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Old Dominion Brewing Company

Old Dominion Brewing Company is an Ashburn, Virginia, brewery that produces a variety of beers. Their root beer is sweetened with a mixture of locally produced honey and sugar, rather than the corn syrup that is used for most United States soft drinks. Old Dominion Brewing Company was founded by Jerry Bailey in 1989. Before founding the brewery, Bailey was a federal government employee.

In 2006, the brewery sold the equivalent of 27,000 barrels of beer and 6,000 barrels of soft drink, making Old Dominion the 50th-largest brewery in the country. About half of Old Dominion's beer is sold on tap and the other half in bottles.

From 1996 to 2006, Old Dominion hosted an annual beer festival that showcased small brewers from around the region, as well as some breweries from around the US and Europe. The festival featured more than 50 breweries and live music. The three-day event was held each year on the last full weekend of June. The festival was not held in 2007, but is under planning for a possible return in 2008.

The company was sold in March 2007 to Coastal Brewing Company, located in Annapolis, Md., which in turn is 49% owned by Anheuser Busch. The majority of Coastal is owned by Fordham Brewing Company, which is owned by CEO Bill Muhlhauser and other partners. While there is some continuity of brewers brewing the same recipes at Old Dominion, there is an increasing focus on core brands. Slower-selling contract brews have been culled from the product line up, in some cases to the chagrin of longtime Old Dominion fans. Most notably, the multiple medal-winning Tuppers' Hop Pocket branded IPA and Pils were discontinued in August 2007. Favorite and multiple GABF medal winner New River Pale Ale discontinuted in December 2007. Coastal states, however, that overall beer production is expected to grow on the increased presence of Old Dominion beers in the Mid-Atlantic Anheuser Busch distribution network.