PURCELLVILLE, VIRGINIA
One of the most interesting and bold nanobrewery gone wild!
Specializing in experimental barrel-aged elixirs and a few solid hybridized regulars, ‘esoteric’ Purcellville-based ADROIT THEORY BREWING COMPANY crafts some of Virginia’s finest Big Beers in small batches at its rustic light industrial warehouse. Wood-barreled tables and a large L-shaped bar furnish the cavernous interior and heavy metal music plays loudly during tasting hours. Head brewer Greg Skotzko’s rangy ales usually top out above 9% ABV, though a few equally fine fruitier choices were deviously sessionable.
Serving at least twenty different brews at any given time, I sit at the wood-and-metal stooled bar on a Friday evening, September ’15, to enjoy ten varied selections going from moderate India Pale Ale to rum-soaked porter during a most intriguing two-hour session. The crowd heightens by 7PM, as young and old alike buy growlers, 4-ounce servings or pints. Some visitors grab a seat on the deck to enjoy sundown beneath blue umbrellas at green plastic tables.
Open since January 2014, Adroit Theory has already crafted over 150 different small batch beers in less than twenty months. Liberated old rockers screaming along to Metallica and Judas Priest settle next to younger folks more concerned with the headier-than-usual liquid fare this clean and friendly hotspot offers in spades. A destination for any serious beer connoisseur traveling thru the Old Dominion State, Adroit Theory’s ever-changing recipes just keep-a coming.
For starters, I reached for sumptuous perfume-brandied mainstay, Angels Trumpet IPA, a sharply spice-hopped medium body with tantalizing lemony grapefruit-mango-pineapple tropicalia and brisk orange peel bittering receiving astringent ethanol boozing. Interestingly, its mezcal-barreled version added light agave hints to cotton-candied malt sweetness and juicy mango-grapefruit-orange-tangerine tang for a soft-toned delight.
A few more fruity concoctions really caught my attention as well. Easygoing Mango Fook Yourself (7% ABV) placed syrupy mango above its lemony IPA-styled pineapple-tangerine-peach tang and sugared wheat backbone. Cult 010 Blue’s Berry, a nifty Belgian dubbel, brought blueberry ripeness to raisin-dried cranberry, blackberry, boysenberry and gooseberry souring. Lightly creamed Belgian-spiced dessert treat, Lemon Tripel, brought candied lemondrop tartness to peachy vanilla sweetness.
Ambitious Cult 013 Nova Initia Quad benefited from whiskey-nipped dried fruiting and brown chocolate sweetness as black cherry, fig and raisin tones carried the load.
Truly rewarding Death March Imperial IPA loaded floral fruitiness and piney hop resin atop richly caramelized chocolate malting. Its candied red cherry sweetness and zesty grapefruit-orange tang really zing the senses.
On the dark side were four alcohol-fueled faves. Cult 008 Evil Grace Imperial Stout proved worthy gathering stylish coffee-roasted black chocolate richness for ancillary milk-creamed espresso, cacao nibs and toffee illusions as well as dried raisin nuances and a hint of whiskey. Its more complex companion, B/A/Y/S V20 Imperial Stout, lined its smoked mocha mass with hop-charred dried fruiting and a bourbon wisp, gaining coffee-roasted chocolate prominence and subtle cocoa remnant along the way.
Before heading out, dazzlingly hybridized Black Celebration Imperial Porter offered black lava-salted brine to rum-soaked chocolate roast and molasses-sapped sugaring, picking up light oak tannins at the chewy caramelized mocha finish.