Dogs made me go....

... but the beer will be the reason I return!

Stafford has always been an area that I would drive through to get to somewhere else. It was never a place in which I chose to visit.  Well, that is until I found out that the non-profit, Veterans Moving Forward, was having a fundraiser at Adventure Brewing Company off of Route 1 in Stafford!

Veterans Moving Forward is a non-profit based in Catharpin whose purpose is to train and provide canine therapy and assistance to veterans with mental and physical health challenges at no cost!

http://www.vetsfwd.org/

I first found out about VMF about five years ago when I was at Breaux Vineyards in Loudoun County. A woman was fostering one of the VMF pups who was in training. He was a lab puppy with the VMF vest on and I inquired as to what the organization was all about. Ever since, I have faithfully been donating to this worthy organization for years. In fact, one day, I may just volunteer to help socialize and train a puppy for VMF.

I had been wanting to check out Adventure for a while but timing just never worked. Once I found out that VMF was going to be there on a Saturday, I told my favorite guy and we put it on the calendar so we wouldn't forget!

 Not long after I walked into the brewery, I was met by Vincent, a brand new VMF puppy in training!! A huge smile instantly formed on my face when I looked into those big brown puppy eyes! My heart melted when I realized what good this less than four month old pup would be doing for a veteran in no time!

What a special fluff bucket!

Realizing I was at a brewery, I reluctantly pulled myself away from the dogs and decided to check out the beer!

Adventure's beers include four year-round styles:  

Backpack Wheat is a traditional German-style beer with "summer adventures in mind". I mean, who doesn't long for and enjoy a summer adventure, especially in December?! It's refreshing and smooth with a hint of citrus but not over-the-top-orange in your face!  I've noticed lately, that I've taken a liking to Hefeweizens and this is no exception!

Super Power Pale Ale is based on a pilsner recipe and has malty flavors and a bright finish. It fooled me because,by its light color, I thought it would be lighter in flavor as well. Not bad, though. Not bad at all.

 Expedition IPA scared me at first because I don't really like the hoppy bitterness of an IPA. While IPA lovers should enjoy this one, those of us who aren't too sure about IPAs should be able to fathom it as well. It's not nearly as hoppy as your typical IPA.

Stiletto Stout is comprised of five grains and five hops, making it a very flavorful stout. Bold, roasty with hints of chocolate and coffee, this is a typical dark stout to me. It makes me want to drink coffee with breakfast and I don't like coffee or breakfast.

Adventure also has specialty and seasonal brews which change quite frequently:

Grapefruit Wheat made me turn my nose up just at the name. Anyone who knows me or has read enough of my blog posts knows that I cannot stand grapefruit or anything that has a grapefruit flavor. This beer started out with the lovely Backpack Wheat beer but was then ruined with grapefruit peel and grapefruit juice. Need I say more?

Final Frontier Amber has a low hoppiness which lets the malt shine through! Yes, yes, yes!!  Shine on, Mr. Malt!

Pumpkin Patch Adams is made with real pumpkin in the mash and spiced with cinnamon, ginger, allspice and nutmeg! When I visited Adventure it was right at the beginning of the pumpkin beer season and while I like pumpkin beer, overall I think the crazy pumpkin mania leaves little to be desired. However, Adventure's pumpkin beer is hands down the best pumpkin beer I have ever tasted. It is a perfect blend of pumpkin and baking spices. Even my favorite guy, who knows more and has consumed more beer in his lifetime than I,  let out a "wow" upon drinking this one.  My only regret is that we didn't fill a growler and take it home.

Search Party Ale was a happy accident! When the Adventure brewers were creating their IPA they lost a compressor and they "sent the search party out to rescue the beer!" A tough job, but someone has to do it! It was very eye opening to try this next to the Expedition IPA to see what a difference temperature control makes in the fermentation process.

Lemon Drop IPA is Windex and Pine Sol in a glass. Intriguing? Not so much. Wretched? Ok, maybe that's a little too harsh. But man this was just not good. This is a Session IPA brewed with an experimental "lemon drop" hop which gives the beer a citrus flavor along with a hint of pine. Yeah, they nailed this one. If it had only been put in the coffin...

There are two seasonals that are produced here but weren't available and I definitely want to try at some point:

Belgian Dubbel which is a classic Belgian Ale (my go-to at a new brewery)

and

Mary Washington's Gingerbread which emulates the ginger, raisin and dry sweetbread flavors of Mary's famous gingerbread! It is brewed in collaboration with the Mary Washington House in Fredericksburg.

While I'm not typically a stout fan, I must say I am also intrigued by the Imperial Stout that is coming out soon at Adventure. Maybe it's the label and the name that is gaining my interest.

Or maybe it's the whip.  I was just Catwoman for Halloween.

While the dogs made me go to Adventure, the beer will definitely be the reason that I return and keep going back!

Thirstily he set it to his lips, and as its cool refreshment began to soothe his throat, he thanked Heaven that in a world of much evil there was still so good a thing as ale.”

― Rafael Sabatini, Fortune's Fool