Beers

The beers that will be brewed and served at Mad Fox are the result of over thirteen years of experience and research by Bill Madden. Bill has developed a repertoire of over 50 recipes and many have a fanatical following in the DC-area beer market. There will be 12 draughts with 7-10 staples and a rotating selection of 20+ seasonal brews in German, English, Belgian and American styles.

The standards will include lighter, amber and dark beers generally in the 4-5.5% alcohol by volume (ABV range) with many seasonal beers much more fully flavored. The standards will be beers like Bill’s award winning German Kölsch Ale or German Hefe Weizen in the light beer category, American Pale Ale or Red Ale in the medium category and Robust Porter or Irish Dry Stout in the dark category so that regulars will have always have something familiar to enjoy.

Topical seasonal beers will be brewed along the lines of the award winning Strong Scotch Ale, Oktoberfest, Pumpkin Ale, Belgian style Saison and Bill’s Double IPA. Bill’s Double IPA has a cult-like following and is normally reserved as a stealth beer – the patron must know to ask for it.

Enjoy Bill’s Beers Today

Bill Madden’s beers are available every day at Vintage 50 Restaurant and Brew Lounge in Leesburg Virginia. Bill’s current beer list at Vintage 50 is available at http://www.vintage50.com/pdf/menus/beer_menu.pdf.

Mad Fox Beer List

Kölsch: German style golden ale that originates in the Koln (Cologne) region of Germany. This style of beer is brewed with around 12% Wheat malt, the rest of the grist being German Pilsner malt. Restrained hop bitterness is produced by the use of German noble hops such as Hallertau, Hersbrucker or Tettnang varietals, which also adds a subtle fresh piney or spicy note. This style of beer is protected by the “Kölsch-Konvention” pact signed in 1986 by 24 breweries in and around Cologne that is recognized by the German Government and allows these breweries exclusive rights to the word Kölsch to describe their beer. As such, the Mad Fox Kölsch beer will be labeled Kölsch-style.

Franconian Kellerbier: Brewed with co-founder Rick Garvin, this recipe was scaled up from the award winning homebrew recipe to recreate the artisanal beer of the Northern Bavarian region of Franconia. This beer was entered into the Great American Beer Festival Pro-Am contest in Denver the fall of 2007. The kellerbier or “cellar beer” is an unfiltered golden colored German style lager that was made with pilsener, Vienna and carafoam malts and then aggressively hopped with peppery Spalt hops from Germany.

Bohemian Pilsner: Czech style lager that is noted for clean floral hop notes and light malt character. Our version is brewed with German Pilsner, Wheat and Munich malts and then is heavily hopped with Czech Saaz hops. This beer will also be served unfiltered in “Keller” or cellar style.

Punkinator: Our harvest ale, brewed with over 100 pounds of locally grown, heirloom varietal Cinderella pumpkins. The pumpkins are roasted, then pureed and added to the mash for sugar and color contribution. We add pumpkin pie spices during the last part of boil in the kettle. Very light, pumpkin pie-like flavor can be found in this orange hued brew.

Belgian Pale Ale: Belgian style ale that fits no category. Think of a beer that might be found in the Ardennes region of Belgium. A Pale brew made with German Pilsner and Caramel malts, with a touch of flaked oats and cane sugar additions. Hopping is light with the imported French Strisselspalt varietal. Fermentation with a Bastogne type yeast strain is intended to lend an authentic flavor to this ale.

Red Ale: American style red or amber ale. This beer is brewed with a good amount of crystal malt to create the red color and the toffee and caramel notes in the flavor. Some German Munich malt will also be used to add to the malt character. The hops used are 100 percent American with a blend of Willamette and Centennial for bitterness, flavor and aroma. The overall experience is a mildly hoppy brew with a solid malt background.

E.S.B. (Extra Special Bitter): English style ale noted for having extra malt and hop character relative to the lower flavor Bitter or Mild as found in British taverns and pubs. Our version is made with English Pale and Crystal malts and is lightly hopped with English Challenger and Progress hops. Color will be light copper in appearance.

American Pale Ale: A West Coast style American Pale Ale brewed with equal portions English Pale malt and German Vienna malt to provide lots of malt backbone and a dark straw color. The hop varietals are Millennium for bittering and Centennial for flavor and aroma. This brew is not for the hop impaired and is sought out by hop lovers.

Porter: An English style robust Porter brewed with imported pale, crystal, black and chocolate malts to lend the dark color with ruby highlights and dark malt flavors. This is a beer supposedly created in London in the early 18th Century to slake the thirst of the Market Porters, men who carried all the produce at markets throughout the city. The hops used are English varietals like Challenger for bitterness and a good amount of First Gold to balance all the malt notes.

Oatmeal Stout: English style robust stout made with the addition of a small percentage of flaked oats. Our version is made with English Pale, Chocolate, Black and Crystal malts with an addition of Roasted Barley. This brew is also lightly hopped with the imported English Goldings varietal.

Devils Due: A Belgian style Strong Golden Ale made with 100% pilsner malt and 50 pounds of sugar, this is a light golden colored ale fermented with a Belgian yeast strain from the A Chouffe brewery in the Ardennes region. This is a seductive beer that has perfumey yeast characters.

Head Knocker: An English style golden strong ale brewed with imported English pale malt and German pilsner malts to provide biscuity malt notes and a dark golden color. The hop varietals used are imported English Challenger and First Gold to create a pleasant bitterness on the palate.

Wee Heavy Ale: A Strong Scotch Ale. This is a very full-bodied, dark rich brew with a sweet malt character of much depth possessing the flavors of toffee, plums and currants. The hop varietal used in such small amount is English First Gold and can be barely discerned. The target gravity for this brew is 20 degrees Plato and hop bitterness of just 14 International Bittering Units, which is a measure of hop content.

Double IPA: The current rage in American craft brewing, a Double India Pale Ale. In our version we refer to it as an East Coast style of Imperial IPA where malt body and sweetness can be discerned with a heavy hand on hop character (unlike those West Coast brewers’ version of overly hopped beer). Loads of Palisades, Glacier and Mt. Hood hops are used. Original gravity of 21 degrees Plato and the hop bitterness is massive.