Look for January Opening for Portner Brewhouse, Owners Say

ALEXANDRIA, VA -- The highly anticipated Portner Brewhouse will open in January in Alexandria, Catherine Portner, one of the owners, said Wednesday.

Portner said they should have a date for their grand opening for the brewpub in the City's West End soon, taking place sometime in mid to late January.

The owners of the brewpub are currently busy working out permitting and approvals with the City before announcing an opening date, but signs point to it being not too far away.

The brewery and full-service restaurant is inspired by the South’s largest pre-Prohibition brewery, the Robert Portner Brewing Company. It was headquartered in Old Town Alexandria from 1869 until prohibition was implemented in 1916. See an ad from a newspaper clipping here, from the Brewhouse Facebook page:

The brewpub, which is being resurrected by Catherine and Margaret Portner, two of Robert Portner’s great-great granddaughters, had been seeking a home since 2012 until discovering the mutually beneficial fit with Modera Tempo, according to the developers. The brewpub restaurant will be located at 5770 Dow Ave., in the City's West End

“We are excited that Portner Brewhouse has found a home at Modera Tempo,” said Catherine Portner, president and co-founder of Portner Brewhouse with sister Margaret. “We look forward to sharing Alexandria’s rich brewing history and future with the community exactly a century after the Robert Portner Brewing Company closed.”

The brewpub's sign is now visible on Van Dorn Street after being installed and the business also announced the hiring of its head brewer and head chef.

Head brewer Brian McElvaney hails from Wake Forest, N.C. McElvaney apprenticed at a traditional German brewery and worked for Vulcan Brewing in Cologne and Stone Brewing in Berlin. "Brian is excited to work on a system where he can brew and be able to serve it in house, instead of a larger production brewery," the company said in a post on its Web site.

Donnie Dennis, a local Alexandrian, is excited to help build and grow with a local startup, the company noted. He has worked at both Black Market Bistro and The Russia House, and originally started off his culinary career at Old Town’s own Bilbo Baggins, Portner Brewhouse reports.

Dennis found his passion for cooking at Bilbo Baggins and decided to attend culinary school Johnson & Wales. His experience includes Eastern European cuisines, seafood and classical French.

PHOTOS: Brewery equipment installation team, photo courtesy of Portner Brewhouse; brewery equipment.