Barrel Oak Farm Taproom

Located out in the Virginia countryside, right after the exurbs of Washington DC Taproom looks like a big ski lodge, lots of knotty pine. Taproom, deck and other seating options. Some food available. Great service and beer was much higher quality than I expected from a winery. Interesting adaptations too, not just the same old flagship styles. Well worth a visit.

 

Ok, first off, this Virginia farm brewery is a winery that has added a taproom on site to sell beer that it is making. The taproom is a separate wing of the large farmhouse that holds wine tasting stations, tables, chairs, and even a place for live music. The place also has a bunch of outside seating and picnic areas. This is a place to go and spend a half a day enjoying wine, beer, and food (supplied by third parties/food trucks).

If you take it as a full package, this place is pretty neat. It is very often crowded on the weekends - again, mainly from people there to visit the winery. It was nice to see quite a few people partaking of the beer, though. The taproom itself isn't too big, and they have about 10 or so taps that were pouring six beers when we visited. Those six taps did have a nice variety to them: 2 PAs, 2 Belgians, a stout and a Kolsch - though it was still only 6 offerings.

The beers themselves were mainly what you'd expect from a new brewery - beers that generally fit the style they intend, but with blurred lines in some cases, and a lack of definition in other cases. I found one beer to be interesting (but not to claimed style), one to be quite enjoyable, and 3 to be ok to good enough. Only one was really not up to par, in my book.

The service has always been friendly at Barrel Oak (we've been for wine numerous times). The bartenders did get a little overwhelmed at one busy point, but otherwise were quite efficient in grabbing an order for me. As of this point, I wouldn't expect many to trek here solely for the beer. But go for a day out of town and sample the beers and maybe do a wine tasting.