Mad Fox Brewing Company

*This is the first post in a series of Metro D.C. area breweries... stay tuned for future reviews!

Maniak: Mad Fox Brewing Company is my new local brewpub. I’m lucky to be living out in East Falls Church (which surprisingly enough you DON’T need your passport to travel to from D.C.) as there were already a couple local joints, but nowhere that was brewing their own. The brewpub is situated on Route 7 in the heart of Falls Church where many new retail and housing buildings have been going up recently. Walking into the restaurant, you are greeted by huge steel mashtuns directly in front of you behind the host stand.





Oh yeah, they definitely brew their own here.
To the left is a spacious dining room and to the right is a bar area of similar size. The bar is long and beautiful, with high tops behind it and booths along the window. The whole place just urges you to sit down and have a pint or two. Opened by Bill Madden, formerly of Capitol City Brewing Company and Vintage 50, the beer is top notch along with the pub grub that I’ve experienced thus far.

Tremonkey: Agree 100% with Maniak, above… and also, There are six other breweries opening in the D.C. area this year; be on the lookout for a review of Port City Brewing in the near future.

And did he say Vintage 50? That’s where we had our rehearsal dinner last fall! Both the food and beer there were on par with Mad Fox.

Maniak: Good stuff, now let’s swing the camera back to me. Tremonkey and I made our way over here on a lazy Saturday afternoon to check out the beer selection and get some growlers filled. He had one from his wedding rehearsal locale to fill and I was going to buy my own. We walked in, sat at the bar and immediately felt at home. The patrons at the other end of the bar couldn’t get enough of Tremonkey’s growler:

Even the waitresses were stopping by to check it out. We didn’t realize before walking in, but the head brewmaster (Bill Madden) used to work at the same place he got it from! This added to our experience greatly as we were able to discuss beers we had there with the bartender and learn a little more about the concept for the brewpub.

There are a couple of big chalkboards above the bar (as there always should be at a brewpub) advertising the wares of the day. There are some beers that are on the menu all of the time, such as the 80 Shilling, the Kolsch or the Orange Whip IPA. The real gems that you can find here are the other beers that are available from week to week. After taking a look at the standard beer menu (all of them are $5.50, $3.50 during happy hour), be sure to ask what they have special at the moment.

Tremonkey: Our favorite was the Molohop Cocktail, which was not on the chalkboard. This was an American Double IPA that has a lot of flavor. The hoppiness of the brew jumps right out at you, and the freshness is readily apparent. Definitely what I filled my growler with to take to a Super Bowl viewing party. FYI: Cask beers are also $3.50 during Happy Hour!

Maniak: Agree about the Molotov Hoptail; pretty great name for a brew too. While Tremonkey and I were sampling the delicious beers, we were also taking a look at the food menu, prepared by Chef Russel Cunningham. Two words: Fried. Pickles. Or, if you look at their menu it’s just one: Frickles. If you have never had them before, stop reading. Go find a place that has them and order delivery.

Tremonkey: It’s oh k, folks. We’ll wait…

Maniak: Now you can keep reading with the crispy sour sweet deliciousness on its way to you. Mad Fox does it right with dill pickle chips rolled in a seasoned cornmeal. They come out crispy, piping hot, and delicious with a spicy chipotle dipping sauce. They went down very quickly with the help of some 80 Shilling and we were ready for our next course. Buffalo wings.

I consider myself to be somewhat of a wing connoisseur. I am a sucker for them when they are on or off happy hour, whether there are 50 flavors or two, boneless or bone-in. The wings at Mad Fox were one flavor, bone-in, served with a housemade blue cheese dressing. They were, in a word, amazing.

Tremonkey: Like the pickles, they came out freshly cooked and super hot. Some of the better wings to be found in the area for sure. Has anyone given any thought to having a Washington, D.C. wing-off, complete with tasting contests? Hmm… maybe this should be our next venture? Get together a bunch of local places who make great wings and local breweries (once more start opening)? I’d donate my time to judge that contest.

Maniak: Let's get back to the task at hand here...The size of the wings did not disappoint. They were spicy, but not so much that you couldn’t feel your mouth afterwards. We had to wait for our next round of beers (a cask version of their Stout, where the beer is hand-pumped from the keg which has been allowed to carbonate naturally) to finish them properly. We had to tell the bartender how much we loved the wings, and he asked:

"Are they spicy today? They had a great spice on them on yesterday, but it changes with when he makes the sauce."
That tells you all you need to know. If the guy in the kitchen is whipping up new batches of wing sauce from scratch each time then you are in the right place. We highly recommend checking this place out if you are in the Falls Church area and looking for some good food and some better beer! My growler and I will be returning shortly for another helping of 80 Shilling.  Swing by this weekend for the Barleywine Festival!

Maniak’s LowDown:

What: Mad Fox Brewery

Where: Falls Church, Virginia

Happy Hour:

4-7 Monday - Sunday

$3.50 for any beer on the menu

Good for: After work drinks, weekend sports watching, dinner dates

Growlers: $10/$13 depending on which beer you get

And, for you Savor fans.... Mad Fox will be there!