This article was featured in RVAMag #28: Spring 2017. You can read all of issue #28 here or pick it up at local shops around RVA right now.
Comng Up At Three Notch’d
Back in RVA Mag #25, we featured an interview with Dave Warwick and Stefan McFayden of Three Notch’d Brewing Company, one mainly focused on their plans for their Richmond location. They wanted to have a brewery with a small system that could make small batches of beer with Richmond-area collaborators on a frequent basis. It seems like things are going to plan: That Richmond location opened in Scott’s Addition at the end of September 2016, and has brewed twenty-eight beers at time of writing, twenty of those being collaborations and twenty-six of the brews being unique recipes (only two of their beers have been made more than once). I recently spoke with McFayden, and sampled several of his beers at the collab house, including There Will Be Braggot, a honey-infused Belgian tripel brewed in collaboration with Black Heath Meadery, a highly aromatic Belgian IPA made with the organizers of the Virginia Wine Expo, as well as originals like a tropical gose and a dry Irish stout. The stylistic diversity is partly just due to the collaborative nature of the facility — one collaborator is unlikely to come into the brewhouse with the same ideas or goals as another. Another factor is Stefan McFayden. He’s a natural fit for the mercurial nature of working with a host of different collaborators, as he likes to brew a wide range of styles and enjoys bringing intriguing ingredients into the process.
McFayden brought up some past collaborations he’s particularly proud of, such as a blonde stout made with local musical artist Clair Morgan, the choice of that multifaceted style being a nod to Morgan’s diverse roles as bandmate, employee, and father. Also mentioned was a Hibiscus IPA made with the organizers of the First Fridays Art Walk, which came out pink thanks to the hibiscus, and of course RVA’s own collaboration with No BS Brass Band, The Broadberry, and Three Notch’d: the No BS Cream Ale.
Coming soon is Heroes PrevAle, a collaboration with non-profit Connor’s Heroes, an organization that provides support to youngsters that are undergoing cancer treatment. The cream ale is being made in support of a Connor’s Heroes art ball, and some of the pieces from that art ball will be put up in the collab house. After that will come a collaboration with the Library of Virginia, an imperial brown ale (some of which will be barrel-aged for a few months) made to coincide with a library exhibition called Moonshiners and Teetotalers, which documents the history of prohibition in Virginia. If it sounds like Three Notch’d is busy, that’s because they are — the brewery is booked solid through June or July with no shortage of willing collaborators likely waiting in the wings. If you are interested in working with Three Notch’d on a beer, a form can be found under the “About” tab of the Richmond location’s Facebook page. McFayden noted that past collaborators have all enjoyed learning about the brewing process and that collaborators have also enjoyed coming into the brewery for beer release days. The head brewer also commented that he’s been happy to be able to work with a diverse assortment of groups so far, and that he hopes each collaboration is a good representation of the collaborator involved in making it. The Three Notch’d slogan is “Leave Your Mark,” so it’s only natural that these liquid storytellers want to allow others to do just that with their own totally unique brews.
Champion Arrives
Champion Brewing Company planted its feet in downtown Richmond in late January of this year, and according to Taproom Manager Cary Carpenter and Head Brewer Ken Rayher, the reception from local businesses and customers has been quite warm. This branch of the Charlottesville-based brewery is still getting its beer from the Cville location at time of writing, but they hope to start making some of their own very soon.
Construction on a brewing system and a kitchen is underway, and the brewery has some exciting plans for both of those in the future. Rayher intends to brew a variety of beers in Richmond that compliments Champion’s already strong lineup. The lineup for the next few months is fairly stacked, as they intend to make a Saison (plus dry-hopped and fruited variants), a Biere de Garde (a malty Belgian style), a Zwickel (a rare, traditionally unfiltered German Lager style), a Dunkel (sort of a double Hefeweizen), some kettle sours (more fruited variants), and some small batch IPAs.
The plan is to have half of the downtown location’s twelve taps dedicated to those Richmond-brewed beers. As of now, there are no plans to do any extensive packaging at the brewpub, although the brewery does offer growlers to go. In terms of food, southern-style tacos and tortas will be offered by the kitchen, which will be managed by Jason Alley (of Pasture, Flora, and Comfort) and Michelle Jones. Carpenter and Rayher hope to be serving food and Richmond-brewed beers by the end of April.
2 Years for Black Heath
Although Scott’s Addition is now well known for its breweries, one of its mainstay alcohol producers makes another sort of brew — one of honey. Black Heath Meadery just celebrated two years of making mead (also known as honey wine) in Scott’s Addition this March, and they definitely seem to be prospering. The meadery also recently took home a gold medal in the Cyser (mead-cider hybrid) category for Blue Angel, a collaboration with Blue Bee Cidery, who just recently set up shop in Scott’s Addition.
Speaking to Mead Maker Bill Cavender recently, his enthusiasm for the area that he works in was clear: He’s enjoyed seeing the growth of alcohol producers and restaurants in the area, and often finds that people visiting his meadery are coming from visiting other local businesses. He also added that he’s met quite a number of out-of-town visitors that are in Richmond specifically to visit Scott’s Addition. Cavender said that it’s important to note that all of the Scott’s Addition alcohol producers, although technically competitors, all work together. Monthly meetings of the Scott’s Addition Social Club have allowed Bill and other alcohol producers in the area to sample one another’s products, and talk about ways to make business in Scott’s Addition even better.
So, obviously, Black Heath is no stranger to collaboration. They certainly have plenty coming in the near future: The Veil is working on a beer made with some bourbon barrel-aged honey and vanilla beans from Black Heath, a Cyser is in the works with Buskey Cider, and another Cyser is being made with Potter’s Craft Cider, some of which will be barrel-aged with Brettanomyces (wild yeast beloved for its sour, funky, and fruity qualities) and more fruit. In the spring, the meadery will release their Sour Cherry mead, made with Montmorency cherries, and their Ginger Honeywine, made with baby ginger root from Casselmonte Farm in Powhatan. Summer releases will include Proserpine, a pomegranate mead, and Passiflora, which is made with passionfruit. Cavender obviously stays busy, and has made quite a few different meads since opening up two years ago. Looking back on those two years and thinking about meads that he’d like to see make a return, he mentioned Hiver, which was made with a Saison beer yeast and aged in gin barrels. Hiver, French for “winter,” was only available once, at Black Heath’s opening. Hopefully Hiver and some other barrel-aged meads will make an appearance at the next anniversary. Until then, we’ve got a lot to look forward to from Black Heath.
