(W&)ODBF

It's that time of year again, when the field is alive with the sound of beer flowing from innumerable taps. The 10th Annual Old Dominion Beer Festival will be held this Friday, Saturday, and Sunday on the verdant grounds just behind the brewery in Ashburn, Virginia.

So, which breweries plan to offer their liquid wares? Here, in no particular order, are a few of my favorites, any three of which alone are worth the price of admission (and there are more scheduled to attend):

• Anderson Valley
  
• Bear Republic
  
• Bison
  
• Stone
  
• Victory
  
• Weyerbacher
  
• Dogfish Head
  
• Great Divide
  
• North Coast
  
• Russian River
  
• Shenandoah
  
• Clipper City
  
• Lancaster
  
• Otter Creek
  
• Troegs
  
• Old Dominion

And the bonus is, the brewery is still located about a block off of the W&OD Trail. So pick a day (or days), straddle some steel, and pedal your dipsomaniacal ass out to the little white sign just off the trail near mile marker 25.5. Hey, they made it easy for you; just follow the directions on the sign to wend your way to microbrew bliss (for those eidetically-challenged individuals, I present the image at left for your pre-event perusal). Just remember to bring a light and keep an eye open for the wheel-swallowing sewer grates in the parking lot between the trail and the brewery.

Oh, and be sure to stop by the Pedalshop booth with wallet in (non-drinking) hand to ogle the goodies on display there. The 'shop folks might even look after your bike for you, and they're always happy to dispose of any extra beer tickets you purchase before you remember what happened last year when you tried to hammer home hammered.

The image at the top of this post was shamelessly pilfered without permission from the Old Dominon Brewing Company web site, natch!