What’s happening craft beer lovers of RVA?!
What’s happening craft beer lovers of RVA?! Welcome to this week’s “Tapped,” RVA Magazine’s go to weekly beer column where you can find all your craft beer events, releases, festivals and all the booze news your little hearts desire./;.
This weekend is Valentine’s Day and that usually means chocolate, wine and candy, but what’s a special occasion without craft beer? Well a pretty boring one in my opinion. So take your significant other or just yourself to one of these awesome craft beer events below to celebrate the day of love-of beer that is…
But before we jump into this week’s booze news, check out what you missed last week here.
Now hold on to your mug’s because we’re tapping this thing!
Hardywood is hooking you up this Valentine’s Day by providing a DIY Valentine’s gift bar the brewery this weekend. Visit the gift bar in their taproom this Friday 4-9 and Saturday 2-6 to create your own custom gift set, or choose from local designer options like the “I Love You Beery Much” Hardywood gift set! Hardywood, Black Hand Coffee, and Viva La Local.
And they released this last weekend, but Hardywood’s chocolately Raspberry Stout is perfect to share with your special someone this Valentine’s Day.
Final Gravity has released a double coconut stout, called African Head Charge. Sounds pretty tasty so go check it out!
Triple Crossing has a couple cool events going on this weekend. On Friday, Feb. 12, the brewery will have a chocolates and beer pairing. The chocolates will come from Chocolates by Kelly and of course you can pick from any one of their tasty brews to along with it.
They will also release their Liberty or Death Porter in bottles on Saturday. This robust porter, based on an English recipe from 1855, features mild bitterness from Super Galena hops and an aroma dominated by roasted coffee and dark chocolate.
And if you haven’t heard, Triple Crossing has announced plans to expand with a second, much bigger brewery over in Fulton Hill. Check out our story on that here.
Strangeways has a packed weekend full of fun Valentine’s Day events. The brewery will have a double feature of Brews & Burlesque on Friday & Saturday and will release HAVOC Gold IPA on Saturday. Strangeways is also celebrating all of us women in craft beer and the impact women have made on the industry with an event on Valentine’s Day. Presenters include reps from Stone Brewing, Hardywood, Blue Bee, Lickinghole Creek, Virginia Historical Society, James River Homebrewers, Barley’s Angels and River City Beer Betties. Enjoy some beer, live music and BBQ.
In ADDITION to that, Strangeways will be selling candy inspired brews like Raspberry Truffle & Cherry Cordial just for Valentine’s Day weekend. Their TIRAMI’ZU BREW will also be back on tap starting on Friday!
Isley will release its Drunken Uncle at Ellwood Thompsons on Fri. Feb. 12. The brewery will also release its new coffee imperial stout Java the Hutt. he stout is brewed with coffee from LIFT Coffee Shop & Cafe! Roasted barley and dark chocolate malts give color, roastiness, and dark chocolate notes to the stout and it’s spiced and aged on cinnamon, nutmeg, and vanilla beans.
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It’s Carytown brewery Garden Grove’s one-year anniversary and they are celebrating big time! Thursday through Saturday Garden Grove will have live music, along with special brew releases. Saturday the brewery will tap an Anniversary Saison, a single barrel release that’s fermented with Chamomile, Sweet Orange, Mandarin, Hibiscus, and Orange Blossom Honey along with a massive Belgian Tap Takeover. The takeover will feature Hipster Monk (Belgian Singel), The Devil (Belgian Dubbel), The Knight (Belgian Tripel), the last reserved kegs of LIFE & DEATH (Barrel-Aged Belgian White & Red Quads made with wine grapes), the Lion King (rustic Belgian Abbey brewed with Lions Mane Tea) and Farmhouse Saison.
There will be live music, food, and door prizes all weekend. And on Valentine’s the brewery is giving away free chocolates for the first 100 customers so get there early!
I bet you thought it couldn’t get any better than Lickinghole Creek’s Chocolate Obsession right? Well, it’s about to get that much sweeter. The Goochland brewery will release a Rum Barrel Chocolate Obsession and Rum Barrel Coffee Obsession this Sat. Feb. 13. The imperial chocolate stout will be released in 750ml bottles and is aged in Nicaraguan Rum Barrels for more than three months, notes of vanilla, oak and the choicest rum compliment the strong chocolate.
The Rum Barrel Coffee Obsession is also a chocolate imperial stout and features South American grown cocoa nibs. Aged in Nicaraguan Rum Barrels for more than three months, notes of vanilla, oak and the choicest rum compliment the strong chocolate flavors. The brew is cold infused with dark roasted coffee for a fresh coffee flavor.
On Saturday, Ardent Craft Ales is releasing its Barrel Aged Honey Ginger brew. Honey Ginger is a deep gold-colored ale and they are releasing a barrel-aged version.
Midnight Brewery will host a Valentine’s Day Cornhole Tournament on Sunday so that’s a fun little date to do with your significant other or just some friends! 2-5 pm.
Center of the Universe in Ashland is hosting an Antti-Valentine’s Day party Saturday, Feb. 13. Don’t worry there won’t be any heart-shaped candies, flowers, little poems for you to read or a dumb romantic comedy for you to watch, but the brewery will have beer, tacos, live music, and COTU will tap a chocolate box sampler of new beers throughout the day. 1 pm.
Not beer-related, but go check out Blue Bee Cider this Saturday for their Valentine’s Day celebration. In their tasting room you and your sweetie can enjoy a desserts and Rosés Flight, a special flight of two rosé ciders, two brandy-fortified dessert ciders, and sweets from Gearharts Fine Chocolates. YUM!
To submit events or ideas to Tapped please email amy@rvamag.com. Cheers!
