Winery spinoff fermenting at Dancing Kilt Brewery in Chester

As it heads into its second year in business, a Chester brewery has put on its wine-making boots.

Dancing Kilt Brewery is preparing to launch Moondrop Winery, a spinoff that will be co-located at its taproom at 12912 Old Stage Road.

Owner Thomas Pakurar said he decided on the spinoff after noticing that about one in every five of the brewery’s customers would ask about non-beer options.

“We’ve got seltzers, which hit the gluten-free market, but some folks are really hung up on wines and ciders,” Pakurar said. “I’m just trying to fill that need.”

He said he’s already gotten all the equipment he needs to start producing wine in his 3,500-square-foot space, which opened last year.

When Moondrop’s wine will be available, he said, depends on when he receives the necessary approvals from the Virginia ABC and Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau. Pakurar said he may someday dabble into making mead and cider as well.

“Honestly, the customers really dictate how that flows,” he said. “I have no intention of bottling and putting it in stores. But if the customers strongly demand it, I may change my mind.”

Customer feedback also factors into which beers Pakurar keeps on tap at Dancing Kilt. He recently brewed Cauldron, a roughly 8 percent alcohol-by-volume chocolate peanut butter stout, with the plan to have it be a limited run.

“The minute I rotated (Cauldron) out, the customers got upset, dragged me out in the parking lot and just about flogged me,” Pakurar joked. “I said, ‘OK, OK, I’ll keep it on tap.’”

In its first year, Dancing Kilt has cut out a niche as a brewery that doesn’t brew a lot of IPAs, Pakurar said.

“Typically, we’ll have five lagers on tap and we’ll have a variety of beer styles from all over the world,” he said, referencing Irish red ales and Trappist patersbiers that he’s brewed.

“If you go to a lot of the (local) breweries, they’ll be really IPA-heavy because it’s a really good seller. We’re not your typical ‘RVA brewery.’”

That approach has led Dancing Kilt to a distribution deal with Chesapeake’s Pretty Distribution, which is now shipping the brewery’s beer as far west as Afton and all the way eastward to Virginia Beach.

“Right now, it’s all kegs. We’re working on getting labels approved for cans,” Pakurar said.

Moondrop joins another winery in the works in Chester. Three Leg Run — a brewery, winery and meadery hybrid — plans to open at 4418 W. Hundred Road.