Audacious Aleworks Brewery & Taproom To Open Fairfax City Location

FAIRFAX CITY, VA — When Brian Reinoehl and Mike Frizzell opened Audacious Aleworks three years ago, they chose the City of Falls Church as the location of their first brewery and taproom because of its small size.

"I can talk to literally everybody I need to talk to," Reinoehl said. "There's no office I need to call. One time I sat down with six people in the zoning department and said, 'What do we need to do to move this forward?' Small cities are fabulous."

So, when it came time for Audacious Aleworks to open its second taproom, Reinoehl looked at other relatively small jurisdictions in the area such as Arlington, Alexandria and Vienna, before finally landing on the City of Fairfax.

"I went to Fairfax City because of the government," he said. "They helped us through this process. We got our permits last week. We should start construction next week."

Although an exact date has not been set, Reinoehl expects to open Audacious Aleworks Brewery & Taproom's Fairfax City location in about three months. The taproom will be located at 10940 Fairfax Blvd., Suite E, the former home of Shilla Bakery & Cafe in the Fairfax Marketplace Shopping Mall.

A third location is already in the works for Sterling, but that will primarily be a brewing facility. Both the Falls Church and Fairfax City locations will continue to both brew on the premises and serve beer to its customers. The main brewery will handle their bigger beers, such as Audacious Aleworks' popular Thirsty Work New England IPA.

"We're going to have a one or two barrel system," Reinoehl said, of the Fairfax City location. "He loves doing sours, my partner, and he loves doing interesting things."

When the two partners started Audacious Aleworks, they split duties. Frizzell handles the brewing, while Reinoehl manages the taproom.

"We are an all-inclusive, famil= friendly place," he said." I love it when I have kids in because that means that the parents are having a good time. You can bring your kids. You can bring your date. I've had first dates. I've had going away parties, birthday parties, etcetera."

Although Audacious Aleworks doesn't charge for people to have a party in their taproom, it doesn't take reservations either. It's a first come, first serve operation.

"You can bring in outside food, but I also have bratwurst and grilled cheese at all times," Reinoehl said. "Also, I have food pop-ups, so every once in a while I have taco or burgers come in."

Like its Falls Church location, Audacious Aleworks' Fairfax City taproom will host seasonal events, such as Oktoberfest and a Caribbean festival, as well as trivia nights, community fundraisers, and other regular activities for to keep its customers happy.

"What I'm telling my staff is the number one thing is do your best at providing the best possible service," Reinoehl said. "That service covers having a nice place to giving good customer service, but also having the best beer available. That's my two cents."