becomes two! Virginia brewpub to open 2nd location, in Washington, DC.

Just a few months after the announcement that Baltimore, Maryland's Heavy Seas Alehouse would soon be opening its second location, in Rosslyn, Virginia, now comes the breaking news that Mad Fox Brewing Company —a three-year-old brewpub in Falls Church, Virginia— is also crossing state lines, and opening a second location: a non-brewing draught-house and restaurant in Washington, D.C.

There's an important distinction to keep in mind: the Heavy Seas Alehouse is not owned by the Heavy Seas Brewing Company, even though the beers featured will be those of the brewery (similar to the arrangement at the Dominion Brewhouse and the several locations of the Dogfish Head Alehouse). The new Mad Fox Taproom, however, will be owned by principals of the Mad Fox Brewing Company, if not other investors.

Coming as it does in the midst of the biggest DC Beer Week yet, this (well-kept secret!) announcement is yet another indication of, if not a coming-of-age of the good-beer culture in the greater Washington, D.C.-area, at least heady momentum toward that goal. Congratulations are due to the Mad Fox crew.

Here's a good portion of the press release the brewpub sent out this morning:

12 August 2013 – Following last month’s festive celebration of the third anniversary of its flagship brewpub in Falls Church, Virginia, Mad Fox Brewing Company announced today that it will expand to Washington, D.C., with plans to open a 4,590 square foot taproom at 2218 Wisconsin Avenue, NW, in Glover Park. Mad Fox Taproom, a 127-seat neighborhood establishment, is slated to open by the end of first quarter 2014, depending on the renovations needed and the permitting process.

“Glover Park is a wonderful neighborhood that deserves a great beer bar like the Mad Fox Taproom,” said Mad Fox CEO and Executive Brewer Bill Madden. Mad Fox has been searching for a location in the Nation’s Capital for the past 20 months, scouting out 27 neighborhoods throughout the District. “Glover Park offers an ideal fit for our concept and shares similarities with Falls Church in its demographics and overall environment. And just like in Falls Church, we look forward to becoming an active and positive member of the community, contributing to both the economy and the culinary options of the area.”

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The Mad Fox Taproom will showcase its award-winning handcrafted beers with draught and English-style cask service, with up to 24 draught and cask options. Diners can expect a full menu with appetizers, sandwiches, burgers, salads and small plates.

“All of the beers will be brewed in Falls Church in our 15-barrel brewery. We have plenty of capacity in our brewery and we’ll be able to serve all of our Falls Church fans, wholesale clients, and the Glover Park taproom without any compromises.” Madden said. “Though the spotlight will be on our beers, our food is a key part of our concept and will help the taproom evoke a brewpub environment.”

Opening in Washington, D.C., has been part of the business model ever since Madden and business partner Rick Garvin formulated the Mad Fox concept in 2007. Though the pair eventually settled on Falls Church as its home base, Madden has experience expanding brewing concepts in the region. He served as Executive Brewer at Capitol City Brewing Company where he helped grow from one to five locations during his 10-year tenure.

Madden hopes to have the details finalized in time to take possession of the property in September. Assuming permit approvals and renovations go briskly, the Mad Fox Taproom could be open as early as the first quarter of 2014.

The original Falls Church location of Mad Fox Brewing Company is situated between Tysons Corner and Arlington at 444 West Broad Street in Falls Church. Mad Fox has taken home numerous nationwide awards since opening its doors three years ago under Madden’s leadership. This year alone, Mad Fox earned two “Best of 2013” honors by readers of Northern Virginia Magazine: Brewpub and Guy’s Night Out.

Not just a spot for beer connoisseurs, Mad Fox Falls Church has received critical acclaim for its cuisine as well. The brewery features a seasonal menu with many items made in house from scratch. Executive Chef Andrew Dixon prides himself on using locally-sourced produce, meats, cheeses, and other farm fresh ingredients.

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Full house for casks in Falls Church, Va.

The 'quiet' cask festival got quite noisy this evening at Mad Fox Brewing Company.

Even when it's not a festival at this brewpub, in the heart of Falls Church, Virginia, there are six hand-pump beer engines arranged behind the bar for serving house-brewed cask ale. Bartenders pour from three of the lines, while allowing additional casks to come into 'proper condition' on the other three. Serve no cask ale before its time.

But, from 4-11 November, brewmaster/owner Bill Madden and brewer Charlie Buettner have invited other breweries to send their cask beers as well, to be served through the pub's cask system, as part of Mad Fox Cask Week.

Tonight, the pair invited local brewers to attend. I saw representatives and brewers from Dominion, Flying Dog, Gordon-Biersch, Growlers, Lost Rhino (who arrived in style, in a stretch limousine), Port City, St. George, and Sweetwater Tavern.

Pictured above, are:

• Bill Butcher (l), owner of Port City Brewing, of Alexandria, Virginia;
• Kevin Blodger (c), brewer for Gordon-Biersch Brewery & Restaurant, of Rockville, Maryland;
• Bill Madden (r).

The cask ales were:

• Oliver Ales, Baltimore Maryland: Cask Punk (dry-hopped with Cascade hops)
• Old Dominion Brewing, Dover, Delaware: Baltic Porter (dry-hopped with Perle and Bravo hops)
• Lost Rhino Brewing, Ashburn, Virginia: Face Plant IPA (dry-hopped with locally grown Columbus hops)
• Duck Rabbit Craft Brewery, North Carolina: Brown Ale
• Mad Fox Rye Baby Pale Ale (80 IBUs)
• Heavy Seas Brewing, Baltimore, Maryland: Winter Storm Imperial ESB (wet-hopped with West Coast Cascade hops)

The pub was filled to capacity. I'd like to say everyone was a real ale fancier, but Democrats comprised a large continent, celebrating the local election returns and lamenting the Virginia results. I didn't ask if they were real ale fans.

There is no entrance fee for Mad Fox Cask Week; simply pay for the beer you order. Casks from other breweries have been served before tonight; several others will be tapped through the end of the festival on Friday, the 11th. For more details, go to the website or Facebook page.

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• See more photos: here.
• IBU is an acronym for International Bittering Unit, a measure of the bittering power of hops in beer. Just as sweet can balance sour in cooking, so the sweetness of malted barley can balance hop bitterness in brewing. 80 BUs, however, as in the Rye Baby Pale Ale from Mad Fox, does indicate a beer with a healthy smack of bitterness.
• Dry-hopping refers to a process of adding hops to a finished beer rather than during boiling. It's akin to a cook adding basil to a pasta sauce on the plate rather than when cooking. Hops, like basil, are an herb.
• Wet-hopping refers to using very fresh hops within days or hours after they have been picked, rather than after having been cured and stored.
• I was in attendance, not only as a fan of real ale, but in my 'official' capacity as a representative for Select Wines, Inc., the distributor of the beers of Heavy Seas Brewing and Oliver Ales, in northern Virginia.

new vintage at Vintage 50

Stopped at Vintage 50 in Leesburg, VA on Tuesday in the late afternoon to see my friend Bill Madden. He was brewing his American Pale Ale, and the air was redolent of cooking malt. (That's a good thing - think oatmeal on a cold morning.)

His beers are slowly making it onto the bar, replacing, by attrition, those of the previous brewer, produced when the place was called Thoroughbreds. On tap were his Kolsch and his Bohemian Pils.

The Bohemian Pils , at 13.4°P, was firm in body - an almost shortbread cookie maltiness - with a floral/peppery bouquet and a dry finish, both from the use of German hops. (I didn't ask Bill about this but would be surprised if he had used US hops for the aroma.)

In tank, in various stages of fermentation and maturation, are his ESB (British-style pale ale) and Oatmeal Stout. The handpull was empty of cask beer that afternoon ... but being a partisan for cask ale, I'll return if for that alone!

Vintage 50 is open, at least during the week, beginning at 4pm. I didn't enquire about weekends.

UPDATE:
Wee Heavy
About Bill Madden