Original Gravity Owners Ready to Test Their Mettle with New Brewpub
Original Gravity Owners Ready to Test Their Mettle with New Brewpub
Original Gravity has been a go-to destination for home brewers of both beer and wine in the Richmond area for some time now. It follows that the people that run a home brewing supply shop know a thing or two about brewing; now they have set out to prove it with Final Gravity Brewing Company. Final Gravity is serving up beers adjacent to the Original Gravity shop, with a diverse slate of offerings. Current on-tap options range from more mild styles, such as their Amber Ale and Extra Special Bitter, to those for more adventurous palates, like a violet-flavored Saison and a bourbon barrel-aged version of their Stout. Growler fills are available for most of their current line of brews.
Apocalypse’s Current Offerings Are Just The Beginning
Forest, VA’s Apocalypse Ale Works has built up a modest but formidable reputation outside of their hometown with canned offerings like their Honey Wheat Ale, Golden Censer, and Hoppocalypse, a hoppy Imperial Red; as well as some impressive keg-only beers such as Winter Snack, a rich, spiced Stout. Later this year, the Richmond area should see even more of Apocalypse’s wife-owned, husband-brewed beer. Future canned beers include a chocolate Stout, an ESB, and a Belgian-style Blonde Ale. Coming in 22 ounce bottles is a Belgian-style Dubbel, an award-winning Strong Scottish Ale, a fusion of their chocolate stout and Winter Snack, and a Double Alt Beer (Doppel Sticke), which is a collaboration with Devil’s Backbone.
Hardywood’s Days Are Just Packed
The last few months of this year will feature a bevy of releases from the popular brewery. In October, the rum-barrel aged variant of their spiced, Wallonian-style Farmhouse Pumpkin Ale launches on the 3rd. A yet-to-be-unveiled fourth anniversary beer will be premiered on the 24th, and the massive apple brandy barrel-aged Trickery Imperial Milk Stout will appear on Halloween. In November, the beloved Gingerbread Stout launches on the 7th. RPG IPA, a black IPA made in tribute to the Richmond-based stoner rock band, returns on the 14th. December holds two Gingerbread Stout variants: the bourbon barrel-aged version comes out on the 5th, and the coffee-infused Christmas Morning on the 19th. Get ready.
Legend Continues Urban Legend Series with “The Bleeding Nun”
Our friends at Legend Brewing have a few new brews just in time for the holidays. They continue their Urban Legend series with The Bleeding Nun, a habanero-spiced oatmeal stout that should have a nice kick for those dark beer lovers. As we get closer to winter, they’ll put out their Belgian Winter White Ale, a great winter warmer using a classic Belgian yeast strain, lightly spiced. Finally, we can expect to see the popular Chocolate Porter make a return for our cold winter nights.
Castleburg Brewery Joins an Already Well-Populated Newtowne
Hardywood is about to have a new neighbor — Castleburg Brewery and Taproom is set to open on Ownby Lane, just down the road from one of Richmond’s most beloved breweries. Hopefully opening near the end of the year, Castleburg will be a nano brewery, making “beers brewed to style.” So, barrel-aged and fruited beers will be somewhat of a rarity, unless the style calls for such a thing. Though there is not much of a thematic link style-wise, names like “Watchman’s Wit” and “White Knight” (an IPA) suggest a fondness for the medieval era, and possibly beer-related history as well.leg
This article was featured in RVAMag #22: Fall 2015. You can read all of issue #22 here or pick it up at local shops around RVA right now.