Pen Druid Brewing

Wow is all I can say. They have a great selection of beer and the location takes you away from the hustle and bustle. There even next to a river, which is lovely hearing it while you drink. The staff is super friendly and knowledgeable. But you wanna hear about beer, um on point. Lots of wine barrel aged and some sours. The one that stands out was one sour oatmeal stout wow! Chewy mouthfeel of and oatmeal stout and the tartness of blackberries on the back end. If you like your none typical beers this place is for you!

As with many of my recent beer excursions, this is more like a 3.5 stars. I liked but didn’t love Pen Druid. Worth a try? Sure. Would I go back? Probably… especially if they keep serving the Spiritual Nurse.
Like many micro-​breweries popping up, they experiment quite a bit. One thing especially liked about this place is their focus on Virginia yeasts. Pen Druid’s philosophy is to make something that’s very ‘local’, which I see as a mark of distinction. The Spiritual Nurse amber made with these ‘farm yeasts’ was especially good.
The location is nothing fancy, but gets the job done. Occasional good trucks too. But it’s definitely worth a stop because hey — you won’t know unless you try it!

Three great owners, amazing creative craft beer, fun atmosphere. I’m hooked!

Liked the beer, liked the crowd and overall a great low key place to grab a drink. Nice to have as an option — but have reasonable expectations on the décor! Will certainly come back.

A newcomer to the River Lane club that also includes an antique shop and distillery Pen Druid is a nanobrewery located just outside the Shenandoah National Park. We stopped in to get a growler filled to take with us to the campsite. The space is new and to me that adds all the charm and appeal. The warehouse feel obviously comes from newness but made you feel as though you are part of a great beginning. Personally, I hope it does not change as I don’t need any frills to enjoy good beer. We learned they have been open for about 2 months. Coming fresh off our whiskey tasting from across the street I was yearning for some carbonated hops flavors. Two brewers were there to help assist our choice from the three taps they had available. Tastings were given to us and we ended up choosing their Southern IPA. Spoiler alert: It was great at the campsite. I have to give props for allowing us to fill our own growler and I have noticed a number of new breweries will only fill their own to increase profits. Pen Druid is a true small town brewery that is worth a visit. Thanks!

This is a tough for me to review. Husband and I enjoyed our time at Pen Druid, for sure. People were very friendly and the space is great. They allow (well behaved) dogs and outside food. Prices are reasonable. So what’s the problem? The beer. They only had a handful of choice and we didn’t like any of them. I’d like to come back and try again; maybe another batch will be more to our liking.

Great beers, got to talk homebrew with one of the owners. I love to see a brewery doing cool experimental beers that aren’t all 10%+ and barrel aged. Both the ordinary bitter (Unreal City) and American Bitter (Check it Nice) are damn good.

This is certainly a little gem hidden off the beaten path in the Shenandoah Valley. Our true destination was the Copper Fox Distillery right next door, but was very happy to discover this place.
I know they are relatively new but I loved the simplicity of the place. A nice bar area and some picnic tables, not mention they are dog friendly too. They provide a great atmosphere and a wealth of knowledge on their own beers, let alone the brewing process in general. They really know how to mesh differently flavors together to get what they want out of their beers.
I had sampled the Mellow Fellow which was aged in old Sherry barrels. You could definitely taste that hint of Sherry and it made for a very different type of beer, one I’d never experienced before.
I had also sampled the World Wide Prince which is aged in old Chardonnay barrels, another great beer with old world taste. While I didn’t taste the dark sour Paranoia, I certainly appreciated the history behind why they chose to make a sour beer. I encourage you to stop by to hear the full story.
Only recommendation I would offer is to add some bowls of beer nuts or pretzels and one could spend hours there! Great job Pen Druid!

Great beers, great folks and this cool, comfortable European vibe. Very family and pet friendly. A great addition to Rappahannock County!

We visited Pen Druid Brewing for the first time Sunday of this past weekend (August 9, 2015) in the mid-​afternoon time frame. We were greeted by two of the brewers — I believe we met Lain and Jennings Carney.
We sat at the bar and ordered the full flight of the current five lineup of brews:
— Light of Love (Tart Grisette) (4.2% ABV)
— The Mild Child Ale (English Dark) 3.5% ABV
— Suzerain (Barrel aged French Saison) 7.0% ABV
— The Spiritual Nurse (Amber French Saison) 6.7% ABV
— Janis’ Southern Wrecker (Southern IPA) 5.5% ABV
Pen Druids’ approach to beer tends toward the eclectic side — you can see this in the flavor profile of their beer, the beer names and their overall philosophy — which is fun and whimsical!
While I enjoyed tasting all of their brews — the only two I would order a pint of is The Spiritual Nurse and the Southern Wrecker IPA. In general, I am not a fan of Saison style beer — but this one was really interesting. It was a full flavored Saison with a punch! Ultimately the Southern Wrecker IPA was my favorite — really nice piney taste and finish to the Ale.
The brewery is in an old warehouse style building. You can see the brewing tanks from the seating area. The brewers were nice guys, really interesting, and they are happy to chat with you about all aspects of their craft — both brewing and music! They have a band named «Pontiak»:
Lots of folks were coming to taste and get growlers filled up. The brewery is dog friendly and a few folks came in with their dogs. Omar is the resident brewery dog — a cute Black Lab. He spent much time hoovering the floor for peanuts and other dropped bits of food! He was adorable!
Here’s to the Carney Brothers and their new brewery! *Raises a pint glass in virtual toast* I look forward to future visits and future beers not yet released! Well done lads!

Just opened this weekend. Three local guys. Travelled Europe with their band. Now settled back home with their families. Decided to make brewing their new life. See the website for their story.
The location is great — surrounded by the antique stores, local produce stands, florist, butcher selling only local meats (lamb, beef, chicken…), artist workshops, Copper Fox distillery, restaurants… you could make an afternoon of it. It’s also situated in the perfect spot to stop for a few beers after a hike (coming off the mountain, it’s just before you hop on Rt. 211 to head home). I’m also told that they intend to add a smokehouse — beer and smoked meat
The brewery itself has a great space, albeit bare. Located in old garage space. The bar, tables and stools — all made by locals with old barn timbers (the man that made the bar was actually sitting at the end of it, enjoying a cold one). You can see the brewery from the bar. Outside they have a shaded area to relax. I imagine at some point the owners and their band will perform there. Three beers on tap currently. The Saison was my favorite — perfectly crisp for a hot day. Took a growler of it home for $ 23 — will obviously be cheaper the next time when I come back with the growler. The three owners worked the bar and couldn’t have been nicer or more accommodating. You could tell how excited they were about the place… which made me excited for them! I give four stars, leaving me room to add one once they add the smokehouse.
In all, great guys, great location, great beer. An awesome addition to the Sperryville «scene»