Port City Brewing Company
{{Short description|Craft brewery in Alexandria, Virginia}}
{{Infobox company
|name = Port City Brewing
|type = Private
|foundation = 2011
|founders = Bill and Karen Butcher
|location = Alexandria, VA, United States
|industry = Brewery
|homepage = [http://www.portcitybrewing.com Port City Brewing]
}}
Port City Brewing Company is a craft brewery located in Alexandria, Virginia. It is the first production brewery to operate in Alexandria since Prohibition,{{Cite news|url=http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/food/blog/13127738/alexandrias-port-city-brewing-company-opens-this-week|title=Alexandria's Port City Brewing Company Opens This Week|work=Washington City Paper|access-date=2017-03-03|language=en}} when the Robert Portner Brewing Company closed its doors. Port City was named the 2015 Small Brewing Company of the Year at the Great American Beer Festival.{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/going-out-guide/wp/2015/09/28/its-official-port-city-is-the-best-small-brewery-in-america/ |title=It's official: Port City is the best small brewery in America | newspaper=The Washington Post |date=2015-09-28 |author=Fritz Hahn |accessdate=2021-01-05}}
History
File:Bill Butcher Port City Pours Beer (12271207834).jpg
Port City Brewing Company was founded by Bill and Karen Butcher, a former fine wine sales manager and intellectual property attorney respectively. The couple found that the Washington, D.C. area did not have enough high quality, locally produced craft beer and chose to open a brewery in Alexandria, where the Butcher family has been based for generations.
To spearhead brewing operations, the couple hired Jonathan Reeves, an accomplished brewer with over a decade of experience and numerous awards to his name, including several GABF medals. When the company opened its doors in February 2011, it was the first production inside the Beltway since the road’s construction in 1961.
Since its founding, Port City has garnered a number of awards, including 16 medals at the Great American Beer Festival,{{Cite web |url=https://www.greatamericanbeerfestival.com/the-competition/winners/ |title=GABF Winners - Great American Beer Festival |author= |work=Great American Beer Festival |access-date=2017-03-03}} 12 Good Food Awards,{{Cite web |url=http://www.goodfoodawards.org/winners/ |title=Good Food Awards |website=www.goodfoodawards.org |access-date=2017-03-03}} and 32 medals at the Virginia Craft Brewers Festival.{{Cite news |url=http://www.richmond.com/food-drink/article_6b3f0eda-64d9-5597-8570-732329728aed.html |title=2016 Virginia Craft Brewers Cup Winners full list |work=Richmond Times-Dispatch |access-date=2017-03-03}}
On June 29, 2012, Port City lost power due to the June 2012 North American derecho. The power was out long enough that a Czech-style Pilsner finished primary fermentation at higher than normal temperatures and had the flavor profile of a steam beer (also called California Common); they were able to save four of five tanks after possibly having to lose 13,000 gallons of beer.{{cite web |url=https://dcist.com/story/12/08/03/derecho-common-beer-to-be-tapped-to/ |title=Derecho Common Beer to Be Tapped Today |website=www.dcist.com |date=2021-08-03 |author=Benjamin R. Freed |accessdate=2021-01-05 |archive-date=2022-01-07 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220107035341/https://dcist.com/story/12/08/03/derecho-common-beer-to-be-tapped-to/ |url-status=live }} Every year since then, they've produced Derecho Common as a summer seasonal.{{cite web |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2020/06/29/derecho-lager/ |title=The story behind the Derecho Lager from Port City Brewing Company |newspaper=The Washington Post |date= 2020-06-29 |author= Kevin Ambrose |accessdate= 2022-01-05}}
In 2012, founder Bill Butcher was invited to address the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, North Carolina on the subject of the Obama administration's relationship with the small business community. Butcher attracted the campaign's attention by appearing in a video promoting the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, which helped get him a Small Business Administration-backed loan.{{cite web |last1=Freed |first1=Benjamin |date=2012-09-05 |title=Port City Brewing Company Owner to Address Democrats |url=http://dcist.com/2012/09/port_city_brewing_company_owner_to_1.php |website=DCist |publisher=Gothamist |accessdate=2017-04-15 |url-status=live |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20171106013612/http://dcist.com/2012/09/port_city_brewing_company_owner_to_1.php |archivedate=2017-11-06 }}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [http://www.portcitybrewing.com Port City Brewing site]
{{Coord|38|48|28.8|N|77|6|5.3|W|display=title}}
Category:Beer brewing companies based in Virginia
Category:Companies based in Alexandria, Virginia
Category:American companies established in 2011