By Della Hethcox
In the 10 square miles of downtown Fredericksburg, visitors can already imbibe at two craft breweries, Spencer Devon Brewing Company and the newly constructed Sedona Taproom. Now, Tom Evans and Dan Baker, childhood friends from Fredericksburg, are in the process of building yet another craft brewery.
The entrepreneurs recently received approval from the City Council to construct a brewery at a historic building on Princess Anne Street, although they are still exploring all their options. Some Fredericksburg residents are welcoming the new hangout spot, while others wonder – Do we really need another brewery?
Fredericksburg, as it turns out, is part of a trend in the Commonwealth of Virginia. In 2012, Virginia was home to just 40 breweries. Today, that number has grown to more than 100 independent breweries. Comparatively, Maryland only has 40 breweries and North Carolina just 101. Virginia’s craft beer industry is one of the fastest growing in the nation, and sales increased by 17.2 percent in 2013. This trend is partially the engineering of the state government, which is actively trying to make Virginia a “beer state.”
Entrepreneurs and state governments see long-term potential in investing in craft brewers at the local and national level, to promote local products and the agricultural industry, and also to encourage tourism.
Now that Virginia legislation is becoming more brewer-friendly, it’s is safe to speculate that the craft beer industry will keep growing. As a beer lover, I support Fredericksburg’s new beer trend, but I also wonder: Does our state really need every resident to be within a 10-mile radius of a brewery?
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I met with Evans and Baker, the proprietors looking to open the new Red Dragon brewery in Fredericksburg, at a local craft coffee shop. They were both wearing button-down shirts and baseball caps, looking the part of Southern small town residents. Easy going and calm, they reminded me of my dad, and they were excited to talk about their plans.
Growing up, Baker had been friends with Tom’s brother. Like most small town social circles, your sibling’s friends quickly become your own. Evans and Baker grew up in Fredericksburg and attended local high schools. They both worked in the information technology industry, and Evans also worked for the local city police department. They also brought up their kids in this small town.
Evans’ brewing career started because of a Christmas gift his brother received: a Mr. Beer brewing kit. That’s what sparked his interest and led him to purchase even larger, more intensive brewing kits. Eventually, Evans worked up to brewing all-grain beer, an in-depth process that involves creating the wort, which is crushed malt barley, from scratch and straining it through boiling water.
For years, Evans and Baker envisioned opening up a brewery in their hometown, and they never considered another location. “Tom brews and he gives away,” Baker said, about Evans’ years-long habit of brewing at home for friends. After years of seeing locals drink Budweiser and Coors at local bars, they believed that Fredericksburg needed more quality beer, especially of the craft variety.
In 2012, Evans had almost decided to begin the process of creating a local brewery, however, with his children still at home, he decided it just wasn’t the right time. But when the spring of 2015 rolled around, his kids required less time and he found a business partner in his long time friend, Baker. He also realized that through their local networks they could find financial backers.
Evans and Baker began to put their plans into action, and quickly began looking for the perfect building. They found their dream structure on Princess Anne Street. Formerly a Goodwill commercial laundry service, as well as a Safeway grocery store in the 1940s, this building is part of the historic downtown framework.
For the team, they see it as an opportunity to hop onto the existing beer trend in Virginia and introduce the microbrewery world to their town. “Craft beer is like a virus, it’s spreading in a viral fashion,” Baker said, laughing as he commented on the current food trend revolving around craft beer and microbreweries. “There’s pockets of them popping up everywhere.”
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One of the first steps made by the state to encourage growth of its beer industry was to allow breweries the freedom to sell their house-made brews on their premises. Prior to 2012, breweries were not permitted to serve customers full servings of beers, but rather samples of two to three ounces. But then the Virginia Senate Bill 604 passed and allowed breweries to legally serve their drinkers more than just a sip, which made the creation of new breweries more lucrative.
The next step was to encourage popular breweries located in true beer states to establish outposts in Virginia. In fact, Governor Terry McAuliffe was recently the main instigator in convincing Stone Brewing Company, based in San Diego, to make Richmond its next home. During the courtship period between McAuliffe and Stone, McAuliffe took every opportunity to promote Stone’s products, even in his official office. Rumor has it that a keg of Stone’s finest beer became an official fixture in the governor’s office. During each meeting with Stone, McAuliffe could be seen sipping their beer. When even the governor can be found drinking beer in the comfort of his office, you know that the Commonwealth is on its way to solidifying its place as the next beer state.
Stone “really puts Virginia on the maps and cements our standing as a serious player in the craft beer industry,” McAuliffe wrote in a press release. The brewing company will also create nearly 300 jobs for the Richmond area. For Todd Haymore, the Virginia Secretary of Agriculture and Forestry, "Stone's presence in Virginia, along with our outstanding existing craft breweries, will undoubtedly enhance the Commonwealth's position in the industry and in the research and production of hops, a huge potential cash crop for our agricultural producers.”
In 2014, the craft beer industry contributed roughly $368 million to Virginia’s economic development. $22.4 billion of that was due to tourists, about 40 million of them. So what attracted them? Microbreweries. Virginia now even dedicates the entire month of August as “Virginia Craft Brew Month,” a month that brings enthusiasts to local breweries in droves, thanks to special rates and promotions on brews of all kinds.
Breweries are becoming a destination now, according to Evans and Baker. “You go to a winery and you sit and get a tour. That’s what breweries are now, a destination,” Evans said, trying to explain why the addition of a second brewery to Fredericksburg is not excessive.
Fredericksburg is experiencing a resurgence of family run, craft businesses, particularly as a part of the city’s development plans. Hyperion, a local coffee shop, and Olde Towne Butcher are some examples the duo gave of these types of businesses. “These crafts are coming back,” Baker said. “Fredericksburg was without a butcher for over 18 years.”
But what about the name? Both men are of Celtic heritage, something they wanted to pay homage to, particularly in their logo. Examine the logo closely and you’ll find the fierce red dragon that belongs to the Welsh Flag. Look even closer and you’ll notice that gripped in its claws is an amber pilsner.
Fun fact: Surprisingly, brewing has been a neighborhood affair for hundreds of years. In the old days, women were the brewers of the family, as well as for any neighbors who strolled by around mealtime. Before prohibition in many states during the mid-20th century, every town had a neighborhood brewery. However, after prohibition, only the larger breweries remained due to their followers and available resources. For examples, Coors made pottery to sustain itself until prohibition ended.
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Beer used to be a stigmatized beverage, a drink reserved for blue-collar workers. But recently, it’s gone through an identity change, and now it shares many of the same virtues that a good wine does. Restaurants are themed around beer and not just wine anymore, a phenomenon that’s made its way down to small towns like Fredericksburg.
Craft beer has become a hot topic, thanks to being one of the food trends in 2015. No longer is beer just for fun-loving college students or blue-collar workers, but it is a serious hobby. For enthusiasts, it is more than a beverage; it is an art and a craft.
So what is a craft beer exactly? According to the Brewers Association, craft beer is made using traditional ingredients like malted barley, but craft brewers interpret these historic and classic styles with unique twists produced in small scale breweries. Additionally, craft brewers maintain their integrity by brewing independently from non-craft brewers. The recent spike in breweries means that Virginia is overflowing with options. “The craft beer trend is just growing and growing, breweries are popping up left and right. Eventually there’s going to be a bubble. Sooner or later,” Evans added.
Dana McCauley, a Canadian chef and food trends expert, is known for her ability to quickly detect, identify and implement new trends in the culinary industry. Want to know the details behind a recent trend, like say...the cronut? She’s got details.
Recently, McCauley has noticed that craft beer is becoming a trend. She first began to notice the uptick in craft beer in 2014, but she wondered how and why it was becoming a trend. “The way food trends emerge has changed since social media became prevalent. It used to be that chefs and the producers and food importers drove emerging trends and that trade magazines and shows were the first place these trends were showcased,” she explained, but now the power of trend creation doesn’t just belong to the experts.
“Now, the emergence can be the same, but it's often consumers (the so called 'foodies') who use social media who identify what is interesting, and then trade magazines and other traditional media come later and help the trend to build momentum,” McCauley said.
However, it can take upwards of two years for a food trend to reach people, particularly if they live in a small town like Fredericksburg. This is where the state government steps in and picks up on these trends, much like Gov. McAuliffe’s courtship of Stone, and the rise of microbreweries throughout the state.
McCauley cites the example of the cronut as a trend that exploded over night, mainly thanks to social media users and self-proclaimed foodies, but also the novelty factor, which beer also possesses. As someone on the inside of the marketing industry, McCauley has noticed the rise in popularity for the craft beer trend.
“It's huge! I actually spoke to a company yesterday that services this segment by bringing a mobile canning plant to [breweries], which are popping up everywhere and affecting food trends as well,” Dana said. So how does craft beer affect food? Just take a look at downtown Spencer Devon’s menu.
It’s built entirely upon beer and food pairings, such as which salads will pair well with a crisp pilsner, or a juicy burger with a throaty porter. However, McCauley cautions that even though it’s a viable market and opportunity for brewers right now, “[it] will hit a saturation point and contract as the better beers and better run companies rise to the top.”
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So far, there’s been just one major hitch in their plans. Even though the state is friendlier toward brewers and breweries, the city of Fredericksburg is not, due to their rule of “production limitation,” which refers to the city-imposed limits on how much beer a brewery can produce. For a new business, this does not spell out future success, or promise a profitable enterprise, despite the community’s welcoming attitude toward the new business. If it was up to him, Evans would have signed a lease already, but now he and Baker are reevaluating their location.
Currently the proposed Red Dragon location on Princess Anne Street is zoned as a “commercial transitional,” which means that even though it’s right in the heart of a neighborhood, it’s ready to become a business. And Evans and Baker have big plans for the building, including replacing all of the barricaded windows and installing a false facade to mimic pubs of old.
Although the city isn’t exactly friendly towards breweries, the Commonwealth is. “The state tourism is concentrated on breweries now, like the Virginia Beer Trail. Virginia as a state is pushing [craft beer] really hard right now, and we’ll be up there with the beer states soon like California, North Carolina,” Baker said.
In order to ensure that their brewery will not become a source of contention in the downtown community, like Happy Endings, a local bar that recently became the target of a new noise ordinance law, Evans and Baker have self imposed regulations to ensure that their brewery will not become the target of noise or disturbance complaints. In general, breweries tend to be outside of what the majority of buzz-seeking college students can afford, which should help keep the volume, and complaints, down at the future Red Dragon.
As for competing with the existing beer houses, Evans says that it is not going to be an issue. “If I’m going somewhere, I’m going to look for a place with the most beer per square foot. So I can go from one to the next to the next. It’s a destination.” As Evans and Baker explain it, if you’re a beer enthusiast, you can never have too many breweries in a town. Which means for tourists, Fredericksburg will soon be an enticing mecca for beer drinkers with three beer-centric spots in a several mile radius, all within walking distance of each other, so drinkers won’t have to worry about calling cabs.
And it seems as though they’ve found a good neighbor in Spencer Devon. There’s no animosity between these businesses, in fact, the breweries lend each other equipment and critique each other’s brews. Check social media and you’ll find local brewers testing (and approving!) each other on Instagram or Twitter. Luckily, many of the men attend the same local churches and their children play on the same sports teams, which means that the Fredericksburg community continues to share everything, even the craft beer trend.
“There’s no competition, it’s truly a collaborative community,” Baker said. “It’s not like your normal business model where your objective is to take away business from that person. Everybody supports one another.”
Once the Red Dragon opens its doors, the variety of brews will be endless, Evans said enthusiastically. “We’ll have five to six standards, and then we’ll have rotating flavors,” Baker said, the cautious half of the team.
“You never know what you’ll get, some places have no variety,” said Tom, who wants to liven up the Fredericksburg beer scene.
“It’s a balance,” Baker added, “if you go to McDonalds, you always order the same thing. It’s that way with other places, you order the same thing and you expect the same thing. You have to balance that and figure out what you have that you’d want to have consistently and what do you want to have that you’ll rotate in seasonally.”
As for future plans, it’s hard to imagine what the beer scene will look like in Virginia in the coming years. How many breweries will the Virginia Beer Trail promote? Will the craft beer trend have run dry?
Evans admits that yes, there is likely to be a time when the craft beer industry reaches its peak. There’s a saturation point for this market and niche industry, but that’s what beer drinkers want: variety.
For Baker and Tom, they realize that yes, the market could become oversaturated, but a small town like Fredericksburg will only benefit from the addition of another brewery. It will bring in state tourism, as well as provide the locals with an alternative gathering spot to local bars filled with over-eager college students. For now, breweries like Spencer Devon are enjoying the popularity of craft beers. Even on a rainy November afternoon, their industrial building on George Street in Downtown Fredericksburg was bustling with customers, all holding pints of amber-hued liquids that accompanied their locavore plates.
Even if Virginia doesn’t become a beer state like its West Coast compatriots, these niche crafters and brewers have carved out a home in the Fredericksburg community, trend or no trend.