Saturday, June 29, 2013

The Incredible First 2 Weeks!


After the ABC license was granted, there was a short window of critical path administrative stuff to finish before opening. We immediately applied for the special event permit through the city and the Banquet License through VA ABC. All of the permits came through just in time, whew. We got all our ducks in a row at the last minute. The beer was busy fermenting and we had a backup plan for the parking lots...just in case. We received permission to park in the locations nearby. Our BBQ team was ready - Smoke's BBQ such tasty food! All of our incredible staff knew their stuff and we could not have done it without them. They were well prepared! We had the honor of the Manassas City Mayor Hal Parrish, along with Vice Mayor Andrew L. Harrover, Surpervisor Ian T. Lovejoy, Supervisor Johnathan Way and Delegate Rich Anderson, Delegate Jackson Miller come to our ribbon cutting and support the new venture!





The night before the event, we did not sleep. Since the conception of BadWolf, it had been almost one year. So much planning and preparation had gone into the business. Some people even asked what it was like on opening day. Being a new momma and all, I could only compare it to having a new baby. It was THAT EXCITING and you know, we prepared for this "baby" longer than 9 months. So yes, BadWolf is like our second son in a way. I remember tossing and turning the night before the opening worrying if we would be able to serve people quick enough. It turned out that we could not serve them quick enough because the line went across the plaza! In fact, many waited up to one hour and everyone seemed surprisingly patient and understanding.  Friends, family, colleagues and so many people showed up! It was overwhelming. Jeremy being the critic that he was of his own beer worried if people would like his beer. He did not have to worry because the six beers were a hit:


  • There Can Only Be One Pale Ale
  • Idea Golden Ale
  • Not Bad Brown
  • ESB
  • Shhh...aison
  • Emergence IPA

Did we anticipate a line across the plaza on opening day? No, not really though we noticed over 100+ RSVPs on the 2 Facebook invitations and figured a steady stream of people would come on by, not 500+. Word did spread fast based on the flurry of online activity and updates from friends at the last minute and of course if someone says "craft beer", people are there in a flash, especially if it's made in their own home town! I remember when Jeremy and I were looking for breweries to visit while on travel. I like to think of finding a new brewery as a quest. I am happy that we are now part of someone else's beer quest.

After opening night beer sold out each day for the next two weeks. Someone even suggested we make a new shirt titled, "Where did all the beer go?". During this time, Jeremy and his assistant brewer's brewed almost every day of the week. I am happy to say that Jeremy is now a full time brewmaster and expects to have a full lineup of beers the week after next. Thanks for your patience as we ramp up production. We originally planned to only brew twice a week, not six! We also hope to expand tap hours in the future, for now these are the planned hours.

  • Wed-Thurs - 4-9pm
  • Fri 3-10pm
  • Sat 2-10pm


Next week we will be open for the 4th of July and continue normal tap hours (unless of course the beer taps out before closing time). I would also like to announce that we now have a real phone number, so when you call us, you hear a real person on the phone during taproom hours 571-208-1064. Google voice wasn't cutting it, lesson learned. Next week we will have an Orange Cream Wit, the Not Bad Brown due to popular demand & maybe a surprise beer on tap. Until then, have a fantastic week and we will see you on Wednesday!




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