Best Local Spots for Craft Beer and Wine

Loudoun is renowned for its wineries, breweries and craft distilleries, but in recent years there’s a new concept on the scene: businesses that operate a combination of both under one roof. Add in the family farm that sells wine and cider and we have several multi-product enterprises in Loudoun. We call them Combination Operations. Here are five to check out.

Hillsborough Winery, Brewery and Vineyard 

The Baki family’s property on the slopes of Short Hill Mountain outside Hillsboro does fine wine and craft beer in a setting straight out of Provence. Winemaker Kerem oversees the winery, using estate grown grapes to make everything from a Tannat rosé to bold reds such as the dry red Bloodstone, a Fer Servadou aged in French oak. Brother Tolga helms the state-of-the-art 15-barrel brewhouse delivering a range of traditional ales and lagers. We love his crisp German-style Hillsbräu Pilsner. Add in those sweeping Blue Ridge views and there’s something for all tastes.

Williams Gap Vineyard

The Round Hill winery known for its bold reds, resplendent views and classy Colorado ski-lodge-style tasting room has a new product coming soon to the menu: beer. Brewed on-site alongside the wines there will be a boutique rotating menu of four approachable beers: a sour, an IPA, a lager and a seasonal offering. Anyone concerned the beer won’t be as high a quality as the wine should rest easy: Russ Sabbag, Head Brewer at acclaimed Adroit Theory in Purcellville oversees the brewery operation. We’ll drink wine and beer to that!

Flying Ace Distillery & Brewery

From beer and wine to beer and whiskey…sprawling Flying Ace Farm in Lovettsville is Loudoun’s first combination brewery and distillery operation. The brewery side of the business features more than 15 rotating beers and hard seltzers on tap including five flagship brews. For a “farm-to-glass” experience, try the Bloody Butcher Cream Ale that includes heirloom Bloody Butcher Corn grown on the farm. The adjacent red barn distillery – an airplane hanging from the ceiling – does a rum and three styles of whiskey: Cask Strength Blended Bourbon; 90 Proof Blended Bourbon and White Dog, the latter also made with the heirloom Bloody Butcher corn. The attractions don’t stop there: Flying Ace has an outpost of the magnificent Monk’s BBQ, Monk’s on the Farm. Good tastes never end.

Bluemont Station Brewery & Winery

This 50-acre Bluemont farm with a 200-year-old manor house once focused exclusively on weddings and events. In 2022 it reinvented itself as a brewery and winery named Bluemont Station – after the train station that once existed on the property. The owners now offer a range of wines (we love the Vidal Blanc and Cabernet Franc Estate Reserve) and an extensive craft beer list. Try the Smashing Pumpkin Ale, Highway to Helles or Bluemont’s Best Pilsner. It’s the wider experience you will love, however: spacious lawns for kids to run around, movie nights, cornhole and an extensive food menu. Don’t miss half-priced burgers on Fridays!

Corcoran Vineyards & Cider

The Corcoran family farm business that started out as a winery and a brewery in the early 2000s is now a winery and cidery with an interesting grape product: they make one wine, a whiskey barrel-aged port from Chambourcin grapes that is cleverly named USB. (USB port – get it?) When the family sold the beer business in 2017, they ramped up cider production, making crisp, dry champagne-style ciders with names such as Sinful and Popo Peach. “The skill is finding alchemy between art and science,” says winemaker Lori Corcoran who oversees the operations. “The chemistry is in the balance; the art is in the finish.” As for those ciders, we recommend the bourbon barrel-aged Knot Head which has a hint of vanilla from the oak.