The Shadow
Jack Mason’s Tavern & Brewery brought home the Silver Medal for brewing excellence in the Virginia Brewers Craft Guild Cup 2022 competition that featured 106 breweries competing in 33 categories.
Debbie Laudermilk, the head brewer for Jack Mason’s Tavern & Brewery since 2017, held in her hand the Silver Medal that Jack Mason’s Tavern & Brewery won in the Kolsch Category for the Brewery’s entry of Log Hopper Kolsch.
She remarked, “This is actually a huge award.”
Laudermilk, a member of the Town Council of Clifton Forge, continued, “Not only is it huge for Jack Mason’s Tavern & Brewery, but it is for the entire Town of Clifton Forge.”
The entry was submitted on June 8, during the time that Wendy Hudler and Martha Atherholt still owned the business that Michael and Ann Foster purchased on July 1. At the time of the entry, Laudermilk was recovering from an operation on her hand, and she relied on Daniel Stapleton, her assistant brewer who is a 2005 graduate of Covington High School, to brew the winning entry.
Stapleton, who holds a bachelor’s of science degree in biology, recalled, “I started working here in the spring of 2021 with very little knowledge, and Debbie has taught me 99.99 percent of everything I know about brewing.”
He knew that the task of brewing the sample that was going to be entered into the competition would be his responsibility, and he admitted that he was concerned about completing the task.
“It was nerve-wracking in that I knew that it would be judged,” Stapleton remembered.
As it turned out, his sample was next to the best entry of the 20 entries in the Kolsch Category.
Laudermilk, who spent four years in the U.S. Navy, retired from the Virginia State Parks in 2017, and she served for a while at Douthat State Park.
She noted that by bringing home the Silver Medal in the Kolsch Category that the notoriety will increase tourism for Clifton Forge because many people are interested in visiting areas where breweries have established an outstanding reputation as a brewery.
Laudermilk became the head brewer following the departure of Steve Redden, the former head brewer. Redden recently established Honeycomb Grove Meadery & Apiaries in Covington.
Ann, a life-long friend of Atherholt, said, “We are so happy to have an award-winning brewery and top-notch brewers.”
She and Michael have expanded their business by connecting Jack Mason’s Tavern to the Brewery by adding the space where The Flower Center had been operating. The extra space will also provide a break room for their 29 employees in addition to access to the Brewery, all under one roof.
Ann, Laudermilk and Stapleton all agree that there are bright things being planned for the future of Jack Mason’s Tavern & Brewery, including a mural inside that will soon be completed.
