One of the best brews in the country can be found right in Fairfax County at Caboose Brewing Company, according to the judges of the 2024 U.S. Open Beer Championship.
The brewery, which owns and operates Caboose Tavern (520 Mill Street) in Vienna and Caboose Commons (2918 Eskridge Road) near the Mosaic District in Merrifield, won a gold medal at the national competition, which announced winners in dozens of categories on July 9.
Caboose was specifically awarded in the American Brown Ale category for its Boxcar Brown Ale, which it describes as “a smooth and robust brown ale with hints of rich chocolate and dark fruit.”
Developed by head brewer Matt Smith, the ale is a menu staple at both of Caboose’s locations.
Though the brewery has won at the Virginia Craft Brewers Cup multiple times in the past, this is only the second time that it has received an award at the national level, according to a Caboose spokesperson. The business previously won gold for its barrel-fermented Flanders Red Ale at the Great American Beer Festival in 2021.
“We were excited but just happy to bring back a medal and represent all the great craft breweries in Virginia,” Caboose Director of Brewing Operations Dave Traille said in a statement to FFXnow.
Taking its name from Vienna’s Red Caboose, Caboose Brewing was started in 2015 by the local McLaughlin and Greer families, per its website. It expanded to Merrifield in November 2018.
Caboose was the only Fairfax County brewery to earn a medal at this year’s U.S. Open Beer Championship, which was held earlier this month at the U.S. Open Event Center — a 6,000-square-foot Amish pole barn on a farm in Oxford, Ohio.
The competition featured over 9,000 beers from breweries that came from across the country. The 2024 Grand National Champion title went to the Ohio-based brewery Third Eye Brewing after it won four gold medals, two silver medals and two bronze medals.
Though no Virginia brewery made the top 10, the state had several other medal winners, including:
- Barley Naked Brewing Company (Stafford)
- Benchtop Brewing Company (Norfolk)
- Caiseal Beer & Spirits Co. (Hampton)
- Tradition Brewing Company (Newport News)
- Iron Pipe Alewerks (Orange)
- MoMac Brewing Company (Portsmouth)
- New Realm Brewing Co. (Virginia Beach)
- Olde Salem Brewing Company (Salem)
- Patch Brewing Co. (Gordonsville)
- 2 Silos Brewing Co. (Manassas)
- Barrel Oak Winery & Brewery (Delaplane)
