Vanish Brewery: A tour of new Va. brewery, first hops-processing facility

There are more than 16 beers on the menu at Vanish Brewery's tasting room. Owner Jonathan Staples says on the weekends, the Lucketts, Virginia brewery sees between 400 and 600 guests. (草莓传媒/Rachel Nania) — There are more than 16 beers on the menu at Vanish Brewery’s tasting room. Owner Jonathan Staples says on the weekends, the Lucketts, Virginia, brewery sees between 400 and 600 guests. (草莓传媒/Rachel Nania)

Two years ago, Frederick, Maryland, resident Jonathan Staples purchased a 52-acre farm in Lucketts, Virginia. He turned the land into a hops farm, hops-processing facility, brewery and event space. (草莓传媒/Rachel Nania)

鈥淎 group of guys were looking to get it to build a subdivision,鈥� Staples said about the farm just past the center of town in Lucketts, Virginia. But while the developers were waiting on zoning approval, Staples and his wife, Hilda, came in with an offer. (草莓传媒/Rachel Nania)

Staples turned the farm’s former riding arena into a brewery and tasting room called Vanish. The brewery opened December 2015. (草莓传媒/Rachel Nania)

The farm’s former stables are currently under construction. Staples is turning the building into an event space, which he predicts will be available to rent in the fall. (草莓传媒/Rachel Nania)

The tasting room at Vanish Brewery has both indoor and outdoor space. Food is available for purchase from former 鈥淭op Chef鈥� finalist and D.C.-area restaurateur Bryan Voltaggio. (草莓传媒/Rachel Nania)

Staples听planted five acres of hops and built a hops-processing facility on his new farm.听It just so happens it鈥檚 also the largest processing plant in the Mid-Atlantic. (草莓传媒/Rachel Nania)

鈥淭he whole point of it was no one was growing hops commercially because there was nowhere to process them, no one was processing hops because no one was growing hops,鈥� said Staples, who estimates there are about 50 acres dedicated to hops in the whole state of Virginia. (草莓传媒/Rachel Nania)听
(草莓传媒/Rachel Nania)

Staples and area brewers aren鈥檛 the only ones who want to see the hop-growing industry take off in the Commonwealth. In November 2014, Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe, who has been a champion of Virginia鈥檚 growing beer and wine industry, joined Staples to announce plans for his Lucketts Mill HopWorks. The state gave a $40,000 AFID grant for the project, which was matched by the county. (草莓传媒/Rachel Nania)

鈥淭he idea of farm breweries is really going back to the way breweries were in America and Europe before industrialization. All alcohol was an agricultural product,鈥� said Staples, who also plans to use the Virginia hops in his Richmond-based James River Distillery. (草莓传媒/Rachel Nania)听
(草莓传媒/Rachel Nania)

Chef and听restaurateur Bryan Voltaggio makes the barbecue at Vanish Brewery. (草莓传媒/Rachel Nania)

Staples says he considered food trucks, but wanted something more consistent. 鈥淸With food trucks], you can鈥檛 have the beer and the food sort of match together and work together, and guests don鈥檛 know what kind of food there would be before they come.鈥� (草莓传媒/Rachel Nania)

So he introduced the idea to Voltaggio, Hilda Staples鈥� business partner.
鈥淚 pitched the idea kind of half-joking, ready to pull it back really quickly when he rolled his eyes, but he said yes,鈥� Staples said. 听 (草莓传媒/Rachel Nania)

Friday through Sunday, the brewery鈥檚 visitors can sip on Vanish鈥檚 pineapple kolsch and orange blossom saison while chowing on Voltaggio鈥檚 barbecue brisket, turkey and sausages. (草莓传媒/Rachel Nania)听
(草莓传媒/Rachel Nania)

For now, the beers made at Vanish are only available at the Lucketts brewery and tasting room. (草莓传媒/Rachel Nania)

There鈥檚 a lot of beer in Loudoun 鈥� by December, the county in Northern Virginia will be home to 24 breweries 鈥� but most of the local brewers source hops, a key ingredient in their suds, from the West Coast. (草莓传媒/Rachel Nania)听

听 (草莓传媒/Rachel Nania)

鈥淚t鈥檚 really exciting for me as a beer drinker that there are so many different options, so many different styles and again, it throws back to the way things would have been 100 years ago, where every small little town had its own brewery and its own distillery,” Staples said. (草莓传媒/Rachel Nania)

Staples purchased the 52-acre farm two years ago, just as a group of developers were about to buy the land and turn it into a subdivision. (草莓传媒/Rachel Nania)

The Staples kept the farm free of bulldozers, concrete and vinyl siding 鈥� but that鈥檚 not to say they didn鈥檛 add to the land. Instead of building houses on the Route 15 property, the Staples built an operation that they hope will kick-start an obsolete industry on the East Coast. (草莓传媒/Rachel Nania)

The name of the brewery stems from Staples鈥� experience getting the property in the first place.
鈥淏ecause it was going to be bought by some guys who were going to make it a subdivision, it began to feel more like a mission of, 鈥楥an we figure out a way to preserve this land?鈥� We realized that if we failed, the farm would vanish,鈥� Staples said. (草莓传媒/Rachel Nania)

“It鈥檚 really kind of what was old is new again, in that all beer was made this way at one point,” Staples said. (草莓传媒/Rachel Nania)

(1/21)

Share This Gallery:

change volume

April 16, 2026 | A local brewer revitalizes an abandoned industry (草莓传媒's Rachel Nania )

LUCKETTS, Va. 鈥� Two years ago, Jonathan Staples鈥� 52-acre farm nearly vanished.

鈥淎 group of guys were looking to get it to build a subdivision,鈥� Staples said about the farm just past the center of town in Lucketts, Virginia. But while the developers were waiting on zoning approval, Staples and his wife, Hilda, came in with an offer.

The Frederick, Maryland, couple鈥檚 bid was accepted, and they kept the farm free of bulldozers, concrete and vinyl siding 鈥� but that鈥檚 not to say they didn鈥檛 add to the land. Instead of building houses on the Route 15 property, the Staples built an operation that they hope will kick-start an obsolete industry on the East Coast.

There鈥檚 a lot of beer in Loudoun 鈥� by December, the county in Northern Virginia will be home to 24 breweries 鈥� but most of the local brewers source hops, a key ingredient in their suds, from the West Coast.

Staples, a Richmond native and a veteran in the food and beverage business 鈥� most notably, he鈥檚 one of the founders of the fake-blood-smeared heavy metal establishment 听鈥斕齱anted to see Virginia beer made with Virginia hops. So he planted five acres of the crop and built an听听hops-processing facility on his new farm.听

It just so happens it鈥檚 also the largest processing plant in the Mid-Atlantic.

鈥淭he whole point of it was no one was growing hops commercially because there was nowhere to process them; no one was processing hops because no one was growing hops,鈥� said Staples, who estimates there are about 50 acres dedicated to hops in the whole state of Virginia.

鈥淗ops are still a really new industry for the East Coast 鈥� Really where grapes were in Virginia 30 years ago.鈥�

Staples and area brewers aren鈥檛 the only ones who want to see the hop-growing industry take off in the Commonwealth. In November 2014, Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe 鈥� who has been a champion of Virginia鈥檚 growing beer and wine industry 鈥斕� to announce plans for his . The state gave a $40,000 AFID grant for the project, which was matched by the county.

鈥淭he idea of farm breweries is really going back to the way breweries were in America and Europe before industrialization. All alcohol was an agricultural product,鈥� said Staples, who also plans to use the Virginia hops in his Richmond-based .

In December, Staples opened the third component to his Lucketts farm project: a brewery and tasting room called .

The name stems from Staples鈥� experience getting the property in the first place.

鈥淏ecause it was going to be bought by some guys who were going to make it a subdivision, it began to feel more like a mission of, 鈥楥an we figure out a way to preserve this land?鈥� We realized that if we failed, the farm would vanish,鈥� Staples said.

In the farm鈥檚 former riding arena, Staples and his team brew 16 beers and serve them on indoor and outdoor picnic tables alongside barbecue prepared by former 鈥淭op Chef鈥� finalist and D.C.-area restaurateur .

Staples says he considered food trucks, but wanted something more consistent. 鈥淸With food trucks], you can鈥檛 have the beer and the food sort of match together and work together, and guests don鈥檛 know what kind of food there would be before they come.鈥�

So he introduced the idea to Voltaggio, 鈥� business partner.

鈥淚 pitched the idea kind of half-joking, ready to pull it back really quickly when he rolled his eyes, but he said yes,鈥� Staples said.

Friday through Sunday, the brewery鈥檚 visitors can sip on Vanish鈥檚 pineapple kolsch and orange blossom saison while chowing on Voltaggio鈥檚 barbecue brisket, turkey and sausages.

Next on Staples鈥� agenda is completing the farm鈥檚 event space. He鈥檚 turning the former horse stables into a venue for weddings and parties, which he hopes will be ready to rent by the fall.

The opportunities for Staples鈥� hops operation extend beyond breweries in Northern Virginia, but he says Lucketts is a good place to start.

鈥淚t鈥檚 really exciting for me as a beer drinker that there are so many different options, so many different styles and again, it throws back to the way things would have been 100 years ago, where every small little town had its own brewery and its own distillery. It鈥檚 really kind of what was old is new again, in that all beer was made this way at one point.鈥�

Vanish Brewery and tasting room is open Thursday 4-8 p.m., Friday 4-10 p.m., Saturday 11 a.m.-10 p.m. and Sunday noon-8 p.m. Tours of the hops-processing facility are available upon request.

Video 草莓传媒’s Omama Altaleb

草莓传媒