What’s happening, craft beer lovers of RVA?! Welcome to this week’s RVA On Tap, RVA Magazine’s weekly column for all your craft beer-related events, releases, festivals, and all the booze news your hearts desire.
If you missed the last column, you can check that out here. Our kegs are overflowing this week with beer releases and festivals, events, and other cool happenings around town — so hold on to your mugs!
Last week, Richmond was so packed with events it was hard to pick which one to go to. The RVAMag team spent our afternoons with Legend Brewing Co. for their 25th anniversary party, and over at Richmond Raceway for the NASCAR race and their Craft Beer Fest. Where did your weekend take you?
Are you good at sports? Me either! Just kidding, I’m betting a lot of people here are pretty valuable on a team. If you’re not totally worthless with a ball, this totally-Richmond field day is all your childhood dreams come true…..but with beer.
The RVA Field Day is heading to the City Stadium this Saturday, and the festival is asking you to come be a part of the city’s newest favorite event. Field Day games include target football, a hula-hoop obstacle course, a tricycle/small bike relay rally, watergun cup races (!!!), giant Jenga and “MUCH MUCH MORE!” God, this sounds like so much fun. I can’t wait to see what happens when BMX-ers and football pros unite.
If you’re looking to drink, here’s the local breweries that’ll be in attendance: Legend, Lickinghole Creek, Strangeways, Star Hill, Steam Bell, Three Notch’d, Hardywood, Ardent, plus others from around the state like Devil’s Backbone, Allagash, Sweet Water, and more. Legend just turned 25 last weekend, so if you didn’t make it out to their party, this is a great spot to swing by and say happy birthday.
A major plus: tickets are $30 ahead of time, but you get unlimited booze. And god willing, I know most of you can put back a lot more than thirty bucks of craft beer in a day. Pay up front and drink to your heart’s desire.
Speaking of birthdays, here’s one you won’t miss! The Veil Brewing Co. is turning 3 next week, and you can catch their celebrations starting next Tuesday at the brewery. The Veil is a bigtime Richmond favorite, so I can imagine how pumped the beer scene must be getting for this one. The parties start with beer releases from April 23-28 with a bunch of bottles, cans, and drafts to get the festivities going. Starting that Sunday the 28th, the brewery will be hosting guest taps from their friends, plus tons of rad food from their favorite spots around town, like Cobra Burger, Intergalactic Tacos, and The Highroller Lobster Co. Be on the lookout with The Veil throughout the week for more info on the brews coming out this week, and see you there!
Edelgeist: your new favorite recipe from Hardywood Park Craft Brewery. This white IPA is filled with “bright notes” of honeydew, white grape, and pineapple to grace your palate with the snowiest and tastiest of flavors. It’s also packed with a fusion of Huell Melon, Mandarina Bavaria, and Nelson Sauvin hops, and this 6% ABV brew will be out for the tasting starting this #FreshCanFriday at Hardywood. Hardywood’s got some more awesome flavors on the backburner right now, and next week you can look forward to the best creamy brew of your summer… but we’ll save that one for release week!
Hey Final Gravity Brewing Co. fans (aka everyone), one of your faves is back on tap this weekend! Wandering Star Double IPA is returning to the Lakeside spot on Friday, and this 8% DIPA radiates flavors like orange, lime, grapefruit, and notes of tropical fruit and pine as a finish from its dry-hopped Mosaic process. Brewed first in a whirlpool of Citra hops, the tastes are “illuminating” in this shiny 8% ABV beer.
Reefer madness? Yeah, us too. Actually though, Three Notch’d RVA Collab House is here with some madness of another style. Rye-fer Madness is a dank, West-Coast style Rye IPA made as a collab with Three Notch’d and Virginia NORML — your local heroes for marijuana law reform, right here in our home state. If you didn’t know already, the hops used in beer get their smell from the same substance as the aromas in marijuana (Terpenes), and this brew was packed full of it to get a nice, thick flavor. With its peppery, dry background, Rye-fer Madness was made in every way to “simulate the dank taste of your favorite strain.” Go nuts, y’all!
Are you ready to soak up the sun in the glory of springtime in Richmond? Warm days by the river, drinks from rooftop bars overlooking the city, strolls through Carytown and hikes through the James River trails… these are the things that make our great city so great, and all the best parts of RVA come out in the summer. Coming up tomorrow night, you can celebrate that weather in taste with Northern Equinox making its way to Väsen Brewing Company. Dry-hopped and flavored with Mosaic, Citra, Ekuanot, and Galaxy hops, you’ll find complementary aromas of mango, citrus, and passionfruit in this “complex and extremely hoppy brew.”
Hoppy, hazy, and delicious.
If you’re looking for variety, Strangeways Brewing has you covered. Head over this Saturday for a quadruple-release featuring Legalize It Bush Doctor IPA, Dyson Sphere Gose, Dyson Sphere Peach Gose, and Pet Sounds American Wheat Ale. To start the drinks off, Legalize It Bush Doctor is a Double IPA with fresh, resinous, tropical and dank hop profiles.
The Legalize It series from Strangeways is a family of beers that are all created to relax your body and open your mind, and Bush Doctor says no more need to smoke and hide, when you know you’re taking a legal ride!
If you missed the Brown Sugar Porter on its first time at Intermission Beer Company, your chance is back and it’s coming with a sibling: Honey Wheat debuts with the old fave this Saturday. Brown Sugar Porter starts off the Intermission releases with a dark, roasty malt, with a medium body and hints of molasses, according to its brewers. The new recipe is full of more summer flavors, brewed with Wildflower Honey and Virginia-grown red wheat. This 5.8% ABV beer is perfect for any day, and the brewery’s owner, Courtney White, made it in collaboration with the Pink Boots Society in Washington, D.C. to support women working in beer professions. So if you’re looking to drink for a good cause, you’re all set!
That’s it for this week’s RVA On Tap! As your weekly columnist, I’m here to take all your beer releases, event info, ideas and questions. If you’re a brewer, send me your release info at caley@rvamag.com, and if you’re a beer enthusiast, drop me a line anytime to talk booze. Catch y’all next week!
