Old Dominion Brewing Company
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Fordham & Dominion Brewing Company, founded in 2007 in
Dover, Delaware Dover () is the capital and second-largest city of the U.S. state of Delaware. It is also the county seat of Kent County and the principal city of the Dover, DE, Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Kent County and is part of ...
, is a
brewery A brewery or brewing company is a business that makes and sells beer. The place at which beer is commercially made is either called a brewery or a beerhouse, where distinct sets of brewing equipment are called plant. The commercial brewing of be ...
that produces a variety of craft
beer Beer is one of the oldest and the most widely consumed type of alcoholic drink in the world, and the third most popular drink overall after water and tea. It is produced by the brewing and fermentation of starches, mainly derived from ce ...
s and
craft soda Craft soda is a soft drink that is produced in small quantities from natural ingredients. Craft soda is in most cases made with sweeteners other than sucrose (sugar) or high-fructose corn syrup and contains sparing amounts of preservatives. Craf ...
s. The brewery produces two brands, the Fordham brand and the Dominion brand, under one operation. Since 2007 the two breweries joined together as one business and by 2009 both brands were then produced together in Dover, Delaware. The brewery, as a whole, brews over 20 different styles of beer, both year-round and seasonal products. The brewery also makes specialty soda under the Dominion name, including Root Beer, Orange Cream, Black Cherry, and Ginger Ale.


History

From 1996 to 2006, Old Dominion hosted an annual beer festival that showcased small brewers from around the region, as well as some breweries from around the US and Europe. The festival featured more than 50 breweries and live music. The three-day event was held each year on the last full weekend of June; management and organization of the festival was given over to Vintage 50, which now hosts the event twice a year, in June and October. Old Dominion has been fertile ground for producing high quality brewers, such as: John Mallet at Bell's Brewery, Ron Barchet at
Victory Brewing Company Victory Brewing Company (Victory) is a brewery founded in 1996 in Downingtown, Pennsylvania, United States. The main brands are HopDevil, Prima Pils, Headwaters Pale Ale, Golden Monkey, DirtWolf, and Storm King, which are distributed in 34 sta ...
, Matthew Hagerman at Lost Rhino Brewing Company, Favio Garcia at Lost Rhino Brewing and Dynasty Brewing, and Kenny Allen at True Respite Brewing Company. Bailey put Old Dominion up for sale in the mid-2000s. No serious offers to purchase the company were made until 2007, when Fordham Brewing of
Annapolis, Maryland Annapolis ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Maryland and the county seat of, and only incorporated city in, Anne Arundel County. Situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, south of Baltimore and about east o ...
offered to purchase the company, financed in part by
Anheuser-Busch Anheuser-Busch Companies, LLC is an American brewing company headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri. Since 2008, it has been wholly owned by Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV (AB InBev), now the world's largest brewing company, which owns multiple glo ...
(AB) for a minority stake in the two breweries, to form Coastal Brewing Company. The majority of Coastal is owned by Fordham Brewing Company, owned by Bill Muhlhauser (owner of both Fordham and the Ram's Head Taverns of Maryland) and other partners. Anheuser-Busch's purchase stake gave them no control of either of the two breweries, nor any input or influence on brewery recipes, nor oversight of any day-to-day management. The brewery also owns its own distribution rights. Old Dominion also operated a
brewpub Craft beer is a beer that has been made by craft breweries. They produce smaller amounts of beer, typically less than large breweries, and are often independently owned. Such breweries are generally perceived and marketed as having an emphasis o ...
at the Ashburn brewery, which was closed in August 2008. In the year prior to the acquisition by Anheuser Busch/Fordham, the Brewpub had posted record sales of $2.1 million and had seen positive growth for more than a decade. Due to declining quality and a disillusioned customer base that largely abandoned their beloved once-local brewery, AB/Fordham was forced to cease operations of the Brewpub after 13 years of operation and profitability. Immediately after the sale, the brewers at Old Dominion worked with the brewers at Fordham for several months to ensure a consistent recipe transition. After the breweries combined operations, Coastal Brewing increased its focus on Old Dominion's core/popular brands. Their most popular series is their newest Pinup Series. Candi, their Belgian Tripel won Gold in the 2014 World Beer Cup. Also noted for the Double D Double IPA. Contrary to some accounts, AB-InBev had no input or influence on these decisions; they were solely based on economic concerns over the contract brands failing to meet sales expectations. In May 2009 all brewing operations, combined with those of Fordham Brewing, were moved to a new facility in Dover, Delaware. The current core brands of the brewery continue to sell briskly in both the on-site and packaging ends, and can be found as the "house" brews at many locations throughout the DC Metro area, including the Great American Restaurant chain (except for the Sweetwater Tavern in
Centreville, Virginia Centreville is a census-designated place (CDP) in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States and a suburb of Washington, D.C. The population was 73,518 as of the 2020 census. Centreville is approximately west of Washington, D.C. History Colonia ...
),
Capital One Arena Capital One Arena is an indoor arena in Washington, D.C. Located in the Penn Quarter neighborhood, the arena sits atop the Gallery Place (WMATA station), Gallery Place rapid transit station of the Washington Metro. It has been largely considered ...
, and
Nationals Park Nationals Park is a baseball stadium A ballpark, or baseball park, is a type of sports venue where baseball is played. The playing field is divided into the infield, an area whose dimensions are rigidly defined, and the outfield, where dimen ...
. Old Dominion continues to host various brew sampling and cask events throughout the DC-MD-VA-DE-NJ-PA metropolitan area, maintaining their status as a Mid-Atlantic regional brewer, and their Oak Barrel Stout and Pinup Series brands remain popular sellers in the packaging end of the line, available at several retail and grocery chains, bars and retailers in their regions. As of January 2011, Jim Lutz (former VP of sales and marketing at Flying Dog Brewery of Frederick, MD), took over as the new President and CEO of Coastal Brewing.


Beer selection


Lagers

*Fordham Gypsy Lager 5.0%


Ales

*Dominion Double D Double IPA 9.0% *Dominion Oak Barrel Stout 5.5% *Dominion Hop Lips IPA 6.0% *Dominion Candi Belgian Tripel 10.0% *Dominion Morning Glory Espresso Stout 9.0% *Fordham Route 1 Session IPA 4.5% *Fordham Copperhead Ale 5.0% *Fordham Rams Head IPA 7.5%


Specialty/seasonal

Seasonal beer A seasonal beer is a beer that is typically brewed during or for a particular season, holiday or festival period. Many breweries and microbreweries produce seasonal beers. Seasonal beers may be produced when fresh ingredients are available during ...
s include: *Dominion Octoberfest (August) 5.6% *Dominion Cherry Blossom Lager (March) 5.2% *Dominion Gigi's Farmhouse Ale (June) 7.2% *Dominion GPA Grapefruit Pale Ale (June) 6% *Dominion Millennium Barleywine (November) 11% *Dominion Black IPL (January) 5% *Fordham Wisteria Wheat (May) 5% *Fordham Spiced Harvest Ale (August) 6.5% *Fordham Rosie Parks Oyster Stout (September) 5% *Fordham Doppelbock (December) 8%


References


External links


Fordham & Old Dominion Brewing Company
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fordham and Dominion Brewing Company Beer brewing companies based in Delaware Beer brewing companies based in Virginia American companies established in 1989 Dover, Delaware Loudoun County, Virginia 1989 establishments in Virginia Companies based in Kent County, Delaware American soft drinks