Well, folks, this isn’t a brewery closing–yet–but it’s something. Per an instagram post, after 8ish years the owners of Dynasty are ready to sell at least some of their Ashburn, Virginia brewery and move on. Here is what we know:
Dynasty’s partners will keep an additional taproom in Leesburg, the Dynasty brand, and recipes, but co-owner and head brewer Favio Garcia is available to stay on as a consultant or to help a new brewer transition into the role at the main Ashburn location.
Garcia would like less of a commute, he’d like to pursue brewing options closer to Arlington, and fellow partner Travis Thompson would like to focus on the Leesburg taproom, which may end up contract brewing Dynasty beers if Ashburn sells. Garcia is a brewery lifer, having plied his trade for almost thirty years, including Bardo, Old Dominion, and Lost Rhino, among others.
Dynasty Ashburn is no stranger to brewery closings: shopping center neighbors The Craft of Brewing closed last year. The brewery would like to avoid the fate of fellow Loudoun brewery Old Ox, which closed and went to auction earlier in the spring. It is worth mentioning here that Dynasty’s lease is up in October.
We make no claims of objectivity here: Brandy Holder does the brewery’s social media, Mike Stein and beverage firm Lost Lagers work with Garcia on historical ales for George Washington’s Mount Vernon, and DC Beer as an entity has collaborated with Dynasty and Bitter Fruit on People’s Pale Ale. I just poured for Dynasty at an event last weekend!
Dynasty Ashburn is close to Commanders training camp and Dulles Airport. The facility features a 12-barrel brewhouse with a production capacity of up to 1,300 barrels per year. As the insta post says, contact favio@dynastybrewing.com.
Some quick thoughts on all this, beyond being sad and apprehensive: now is probably not a great time to get into the beer business, but this is a turnkey operation, so if a local operation wants to expand their production or if a local restaurant group wants to branch out, or if you’re a rich hobbyist… this might make sense for you. On the other hand, just today Fitch Ratings “changed its 2025 outlook for the global alcoholic beverages sector to deteriorating from neutral due to the tariffs announced by the US and China and their indirect implications for consumer sentiment and purchasing power in the largest markets.”
Silver lining? Fitch notes that the “performance of international spirits producers is likely to come under greater pressure, while most brewers will be less affected as beer production is more localised.” So congrats?
Also, there are probably ten-plus local breweries, and at least one cidery, that are in the same position, so kudos to Dynasty for going public with this. More on Dynasty’s situation as it develops.
