The Bruery’s Patrick Rue with ACB’s Tom Bobak

Well it’s not his actual brewery…that remains in Southern California, but his new Bruery Store that opened last week in DC’s bohemian Union Market neighborhood brings The Bruery’s full range of boutique offerings to the East Coast  for the first time.

This is The Bruery’s first move east of the Mississippi, a move that brings the Placentia, California-based operation somewhat closer to Castanea Partners, a Boston area private equity firm that as we reported, acquired a majority stake in the designer brewery last May.

Patrick Rue launched The Bruery in 2008 and it became a craft beer phenomenon almost overnight.

Playfully incorporating his family name into his brand, The Bruery quickly outgrew its original strip mall location into two separate boutique locations, each dedicated to different directions of artisan brewing

The Bruery is now housed in a much bigger space and it remains committed to the barrel aged exotics and experimental ales it built its considerable reputation on.

In 2015 Rue expanded upon his vision and introduced a whole separate brand and new boutique operation, in nearby Anaheim, California.

Bruery Terreux is committed to crafting sour and wild ales. Fermented and aged in oak barrels with wild yeast and bacteria, these tart and funky beers are a throwback to Belgium’s historic, countryside brewing techniques, but with a bit of a California twist.

Though the problem remained… how to make The Bruery’s family of brands (which now also includes Offshoot Beer Co) more available on the East Coast.

Enter The Bruery Store at Union Market in Washington, DC, which celebrated its grand opening on January 19^th and opened its doors to hundreds of fans, many of whom had been in line since dawn.

Patrick Rue, who was in town for the store’s launch, explained to American Craft Beer that “the concept of creating a central location for fans along the East Coast to get their hands on his family of beers has been several years in planning.”

And his excitement to finally connect with his passionate East Coast fans and show off his stylish new DC operation was palpable.

“We couldn’t be prouder to open our doors on the East Coast and welcome new fans as we celebrate our 10th year,” Rue added as he greeted fans lining up to get their selfies with the man behind beers like Black Tuesday and Chocolate Rain.

Beers that will now be more accessible on the east coast than ever before…