BPM. It can mean many things, Beats Per Minute, Best Practice Methodology, or Bi-Phase Modulator, to name just a few. We have a new acronym for BPM to share.
With four brew hikes under our belts, we’ve thought of a variety of variables to quantify each, in a way that’s helpful to any prospective hiker that might follow in our footsteps, and beer quaffs. A brew hike might be rated on difficulty, scenery, and beer quality, among many others.
But the first vital measure for a brew hike must be BPM, or Breweries Per Mile.
BPM is the ratio of Breweries per Mile Hiked. A two mile hike that included two breweries has a BPM of 1.0. Our first four brew hikes had the following BPMs;
- Woodbridge: 0.57 (5 breweries/8.8 miles)
- Manassas: 0.58 (4 breweries/6.9 miles)
- Lorton: 1.30 (2 breweries/1.3 miles)
- Alexandria: 0.67 (4 breweries/6 miles)
Our planned route for the Leesburg brew hike, had a BPM of 5.74! Yup, that’s 7 breweries in 1.22 miles! This was destined to NOT be an average brew hike! So naturally, it made sense to do it on St. Patrick’s Day!
But our BPM changed from the outset. We learned on arrival at our first stop, MacDowell’s Brew Kitchen, that while they offer a fine selection of craft beers, they don’t (yet) brew their own, a change we were told is in the works. Tempted as we were to stay, the rules of brew hiking are clear, it is a hike between breweries. Our new starting point just 135 feet away, we departed with our thirsts intact, but we’ll be back!
New Leesburg brew hike BPM = 4.92!
And so, at 11:08 am on St. Patrick’s Day, there was a very obvious brew with which to start this brew hike at Crooked Run Brewing, and that was with a pint of their delicious Charm Milk Stout. It was breakfast after all! We followed that with just a taste of Skittlebrau, a collaboration Berliner Weisse brewed with 50 pounds of Skittles. Tart & tasty! We’d have happily stayed all day, but we had five breweries yet to visit.
Google maps said it would take us five minutes to walk the 0.2 miles to our next stop, and noon was fast approaching. We had to hurry!
Black Walnut Brewery had a growing mid-day crowd, but still an open table by the window, Ireland vs. England rugby match on TV, and a menu board of tasty sounding brews. It was time for a flight! My favorite was the Mango Pale Ale. We’d have happily hung out all afternoon, but we had four breweries yet to visit, and the next one was a daunting 0.3 miles away!
BUT, experienced brew hikers know that we cannot survive on beer alone, try as we might. With four breweries ahead of us, lunch was in order. Fortunately the Leesburg Diner was perfectly situated by our next brewery, and provided a welcome pause for sustenance as a gentle snow started falling outside.
Having extended our hike by at least 25 feet to get to the diner, and 25 more to get back on course was tough, but freshly fueled by burgers and fries saw us through, and we made it next door to the Black Hoof Brewing Company with but a few snowflakes on us. Now almost 1:30, the crowds of Irish were growing, but again, we still easily found a table and quickly took flight! All the beers were great (my favorite was the collaboration Midnight Rhapsody dark lager), best of the day in Rick’s opinion. While Shane was impressed by the drinking Dad who fested with a sleeping child strapped to his chest. Or maybe it was a drunk leprechaun. Regardless, we’d have loved to stay all afternoon, but we still had three breweries yet to visit, and 0.1 miles to hike to reach our next one.
And reach it we did, and despite the happy and growing crowd we found at Bike TrAle Brewing, we still easily found a table and quick service (and pretzels!). The bar stools were all taken, so we didn’t get to see if the bike pedals on them actually did anything… pedal powered taps maybe? And despite being a day to celebrate our Irish-ness, I’m also mostly Czech, and so enjoyed celebrating that side of my beer heritage with a tasty Gold Velvet pilsner. We’d have really loved to hang out the rest of the afternoon, but we still had three breweries yet to visit, and 0.2 miles to go to reach our next one!
Along that 0.2 miles we passed a statue of American soldier and statesman George C. Marshall, who lived in Leesburg and whose home is now a historic landmark and museum. He seemed to want to join us, but being a statue, he could not, and we proceeded on, leaving George leaning against his fence.
We quickly reached our penultimate stop, the Loudoun Brewing Company. By now, St. Paddy’s was in full swing, and we had to venture upstairs to find an only recently empty table. We felt a bit out of place without a stroller in hand, or a toddler in tow, but we are older sorts with almost empty nests. But if we had enjoyed such a wealth of craft beer options in younger days, we certainly wouldn’t have shied away from pushing strollers on a brew hike. Our beers came in a celebratory green cup, which was great, as was the Molly’s Folly Irish Red that it contained! We’d have liked to stay for the rest of the afternoon, but we had one brewery yet to visit, and the longest leg of our hike ahead, a daunting 0.4 miles!
Wisely, we had started our day at the end point, leaving a car, and making a dinner reservation, as we were to be met by our lovely designated driver wives as well as a full on Casey family convergence. So despite the fact that St. Paddy’s festing was in full swing, we arrived at the Dog Money Restaurant & Brewery to be met by waiting wives and soon joined by adult kids, and met by a delicious dinner and some excellent beers. An Oatmeal Stout blended with a Red Ale into a tasty Black & Red? was a fine way to finish strong.
Loudoun County, VA is blessed with many wonderful breweries which you can find and plan your visit to on the LoCo Ale Trail. If you’re interested in a foot friendly trail, one that tips heavily towards the brewery side of the BPM ratio, without a lot of bothersome miles, you would have a hard time doing better than the brew hike we enjoyed on a snowy St. Patrick’s Day in Leesburg, VA.
(See all the photos on Facebook)
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