2026 Brewer of the Year: Roger Knoell
Roger started homebrewing over 30 years ago, in his garage in Loudoun, before Virginia had farm brewery laws and before social media, spreading the word by word of mouth. When he brews a German beer he uses German malt, German hops and German yeast, with no shortcuts. Just as important is what he gives back: per a 2013 Loudoun Times-Mirror article, when Jake Endres was launching Crooked Run Fermentation he called Roger "the person who really helped me out the most," and that story has repeated itself across the county. He brews for the craft, for the community, and for what he calls "laid back beers for laid back people."
