We are very proud to announce that, after months of anticipation, New District Brewing Co. is finally open!

It’s been a long and arduous journey, and we wouldn’t be here today if it weren’t for the help of countless friend and family members who have supported us along the way. We want to shout out a huge thank you to all the people who have helped us in so many aspects. Whether you supported us financially, stood by us during our zoning and trademark hurdles, or if you volunteered some of the many, many hours that went into cleaning up and building out the brewery space, THANK YOU!

Now it’s time to celebrate! Our tasting room is open on Saturdays and ready to see some action. We’ve got plenty of space so come hang out and enjoy some delicious, fresh beer. For those of you interested in the brewing process, you’ll be able to get a peek behind the scenes at how our beer is made. We’ll be serving our staple 1821, as well as our latest concoctions. Be sure to check our website regularly to see what’s on tap. We’ll have food trucks outside from time to time, and you are always welcome to bring your own food.

We’ll also be working with distributors in the coming months to get our beer out to local vendors. Keep your eyes out, you might see a New District beer on the menu in a restaurant near you soon.

We look forward to seeing you stop by!

We left off in our November edition where we were knee deep in zoning and regulatory bureaucracy with Arlington County for a brewery space. Special thanks to our fearless architect for all her hard efforts!

We are excited to be moving to our second round of plan review. Arlington Inspection services has been graciously working with us to refine our plans. We look forward to getting under way!

The Brewery Goes 3D!

When I was a kid I remember the model train, or the model car or plane, but what about a brewery? That’s right, the brewery is going 3D.

Pictured above is the 3D model for our brewery.

Pictured above is the 3D model for our brewery.

This isn’t a model in the traditional sense, but we’ve built our own model to help us understand how the brewery will operate. And hey… it looks cool right? We’re working on a video of the model for the January 10th event so you can see how the brewery will be constructed and view the tasting room.

As it turns out, doing something of this scale requires immense planning. As we left off last issue, we are working to setup a pilot brewery which will be part of an initial effort to bring beer to the Shirlington community.

As usual, thanks for all the support! Cheers!

-Mike Katrivanos

We left off in our September/November edition where we were knee deep in zoning and regulatory bureaucracy with Arlington County for a brewery space. Special thanks to our fearless architect for all her hard efforts!

The zoning department has directed us to apply for our building permits. Metropole has submitted drawings for our planned brewery to Inspection Services division and is looking forward to getting construction under way.

Brainstorming Alternate Names

We’d like to take the opportunity and give everyone an update on our name “Metropole.” As it turns out we may or may not be granted our Trademark application. Due to this uncertainty, we’d like to ask for help from the community in coming up with new names. If you have a cool idea, please let us know! Here’s a few we’ve come up with to get you started!

• New District brewing co.
• ARCO brewing co.
• NCR brewing co.
• Shirlington brewing co.

Blueprints for a Brewery

We owe a debt of gratitude to our fearless architect, zoning lawyer and MEP engineers. If you didn’t get any of that last statement, don’t worry. Their tireless efforts have produced the drawings (left) that are needed to make the brewery happen.

As it turns out, doing something of this scale requires immense planning. As we left off last issue, we are working to setup a pilot brewery which will be part of an initial effort to bring beer to the Shirlington community.

As usual, thanks for all the support! Cheers!

-Mike Katrivanos

We left off in our June/July edition where we were knee deep in zoning and regulatory bureaucracy with Arlington County for a brewery space. Special thanks to our fearless architect for all her hard efforts!

The Arlington county Manager’s office business Ombudsman has come out in favor of Metropole as Arlington’s first brewery. With a collaborative approach with Arlington County, Metropole intends to solidify its position in the NOVA market.

A Pilot Brewery Paves the way

As in an airplane, a pilot always guides the way for the group. Metropole with the support of our landlord will stand up a pilot brewery at our South Arlington location across from Shirlington. The mission of the pilot is to allow people to understand our product, the people who are bringing it to them, and become a part of the community.

Arlington, A Key Market

Did you know that one out of every two craft beers is purchased by a millennial? (someone under 35) That’s a staggering statistic! Did you know that Arlington has the highest concentration of professionally attained Millennials in all of Virginia? Arlington even outpaces DC! Metropole intends to capitalize on this market segment in the same ways that Denver and San Diego have. As locals, we hope to connect Arlington to its roots and provide a sense of community in all that we do.

Liquid Nitrogen HOPS?!

When we first thought of the idea of liquid nitrogen infused hops we were downright curious. Thanks to a pair of devoted hop growers, we were able to go and pick fresh hop flowers to test our theory.

As it turns out, you can infuse beer with liquid nitrogen hops. We were amazed at the aromatic aspects that the sublimating gas gave to the nose as you drank the beer. As far as smell, the liquid nitrogen is the way to go. Why not make the best dry hopped IPA even better?

So the next question is, “Why not in Arlington?” We firmly believe this unrecognized market is the next frontier for micro brewed beer. Metropole is committed to making that happen and looks forward to satisfying this market gap.

As usual, thanks for all the support! Cheers!

-Mike Katrivanos

We left off in our May edition where we were knee deep in zoning and regulatory bureaucracy with Arlington County for a brewery space. We are still in the zoning approval phase for our space in South Arlington across from the dog park. Special thanks to our fearless architect for all her hard efforts!

In addition, a space in North Arlington has also become a possibility near Ballston. Originally the landlord was only offering short term leases but is now considering a longer term for us. Should we decide to pursue it, the North Arlington location would be an exciting possibility.

San Diego Visit

San Diego in many ways is like Denver, but on the west coast. There are almost 60 breweries between San Diego and LA, and I set out to visit the best and brightest and share in their experiences and the problems they faced in their startup phase. Breweries are community hang outs where folks can go and have good beer.

Iron Fire Brewery, Temecula CA

Iron Fire is a small startup brewery in Temecula outside of San Diego. The owner John, is an awesome guy who gave some great insights into the brewing scene and his view on the upcoming surge of brewery openings. His distribution beer is the 5150, an IPA that is seriously credible. My favorite was his burbon barrel aged stout. As a fellow who plans on doing a lot of barrel aging at Metropole, it was great to see John’s efforts and talk shop about barrel maintenance. Thanks John for all the advice!

Societe Brewery, San Diego CA

Societe is another small startup brewery in San Diego by two former Russian River employees. The owner Doug, was awesome to talk to and had a wealth of experience to share. We talked about the importance of water quality, which kegs are the best, what kinds of concrete floors to pour, and of course about his brew house- a top of the line JVNW. Societe makes some great beers that are as clean and smooth as any I’ve tasted. Their stout in particular was light, airy, and very smooth. Thanks to Doug for sharing with us great experience and know-how!

Monkish Brewery, Los Angeles CA

Monkish is a small startup brewery in Los Angeles CA. By comparison to San Diego, LA has very few breweries, but Monkish really stands out. The brewery focuses on ingredients and spices similar to the plans for Metropole.

Fund Raising Efforts Continue

Metropole is currently reaching out to the community for people who are interested in a brewery investment. We have fund raised just under 500k and are seeking investors who have a passion for beer. If you or someone you know may be interested, please reach out and contact us! We are offering a variety of options to accommodate folks.

As usual, thanks for all the support! Cheers!

-Mike Katrivanos

We left off in our April edition where we were knee deep in zoning and regulatory bureaucracy with Arlington County for a brewery space. We are pleased to announce that the Arlington Economic Development board has reached out to Metropole as a part of the Biz Launch program. The program helps small businesses develop and reach their goals in Arlington.

We are also in lease negotiations on a space in South Arlington behind Shirlington. The space is especially exciting for a number of reasons. A 5 minute Walk from Shirlington, we would expect to serve the Shirlington and North Arlington communities. The Location is also across from the Shirlington Dog park which should provide daily foot traffic.

We realize that it might be a bit of a challenge to get folks to walk across the foot bridge as part of their evening and we are trying to come up with creative ways to get that to happen. Feel free to reach out to us with suggestions on marketing. We are also looking for someone with public relations experience who can lend a hand in helping publicize the brewery when we sign a lease.

Fund Raising Efforts Continue

Metropole is currently reaching out to the community for people who are interested in a brewery investment. We have fund raised just under 500k and are seeking investors who have a passion for beer. If you or someone you know may be interested, please reach out and contact us! We are offering a variety of options to accommodate folks.

Brewing with Barrels

Last week was exciting as we received our first barrel! It was formerly a Russian River barrel that was a reserve only for breweries. The content of this barrel was never made available to the public. Thanks to contacts within the brewing community we were able to acquire it and hope to put some beer in it for aging soon.

The barrel smells fantastic. It’s an unbelievably great earthy and rich smell mixed with a tinge of burbon. We are really looking forward to getting this into service as the first cellared beer we will make.

Cellar aging a beer in barrels takes time and patience. Part of the Metropole mission is to bring unique cellar beers to the forefront of the Arlington and NOVA market. Sometimes the best things in life you just have to wait for!

So the next question is, “Why not in Arlington?” We firmly believe this unrecognized market is the next frontier for micro brewed beer. Metropole is committed to making that happen and looks forward to satisfying this market gap.

As usual, thanks for all the support! Cheers!

-Mike Katrivanos

We left off in our March edition where we were knee deep in zoning and regulatory bureaucracy with Arlington County for a brewery space next to the Ballston mall. Recent events have led us to believe that we should pursue multiple spaces at the same time.

We are actively pursuing two spaces, one in North Arlington north of the Ballston Mall, and One in South Arlington behind Shirlington. Both spaces are especially exciting for a number of reasons. The North Arlington Space is an excellent location in a well established upscale market. The branding for the brewery matches well with the location and we think it could be something very special. The South Arlington location is an area in transition which provides an excellent market for growth. Walking distance from Shirlington, we would expect to serve the Shirlington and North Arlington communities. As folks who grew up around here, nobody thought something like this would ever be possible and we’re honored to be taking part in it.

So on to the news…. We are drafting our letter of intent for the South Arlington space and are about to enter negotiation on the economics of the lease with the landlord, price per square foot, tenant improvement, the whole nine. We have also secured an attorney to pursue a letter of determination from the head of Arlington County Zoning. This letter would confirm our business points on the lease and provide the precedent for approval to occupy the premise. Although nothing in life is guaranteed, this would provide a much needed stepping stone on the road map to opening the first packaging brewery in Arlington Virginia.

People ask me often, “How did you choose the name Metropole?” The answer comes back to my grandfather. My grandfather, Steve Katrivanos came over to America from Greece in the early 1920s. He saw prohibition come and go and worked in restaurants his whole life. Following the American dream, the first place he owned was a restaurant in Alexandria called the “Metropole Café,” in what is now known as the Light Horse Tavern. My grandfather lived upstairs at night and worked downstairs during the day.

The Metropole was a symbol of my grandfather’s commitment to family, the community, and the hard work ethic of many early 1900s Americans. In that spirit, we move forward with Metropole Brewing Company. Sometimes in order to understand the future we must look to the past. What an astounding way to connect to our heritage.

This is the only known photo of the Metropole Café and was taken in the 1940s. The Metropole was not the main subject of the photo and so we have had to enhance the photo digitally. Imagine how that sign must have looked in the 40s!

The signage and feel of this photo is the inspiration for the branding behind Metropole Brewing Company. The idea is an old school art deco style combined with a retro mod style and has been the focus of the branding effort. We will have prints and graphics soon!

So the next question is, “Why not in Arlington?” I firmly believe this unrecognized market in NOVA is the next frontier for micro brewed beer in Arlington VA. Metropole is committed to making that happen and looks forward to satisfying this market gap.

As usual, thanks for all the support! Cheers!

-Mike Katrivanos

We have submitted our letter of intent and are in negotiation on the economics of the lease with the landlord, price per square foot, tenant improvement, the whole nine. We have also secured an attorney to pursue a letter of determination from the head of Arlington County Zoning. This letter would confirm our business points on the lease and provide the precedent for approval to occupy the premise. Although nothing in life is guaranteed, this would provide a much needed stepping stone on the road map to opening the first packaging brewery in Arlington Virginia. More importantly…I just got back from my trip to Denver, which aside from visiting family and having a blast, was an excellent business trip for the brewery. I had the blessing of traveling out to the three largest Colorado microbreweries during the workweek and meeting with management and observing operations first hand. I was blessed to meet with the owner of Breckenridge Brewery, the head of quality control/assurance for Avery Brewing company, the head brewer at Great Divide brewing company, and the packaging operations manager for Twisted Pines brewing company.

Far and away, the best business meeting to take place was with the owner of Breckenridge brewery. He was able to provide insight into our plan, give us some pitfalls to avoid, and provide feedback on our market since he’s a former Fairfax resident long ago. Not only did we receive the chef’s tour, we were able to talk about the growth of Breckenridge and the impact Colorado has had on the microbrewery scene. It was a truly insightful meeting and we sincerely thank everyone at Breckenridge for their time and the great beer!

Avery Brewing Company was also an exceptional meeting. Talking with the head of quality control and quality assurance (QC/QA) was a great way to vet our packaging concept of operations. The lab manager provided us with suggestions on how we can avoid common problems in packaging and gave us a standard operations procedure that Avery uses.

Many people ask me, “Mike, how do you think you’ll be able to create upscale craft beer in Arlington? Will people be willing to pay a premium?”
I took the liberty of photographing the cellar menu from a nice downtown restaurant in Denver…. Yup those prices are accurate! Craft beer is already accepted as an upscale thing in Denver in the upscale areas. If you walk into a liquor/beer store in Denver, you will find too many craft beers to choose from. Craft beer drinkers regularly purchase 22oz bombers at a price point of 8-15$ per bottle and are happy to do so. So the next question is, “Why not in Arlington?” I firmly believe this unrecognized market in NOVA is the next frontier for microbrewed beer in Arlington VA. Metropole is committed to making that happen and looks forward to satisfying this market gap.

As usual, thanks for all the support! Cheers!

-Mike Katrivanos