The Answer Brewpub opened to the public in September 2014 and began brewing its own beers in the spring of 2015. Bui brought in Brandon Tolbert as head brewer. Tolbert had previously brewed at Extra Billy’s Brewery in Midlothian, gaining recognition for his IPAs, a highly hopped, bitter ale style.

Tolbert began the beer portfolio at The Answer with a range of IPAs, including a low-ABV sessionable beer, single-hopped IPAs and higher-ABV double and triple IPAs. He has added other beers to the résumé, including a Berliner weisse, gose, blonde ale, porters and stouts.

At the 2015 Virginia Craft Brewers Fest, Tolbert’s Larceny Citra IPA won gold and Best in Show, and his Hard in the Paint Mosaic Double IPA won bronze. Last month, The Answer earned recognition from Ratebeer.com as Best New Brewer in Virginia.

Currently, taps at The Answer pour four in-house beers at a time. However, Bui said, “Once we start building a storage cooler, we can brew more porters and stouts. We’ll always have the four IPAs on, but with the cooler we can brew anything. … Right now it’s the IPA. We would love to focus on the next style.”