Latest reviews from Stafford

“Before traveling almost 90 minutes to Shorts Branch to get some help, I called them with my inquiry and the conversation could not have gone better and was told there were "multiple solutions" to our problem. Well I’m not sure what happened in the 3 hours between when I called and when I arrived.

A little background. I had been building a beer bar for my wedding and had been slowly assembling it, piece by piece. Over the last few months I have bought kegging supplies from a number of different places. It’s not optimal, but I’m assembling the bar nearly 3 hours away from where I live, and I can’t afford the expenses of buying all the equipment necessary all at once. So I opted to go to Shorts Branch Brewing Supply since it was the closest brewing shop to solve this latest (and what I had hoped would be final) issue.

I had been to the Aquia Pines Camp Resort many times before. I had bought brewing supplies at Shorts Branch as well as consumed some of their delicious beer at Wild Run multiple times.

It has been quite a long time since I had been treated the way that I was treated upon entering into Shorts Branch. What started as what I believed was a very pleasant conversation quickly and abruptly finished as an incredibly unpleasant exchange that ended with me leaving the store without spending a single dollar. The person I interacted with had zero interest in helping someone who ’clearly didn’t know what he was doing’ (a very slight paraphrase but accurate to the tone of the conversation). I didn’t know what to say. I was stunned. I was treated with contempt and was treated like a complete fool. I understand that some homebrewers are incredibly knowledgeable about how everything should assemble and how everything should work without a single ounce of assistance. However, not everyone has the same level of knowledge, especially when you look online at the plethora of questions that appear in homebrew forums. On the flip side, I understand that an owner of a store may not want to answer people’s questions about equipment that may have been purchased elsewhere. Maybe the assumption was that I would take his advice and walk out of the store, proud that I avoided spending a single penny.

We were in the car for 160 minutes for what amounted to a 5 minute trip. I had planned on spending whatever money I needed to solve this problem. Before I even went there I found conversion kits that would solve the issue I was having, and hoped that this store sold this. It might, but I won’t ever get the chance to find out. You talked yourself out of not only a sale today, but probably forever at all three establishments. Aqua Pines, Wild Run, and here.

Not only that, but the ’advice’ he provided was absolutely wrong for the equipment I had. Yes, I had all the pieces to solve it myself, but the solution/shortcut provided didn’t work which now necessitates me to go purchase new parts from a different store. I’d give this place a lower score, but if you just go in there, buy you stuff and don’t interact with anyone except when exchanging payment, you may be fine.“

radagast83 2798 days ago

“Interesting warehouse space. Parking in lot. Bar and some tables. All beers available individually as samplers. Friendly service. I only tried two beers. The IPA was good enough, the scotch ale was not good. 50% is not bad odds, although per the previous reviews I likely dodged a bullet by sticking with two.“

bytemesis 2920 days ago

“Now this was fun! My GPS leads me to a campground, I pull in and of course get out my phone to see what is wrong, but the website says campground too. I walk into the camp store and ask and the guy waves me to the back room, where I am the only person along with a few tables with puzzles on them and a very small bar with room for maybe four people. The five taps are written on the blackboard. The guy who runs the store also pours the beers when he doesnt have any customers. He was quite talkative and it was an enjoyable experience. All beers were available as tasters, for gain the $3 that seems to be the norm in this area. Beers were surprisingly solid, if not exceptional. This was definitely an odd experience - I am glad I stopped!“

bytemesis 3353 days ago

“This place started out great with an awesome bbq truck and great, friendly service but the beer really tastes like an unfinished product, for the most part. The place is ordinary looking garage with some seats - the bad movie night would be fun if it weren’t accompanied by bad beer. Their concept seems ok, but they really need to work out the kinks in their brewing process.“

solidfunk 3499 days ago

“Awesome place in the middle of nowhere. Talk about cool ambiance. Beers by the campfire, and you can bring your own hotdogs and marshmallows. There’s a few tables and an old theater row of seats inside too if the weather gets rough. And a shower and laundry downstairs if the wonderful beers get the better of you. On that note, all their styles are simple yet wonderfully done to style. The red was particularly good. Definitely an experience.“

solidfunk 3499 days ago

“We passed this place, realizing we need to do a u-turn. "It couldn’t possibly be in this campground," "wait... I remember hearing about it being in a campground." "Let’s check the front desk", "Oh, the brewery is right here!"

Small tasting room, with a small bar that contains 5 taps. Brewer greeted us and poured our beers. Volunteer asked if we wanted to drink our beers by the fire. We said yes. Actual glassware, which was nice. Campfire was nice, the ambiance was wonderful, and the beers were actually quite tasty. Four out of five of them were available. They kept track of all the beers and we paid at the end. Everyone was friendly and seemed to really enjoy being there. There is also a homebrewing store attached. They say we can bring food to cook (if the fire is going), so if anyone wants to do that, that’s an option.“

radagast83 3504 days ago

“First: confusion. Next: joy. Finally: the desire to buy a motorhome and park it here. This is the only brewery in a campground that I’ve seen. There are no signs out front because of road construction, so we drove by and doubled back. When we pulled in, all we saw was the campground, so we figured we’d ask for directions. Then we spotted the brewery sign in the office window. Young brewer Frank is from Michigan, and he makes a small range of very solid, very tasty beers. He and a really friendly lady who work for HLS gave us the beers and said, "Pay when you leave, and would you like me to start the campfire now?" She obliged, and handed us a basket of pretzels. Folks came and went around the campfire all night. The lady returned at one point and said, "Would you mind throwing some of those massive old logs on the fire?" Just what a city boy wants to hear (although owner Everett says there’s no such thing as a city boy, just a country boy in training). She also said, feel free to do your laundry, probably the only brewery I know of with the capacity for cleaning clothes and brewing beer at the same time. She then told us about the homebrewers gathering they’re planning for 1 November (they sell homebrew supplies too), and the Winter Celebration planned for - April. When else? This place is an absolute gem. The only improvement I can think of is that they should sell hot dogs to roast on the fire, but next time we’ll bring our own.“

Travlr 3504 days ago

“The highlight for me was the North Carolina style barbecue truck out front, plus the free entertainment that come with it. We did that first, then took our food into the brewpub, which is a large bar and a few tables in one corner of the warehouse brewery. The IPA was tasty, but we left most of the rest of the beers, very disappointing. Staff was very friendly and helpful, and gave one of our group a T-shirt for his birthday. Once is enough, although I could see returning for the BBQ.“

Travlr 3504 days ago

“Exceptional first impression for a brand-new place. Great location and well set up. Very friendly staff who were extremely accommodating, cool sampler trays, all the beers I tried were above average, great-smelling food truck outside. The current explosion in small breweries will certainly have some failures -- this is one I hope to see continue doing well. Highly recommended. (Brewery #639)“

Braudog 3586 days ago

“Stopped in here on the 4th of July on my way down to the Northern Neck of Virginia (aka, Virginia’s Craft Beer Desert). Place was relatively quiet in the mid-afternoon. Lots of space, with a bar in the front, and the equipment and brewing tanks in the back. Side room with merchandise. Food truck was outside, which I should have taken advantage of, since I didn’t eat dinner until almost 11pm that night. Staff was very friendly. They had 4 beers of theirs on tap, some show great promise. Place is right in eyesight of I-95, but it takes a few minutes to get there from off the interstate. Easy to find in a light-industrial area. Hope to try them again soon to see if quality is on the mark and hope to see them continue to grow.“

radagast83 3605 days ago