OUR STORY
Aaron Ludwig and John Hilkert met through their children. The boys were in the same Sunday school class and liked to get together and play. Aaron was a home brewer who had a professional set up at home - a brew room, all electric equipment (that he built from scratch) - the works. John had been brewing in his garage, having been banished from the kitchen after a boil over (or two). John's wife suggested that he contact Aaron and maybe they could brew together. Thus, it all began.
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Aaron and John were passionate about creating new and unique beers. Any style was open to interpretation. Historically, Aaron brewed more traditional styles, while John liked to veer slightly off of the classic path and push style guidelines to the edge. Together, they made some great brews.
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At Tin Cannon we’re continually experimenting with new ideas. Of course, it takes great consideration to design a style that pushes the limits, and we don’t make changes just for the sake of being different. When it comes to our beers we look for ingredients that complement and contrast certain flavors. We immerse ourselves into the selection of the finest raw ingredients, artfully adding a pinch of this and a pound of that, to create a product that reflects both our skill and imagination. Tin Cannon’s craft beers are passionately and artfully created, crafted, kegged and served onsite in our Gainesville, Virginia brewery / taproom.
OUR NAME
Ever said anything “tongue in cheek”? We have...
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An ode to our area’s past: We are located in an area of tremendous Civil War heritage. Just drive down Route 29 through the Manassas Battlefield and you will see memorials, 1800s era structures and of course, cannons.
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A nod to humor: Ever fired a weapon? What was it made of? Guaranteed it wasn’t made from tin or you wouldn’t be reading this. Moreover, before calling beverage cans “aluminum cans”, they were known as “tin cans”.
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When discussing the 2 barrel brewhouse design, Aaron (the engineer) drew up a sketch on graph paper. After showing it to John, John said that the vessels looked like soup cans - and people would call us the "soup can" brewery. They laughed about it and then said, "like the old tin cans from back in the day." With the help of several beers, that idea morphed into "Tin Cannon."
Thank you, and Goodbye...
Tin Cannon Brewing Company has had the pleasure of bringing a large part of the community together for over ten years. We have loved so many aspects of our journey as a small business. We have met so many wonderful people, formed amazing friendships, made a difference through important fundraisers, and created a “Cheers” taproom atmosphere with our friendly staff, delicious beers, and fun events. Many people have told us that when they think of Tin Cannon, they think of the best themed taproom events. We’ve hosted trivia, bingo, bunco, darts, karaoke, beer triathlons, chili cook-offs, holiday parties, songwriters’ showcases, annual anniversary parties, numerous charitable fundraisers, and countless talented musicians and bands. These memories are so, so treasured!
There’s another side to our small business that only business owners can completely comprehend—the amount of time necessary to keep everything running smoothly while balancing a personal life. This is expected, but the time needed to keep our small business going has also sometimes prevented us from being able to decompress and get rejuvenated. We have missed spending quality time with family, going on vacations, pursuing hobbies, etc.
Over the last several months, we have mulled over what to do, and we decided that once the timing was right, we were going to shut down and move on to other adventures in life. That time has come. So, with sadness that we will no longer enjoy our taproom meetups with friends, and also with great anticipation of what our futures hold, we want you to know that Tin Cannon is closing its doors this month. March 15th will be our big goodbye party, and our doors will close shortly after that, depending on how long our beer supply lasts. All sales will end NLT March 31, so follow us on social media for updates on our final day. We hope you will wish us well and help us say a proper goodbye to our awesome little brewery by coming to visit between now and our last day. We also hope all of you who have formed friendships with us will stay in touch.
Sincerely and with much love and cheers to you all,
John & Aaron