What do you get when you mix a “recovering politician” with alcohol?
Woodbridge residents will find out this spring when Brew Republic Bierwerks opens in Potomac Town Center in Stonebridge.
Co-owner Jeff Frederick said his new establishment will be the first and only brewery in the shopping center known for Wegmans. The Brew Republic is one of many new breweries that have or will soon open their doors in Prince William County after leaders changed a zoning rule allowing such establishments in retail centers.
Frederick once represented Woodbridge in the Virginia House of Delegates. He served three terms in Richmond, and he also served as the head of the Republican Party of Virginia.
He announced in 2009 that he wouldn’t seek a fourth term and bowed out of politics. Other than endorsing other local political candidates for office, Frederick has remained low key since his departure from the General Assembly.
As it turns out, Frederick’s father-in-law was an executive at the Yuengling Brewery. After he passed away in 2013, he and his wife Amy met with executives at Pennsylvania-based Yuengling and learned the company once owned a brewery in Richmond.
Frederick agreed to work with the company to bring back the old Yuengling brewery to Richmond. He spent months learning about how beer is made, and about the business side of how breweries get paid.
Yuengling eventually decided they didn’t want to move forward on the Richmond project, said Frederick. So he partnered with Darcy and Ryan Heisey, of Montclair, and they agreed to open their first brewery in Woodbridge. The Heisey’s will brew the beer, and Frederick will manage the shop.
“We wanted to do it at Stonebridge because it hasn’t been done before,” said Frederick.
Ornery Public House in 2015 became Prince William County’s first brewpub, pairing homemade brews with freshly prepared cuisine. Growing Bear Brewery also opened the same year, of Golansky Boulevard.
“We wanted to be a little bit higher end, but not pretentious,” said Frederick.
The Brew Republic has 24 recipes on file, and plans to have eight to 10 beers on tap at any given time when they open in late spring 2016. A Belgian lager, an amber ale, and an IPA are just a few of the brews that will be offered.
Of all of the new craft breweries popping up around the area, Frederick said he doesn’t see them as competition.
“There’s this thing that we’ve learned in the craft brewing industry — a rising tide helps all boats,” he said.
