GREAT JOB KEITH AND ZACH!!!

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11 DC-area craft brewers bring home Brewers Association medals

September 27, 2023, 10:19 AM

Eleven craft brewers in Maryland, Virginia and D.C. came home with medals — including five golds — from the prestigious Great American Beer Festival, held over nine days with awards presented on Sept. 23 in Denver.

This year, 250 judges from 10 countries sipped and sniffed more than 9,400 entries from all 50 states, D.C. and Puerto Rico. There were 99 beer categories and more than 170 beer styles that were judged.

A total of 303 medals were awarded to 263 breweries, some of which came home with multiple wins. Medals are awarded as Gold, Silver and Bronze.

The nonprofit Brewers Association has nearly 6,000 U.S. brewery members and 37,000 members of the American Homebrewers Association.

The Great American Beer Festival is sponsored annually by the Brewers Association, which is the nation’s largest craft beer festival.

Here are winners from Maryland, Virginia and D.C., their medal, and beer category:

  • Gold: Kodiak Kolsch, Bear Chase Brewing Company, Bluemont, Virginia (German-style Krolsch)
  • Gold: Rock Hill Irish Red, Barley Naked Brewing Co., Stafford, Virginia (Irish-style red ale)
  • Gold: Scout, Vibrissa Beer, Front Royal, Virginia (Sweet stout or cream stout)
  • Gold: Oktoberfest, Port City Brewing Co., Alexandria, Virginia (Vienna-style lager)
  • Gold: Rye Whiskey Barrel-Aged Atom Smasher, Rock Bottom Brewery, Bethesda, Maryland (Wood-and-barrel-aged strong beer)
  • Silver: Passionfruit on Acid, Blue Mountain Barrel House, Arrington, Virginia (Fruited wood and barrel-aged sour beer)
  • Silver: Milk Stout, Waredaca Brewing Co., Gaithersburg, Maryland (Sweet stout or cream stout)
  • Silver: Oktoberfest, Silver Branch Brewing Co, Silver Spring, Maryland (Vienna-style lager)
  • Bronze: Buttons the Bear, Bear Chase Brewing Co., Bluemont, Virginia, (Oatmeal stout)
  • Bronze: Silent Neighbor, Atlas Brew Works, D.C. (Stout)
  • Bronze: Midnight Rider Imperial Porter, Great American Restaurants — Sweetwater Tavern Merrified, Falls Church, Virginia (Strong Porter)

Guess what the Waredaca Pony Club can do for you this weekend!

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Waredaca Pony Club will be set up in the parking field and are selling Breakfast sandwiches and coffee. Misty Mint treats, horse ornaments and magnets are being offered for sale too. Bring a photo for a custom keepsake! Started in August and was very popular, WPC members will be on hand all day to clean your tack for a donation to the club! Just bring your tack by the booth after you are finished riding. All proceeds from the booth directly support WPC members. THANKS

Waredaca’s Commitment to Superior Footing!

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Check out our Footing Project with IEquitek for all of our arenas! After much research and analysis, we chose Atwood Footing, which is also the Official Footing and Arena Company of the USEF! For more information on iEquiTek and Attwood Equestrian Surfaces, click the corresponding images below.

Our Indoor Arena is completed and work on our outdoor (competition dressage arena) is next!

The Waredaca Pony Club testing out the brand-new footing.
The WPC tests out the brand-new footing!

Waredaca Farm Riding Surface Strategy and Plan   

The Waredaca Farm strategy is to use science and best practices to implement improved riding surfaces which are safe, healthy, and offer appropriate performance for the task, which includes education, training, and competitions. Waredaca Farm has aligned with other venues in the USA which are advancing the state-of-the-art.  Waredaca has partnered with Bill Hawe from iEquiTek.

The first step was to make a commitment to use best practices and scientific knowledge to improve outcomes. This happened in the Fall of 2022. This meant Waredaca Farm laid out a vision and was willing to question how that might be accomplished with no pre-conceived notions.

The second step was to articulate a multi-step plan which would upgrade each of the riding surfaces, starting with their most used surface, the indoor arena. The selection of the footing material for the surface had several criteria: (a) it must have been successfully laboratory tested, (b) it must have been installed and successfully used in a demanding environment, preferably in Maryland, (c) the technical assessment from the laboratory testing must align with the qualitative assessment of professional equestrian athletes, (d) it must be affordable and maintainable, (e) the footing material must have longevity of 15 or more years. Waredaca Farm obtained a quote for engineered footing material, to be acquired in steps, all of which met these criteria.

The third step is the installation of new footing material in all three area. This step is underway now. The indoor arena was completed in early January.  It is being used to great reviews.

These best practices provide longevity while minimizing disruption of the environment. They thus serve to protect open spaces while furthering the educational and land stewardship objectives of Waredaca Farm.   Waredaca Farm has embarked on a multi-step strategy to use these best practices and scientific design approaches to improve their performance outcomes. As a result, it is anticipated that horses will be sounder, surfaces will be safer and performance will be predictable.