So Long and Thanks For All the Hops: DC Beer Bids Matt Cronin Adieu

As we say goodbye to Third Hill head brewer Matt Cronin, we bid him a fond farewell as he leaves the States and heads back to the antipodes. Cronin has brewed one last hazy IPA, Just One More, before his departure and we encourage you to go check it out. Given the ruthless nature of the brewing landscape these days, we don’t always get a chance to say goodbye to a head brewer. Take advantage of that and go see him this weekend.

Cronin’s Just One More Hazy IPA is brewed with some of his favorite hops. A farewell party takes place on Saturday, March 21, should you wish to bid your farewell to him in person.

We did a bit of a gut check based on what DC Beer contributor Tony Budny first outlined in an interview with Cronin and then Astro Lab co-founder Emma Whelan back in 2018. This was before Astro Lab closed and Third Hill opened in the same space. Of the seven places we counted in the article only two have closed:

That’s better than another gut check we did last year.

Of course the Astro Lab closing was bolstered by the fact that Third Hill took over the space and continued the tradition of brewing quality beer with the same director of brewing operations. McGinty’s also continues to this day, with Irish-inspired pub offerings and a nice lineup of locals from Maryland and DC alike, featuring Peabody Heights, RAR, Other Half, Third Hill, Denizens, DC Brau, Nepenthe, Silver Branch, Waredaca, and 7 Locks.

Barley and Hops has not operated in Frederick since closing in 2019. Dark Helmet, his award-winning homebrewed foreign export stout, was brewed at Barley and Hops as a result of his competition victory years ago. And he leaves Third Hill with Lord Helmet, though that one is an IPA. 

While nobody can take the title of “oldest brewing school in the country” from the Siebel Institute of Technology, the school is moving to Canada. Montreal to be precise. So it’s not la fin du monde, as the locals might say. 

Milkhouse Brewery is still making beer and the farm is open and ready for your business Friday, Saturday, or Sunday.

Parallel World became Silver Branch, and you can visit them in Silver Spring, or Rockville, Maryland. Contractors will be bidding next month according to Christian Layke, co-founder, as they look to reopen their Warrenton, Virginia location after a fire. Layke says their aim is to have that facility back up and running “sometime soon.” Hopefully that means 2026. 

Bond Brothers, the North Carolina brewery has two locations, both in Cary, NC. While we don’t know if they’re still brewing on the system Cronin watched them brew on, we’re thrilled that what was once the Astro Lab system continues as the Third Hill system. Come see Cronin, and us, there this Saturday. Third Hill will announce the next winner of their homebrew competition, Cronin will leave you with one last hazy IPA, and house band Booze Island will supply the tunes.