Falls Church's new Mad Fox brew pub in popular demand
By Fritz Hahn
Friday, August 20, 2010
The buzz: When you walk through the doors of the new Mad Fox Brewing Company, you come face-to-face with the host stand, and behind it, six huge stainless steel tanks that collectively hold more than 82,000 pints of beer.
That's a statement of intent at Falls Church's Mad Fox, the first independent brew pub to open in the D.C. area since Leesburg's Vintage 50 poured its first pint in late 2006. While it seems that a new beer-focused bar opens every other month, we've been waiting a long time for a bar that makes its own.
Mad Fox isn't just any brew pub, either. It's owned and operated by Bill Madden, one of the area's most decorated and respected brewers. He has built a loyal following after almost a decade at Capitol City Brewing Company, then time at the helm of the short-lived Founders' in Alexandria and several years at Vintage 50.
Opening his own bar has long been a dream of Madden's, and he has had the blueprint sketched out for years: 10 to 12 beers on draft at all times, plus a few slots for seasonal offerings, "experimental" beers and traditional ciders. Throw in three or four English-style cask-conditioned ales drawn into glasses using hand pumps.
But since its opening July 12, my visits have turned up five or six beers on draft, paired with one, maybe two, cask ales (if that). What's happened? "I'm fighting to keep up," Madden says during a phone interview. "I hadn't expected the volume. I thought I'd have time [to build up a supply], but people have been drinking it as fast as I can make it."
To put it in perspective: Madden brewed 15 barrels of the refreshing, lightly hopped English Summer Ale a few weeks ago. (That's 465 gallons.) He put the beer on tap on July 28 and burned through all of it in about 12 days. "At Vintage 50, we went through about 500 barrels of beer in a year. Here, I've gone through 330 in four weeks."
That's why it's hard to recommend specific beers: I've sent friends to Mad Fox with promises of the American Pale Ale or that English Summer Ale on cask, but the kegs had already been kicked. I hope it's not too late for the 80 Shilling Scotch Ale, rich and malty with hints of sweet fruit. His dry, crisp Kolsch is a constant, as it has been since the Cap City days.
Just wait, Madden promises. He laughs when he says he has started "brewing smarter," and he should have a full complement of beers ready within "a month-and-a-half, two months."
The hop-heavy Double IPA, which has reached cult status with local beer lovers, may reach taps sometime next week. Follow Mad Fox on Twitter (http://www.twitter.com/madfoxbrewing) for updates, as Madden is famous for having "stealth beers" that are available only to anyone who knows to ask for them.
The scene: As you might infer from the rate that Mad Fox has been blowing through beers, it has become a popular destination. Couples and single beer fans stalk stools at the 60-foot bar or the long communal table that runs parallel to it. (Everyone is welcome to grab a seat there, including kids.)
It's not all beer geeks, either. I've heard people who were confused about the lack of Bud Light on the menu (like most brew pubs, Mad Fox sells only the beer it brews), and the knowledgeable bartenders are quick to recommend beverages as well as main courses.
The perfect introduction for visitors remains the sampler: four-ounce glasses of any four draft beers for $6.
The focus on the food and drinks is a relief, because Mad Fox isn't much to look at. Beige walls. Stained wooden accents, including cabinets behind the bar that look as if they came out of a newly opened Ashburn subdivision. A big clock. A few flat-screen TVs around the bar area. It's not all bad, though: The exterior walls are mostly plate glass, flooding the booths in light. And at the end of the L-shaped space is a nook with more tables and a fireplace, which should be in demand in a few months.
On your plate: The kitchen turns out more than just the supporting-role bar food we've come to expect at brew pubs. Thick slices of pork belly are sweet and rich, having slow-roasted for half a day and been marinated in molasses. The beer-battered onion rings are the size of doughnuts, and though a little greasy, they're an instant hit. The burger is thick and juicy, but the star is a smoky brisket sandwich topped with a barbecue sauce made with Mad Fox's porter beer. (Many ingredients are from Virginia farms.)
Mad Fox has two pizza ovens in the kitchen: One for thin-crust New York-style pizzas and a wood-burning oven for smaller (and tastier) Neapolitan varieties.
In your glass: Beer. Sure, there are English and Virginia ciders on draft and in bottles, as well as wine. Virginia's Copper Fox Whiskey stars in a just-okay list of spirits. But don't kid yourself: You'll want beer. (If you're driving, there's house-made root beer.)
Price points: Staple beers, which include the Kolsch, American Pale Ale and Hefe Weiss, are $5 a pint -- $3 at happy hour, which runs from 3 to 7 p.m. every day, including weekends. The special beers, including Wee Heavy, aren't discounted and can cost as much as $6.
Pizzas are $12 to $17 for a 16-inch, and a few bucks more for 20 inches. Most appetizers and sandwiches run $7 to $10.
Need to know: As with any young restaurant or bar, there are all sorts of plans filed under "coming soon."
The round area at the front of the room is set to double as a stage for bands, though Madden says he's not sure when entertainment will begin. "I want to make sure the restaurant is running smoothly and settled in before we start that," he says.
Also in the works are two outdoor seating areas. One will line the sidewalk along Broad Street (the better to attract passersby), and tables for several dozen patrons will be located in the courtyard near Mad Fox's entrance.
Nice to know: There is a parking garage in the office/condo complex nearby. Car-less city dwellers shouldn't be put off by the Falls Church address. There are numerous buses from West Falls Church that stop across the street from Mad Fox after a six- or seven-minute ride.
