Mad Fox Brewing Company to Host Barleywine Festival in February
Press Release
FALLS CHURCH, VA – The award-winning Mad Fox Brewing Company, known for their unique house-crafted brew pub experience, has announced their 2nd Annual Barleywine Festival, on Saturday, February 11, from 11 am until midnight. The event will feature Mad Fox’s own Barleywines, as well as some favorites from other breweries selected by CEO and Executive Brewer Bill Madden and his team.
This second annual celebration is the region’s only Barleywine Festival. San Francisco and Alaska host well-known high gravity beer festivals, but Mad Fox is the first MidAtlantic brewer to create such an event, drawing aficionados from across the region, and from as distant as North Carolina and New York.
Many Americans are unfamiliar with barleywines, a term that describes a brewery’s strongest offerings and was coined in Britain in the early 1900’s; however, the brewing technique itself is quite archaic. Barleywines were typically brewed for special occasions, such as coronations, and seasonally, for holiday celebrations. Without a doubt, barleywines are a Brewer’s pride, big in every way – more alcohol, malt and hops. They are characterized by big, bold flavors, including tons of complex sugar and fruit notes. The color can be anywhere from a light amber to a rich gold to a very dark amber or even brown. American versions tend to be more heavily hopped (as opposed to their far tamer English cousins). But the barleywine category is fairly broad, allowing for wide interpretation.
Beers will rotate through the one-day festival, on draught and cask, while they last. Serving sizes are 4 oz. sample glasses. This is an informal event with no tickets, admission fees or limited hours. Mad Fox will offer its usual menu options with some exciting Barleywine Fest Specials. The regular menu will be served from 11 am until 11 pm, with a smaller menu available from 11 p.m. until midnight.
Mad Fox will also feature live music with one of the restaurant’s favorite artists, Pebble to Pearl, on the Mad Fox stage at 5pm (until 9 pm).
The UK’s high excise tax associated with substantial Original Gravities all but wiped out British barleywines, but in recent decades the style has made a comeback on this side of the Atlantic. Anchor Brewing Company released the first, Old Foghorn, in 1975. Soon other brewers followed suit and today a wide array of barleywines are available, generally as a holiday or winter seasonal offering. Mad Fox has two additions to the 2012 Barleywine Festival: the 2011 Oaked Slobberknocker, a big, bold and hoppy American Style barleywine aged in rye whiskey barrels; and Headcracker, an English Style golden barleywine will be served on cask and regular draft. Look for these special offerings throughout the festival. For the full line-up, including what is currently on hand and what has been ordered, please visit http://madfoxbrewing.com/barleywinefest, which will be regularly updated.
Located in the City of Falls Church at 444 West Broad Street, the Mad Fox Brewing Company brews all their beer in-house in their 15-barrel Premier Stainless brewing system, with Madden supervising the production. In 2011, two Mad Fox brews brought home medals at the Great American Beer Festival in Denver. In addition to the seven to ten beers on tap, Mad Fox rotates a seasonal selection of German, English, Belgian and American beers.
For additional information, visit the Mad Fox Brewing Company online at www.madfoxbrewing.com.